WPAT-FM

WPAT-FM

City of license	Paterson, New Jersey
Broadcast area	New York City area
Branding	93.1 Amor
Slogan	"#1 Con Hits En New York"
Frequency	93.1 FM (MHz) (also on HD Radio) 93.1-2 FM simulcast of WGNK
First air date	1948 (as WNNJ on 103.5 FM) 1957 (93.1 FM)
Format	Spanish & English AC
ERP	5,400 watts
HAAT	433 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	51663
Transmitter coordinates
Callsign meaning	W PATerson (WPAT's city of license)
Owner	Spanish Broadcasting System (WPAT Licensing, Inc.)
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	931amor.com

WPAT-FM, known on-air as "93.1 Amor", is an FM radio station with a Spanish & English AC format. Located at 93.1 MHz, the station is owned by the Spanish Broadcasting System along with sister station 97.9 WSKQ-FM which features a Spanish-language Tropical music format. WPAT-FM is licensed to Paterson, New Jersey and serves the New York City area. It has studios in Midtown Manhattan, and the transmitter is atop the Empire State Building.

WPAT-FM broadcasts in HD.

History

WPAT-FM signed on in 1957 with studios in Newark, New Jersey. It eventually moved to studios on Church Street in Paterson, and later moved to studios at the four-tower transmitter site of its AM sister station at that time, 930 WPAT (AM), at 1396 Broad Street in Clifton, New Jersey.

WPAT-AM and FM were purchased by Capital Cities Communications in 1961. In 1985, Capital Cities announced that it would buy ABC. As a result of Federal Communications Commission regulations at the time, the company decided to sell WPAT-AM-FM because ABC already owned 770 WABC and 95.5 WPLJ in New York City. The WPAT stations were sold to Park Communications.

For decades, WPAT-AM-FM aired a mostly-instrumental beautiful music format under the slogan "Easy 93". By coincidence, WPAT-AM is at 930 and WPAT-FM is at 93.1, making "Easy 93" a reference for both stations. While both stations enjoyed good ratings and profits, the beautiful music format began to lose popularity. Both stations began mixing in more soft vocal hits, while decreasing the instrumentals the stations had been known for. By the early 1990s, WPAT-FM switched to a soft adult contemporary format. From October 1994 to its sign off in January 1996, the station was known as "Today's 93.1". In November 1995, the Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) agreed to purchase the 93.1 FM license and transmitter. The Clifton building and intellectual property were excluded from the sale. The building, the AM transmitter, and 930 AM license were sold to Heftel Broadcasting (now Univisión radio), which was another company specializing in Spanish-language programming.

On January 19, 1996, at 11:59 pm, WPAT-FM ceased being an English-language station when control was switched over to the new owners. WPAT-FM DJ Karen Carson did the last air shift for the station's adult contemporary format that day, and Operations Director Ken McKenzie gave a farewell speech right before the format change. Immediately after the station signed off from Clifton, a new Spanish-language adult contemporary format signed on from Manhattan, and the station began calling itself "Suave 93.1" ("Smooth 93.1"). Eventually, on February 4, 1998, the station's name was changed to "Amor 93.1" ("Love 93.1") and in January 2002, reversed to "93.1 Amor" ("93.1 Love").

In the Spanish station's earliest years, its transmitter was located at the top of the Chrysler Building in Manhattan. Later, it was moved to the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, but it was destroyed as a result of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Due to this, the station went silent after the attack, until WPAT-FM was able to set up a temporary transmitter. The station's transmitter was eventually moved to the Empire State Building.

In January 2002, WPAT dropped most classic Spanish-language artists such as Gloria Estefan and Julio Iglesias. It shifted to a "'90s to Now" direction. WPAT's music direction changed again on June 13, 2011, by dropping the 1990s tracks and shifted to a "2000's to Now" direction. On July 6, 2011, it shifted to a Spanish-language rhythmic AC format (based on WKTU), and on February 7, 2012, it shifted to Spanish Top 40. During this transition, the station used the "La Nueva 93.1" moniker; this then changed back to "93.1 Amor". In late November 2012, the station shifted back to Spanish AC under the "Romantica y Agresiva" slogan; the station also added back 1980's music. In February 2013, WPAT dropped '80s and '90s music, and shifted to a "2000's to Now" direction under the "Más Música y Menos Comerciales" slogan and in early 2014, WPAT shifted to Bachata and Spanish Pop using the slogan "Emisora Oficial de Bachata y Pop." In January 2015, the slogan was changed to "Con el Amor, no se Juega!" DJ Luis Jimenez made his debut on February 12, 2015. In late April 2015, the slogan was changed to "El Ritmo Latino De New York!". On June 13, 2015, WPAT added Tropical music, and their slogan changed to "#1 Con Hits En New York! Y Luis Jiménez en las Mañanas!" On July 6, 2015, the phrase "Y Luis Jiménez en las Mañanas!" was dropped from the slogan, as Jimenez left the station 11 days later. The morning show's name was changed to "Sin Censura" or "Without Censorship" indicating a free-wheeling program of uncensored humor (even though in reality, it is subject to rules set up by the Federal Communications Commission). In October, the Tropical music was dropped as the station transitioned back to Spanish AC, as well as the inclusion of select English-language hits.

Former programming

• Noche de Concierto con Maria Mercedes (Luisa Martinez) (1996–2000)
• Señor Bolero con Francis Mendez (Douglas Peña) (1996-2010, 2011-2012)
• Los Clasicos de Amor (Suave) (1996–2001)
• Viva Mexico con Alberto Otero (Alejandro Cobos, Gabriel Pino) (1997-2010, 2011-2012)
• Mileño: Rock en Español con Maria Mercedes (1999–2001)

External links

• WPAT Website and WPAT Website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WPAT
• Radio-Locator information on WPAT
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WPAT