WTNT (730

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is a Spanish hits AM radio station licensed to

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

and serving the

Washington metro area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washington, D.C., the fed ...

. WTNT is owned and operated by Metro Radio. 730 kHz is a Canadian and Mexican

clear-channel A clear-channel station is a North American AM broadcasting, AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classifi ...

frequency. The station flipped formats to a Spanish music and talk format dubbed "La Capital" on December 1, 2013.

History

WTNT signed on as WPIK December 10, 1945. For many years this station operated as the AM side to country station WXRA 105.9 FM, and for another period as WPKX "Kix Country". For a time 730 simulcast 105.9's next incarnation, classic rock, as WCXR. For a short while in the mid-1980s, the station featured a soul oldies format. It was also WRMR with a nostalgia format for a very short while (not to be confused with the

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, market WRMR). In 1987, it took the call letters WCPT, and became WBZS in May 1995. The station was owned by Metropolitan Broadcasting until 1989,

Westinghouse Broadcasting The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndi ...

from 1989 to 1993, and

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from 1993 to 1997. In July 1990, WCPT adopted a simulcast of

CNN Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by CNN Worldwide, the network primarily carries true-crime programming, recently drifting away from limited live news programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982, by Tur ...

. From May 1995 to April 1999, WBZS offered a business news brokered financial advice format. Then, Mega Communications bought the station and installed a Mexican/tropical music format as "Radio Capital", which it simulcast with its co-owned WBZS-FM (92.7 FM,

Prince Frederick, Maryland Prince Frederick is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Prince Frederick was 3,226, up from 2,538 in 2010. It is the county seat of Ca ...

) and WBPS (94.3 FM,

Warrenton, Virginia Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 10,057 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 9,611 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and 6,670 at ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

owner

Daniel Snyder Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) is an American businessman and former owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team, then known as the Redskin ...

bought all three stations in 2006. The new three-station network ran a new

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

formart as "Triple X

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

". The WXTR calls were installed at this point; the call letters were used in the past on different stations in the Washington area on two different stations (at 104.1 FM and

820 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 820 kHz: In Argentina * LRA8 in Formosa * LRI208 Estación 820 in Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires * LU24 in Tres Arroyos, Buenos Aires In Canada * CHAM in Hamilton, Ontario - 50& ...

). In 2008, Snyder bought his network's primary competitor,

WTEM WTEM (980 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial Sports radio, sports radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Washington metropolitan area as the flagship station of the Washington Wizards ...

(980 AM), and WXTR switched to

ESPN Deportes Radio ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, ...

. On October 10, 2010, WXTR switched to a pop and soul oldies format. ''Radio Business Report'' quoted station management as saying the station would fill "a void in the marketplace". However, this change lasted only several days, as Red Zebra announced that WXTR would be sold off to Metro Radio that October 18. The WTNT call letters were moved from the 570 kHz facility, which changed to the WSPZ call letters, and picked up WTNT's previous talk format, which was dropped for sports talk in early September. On December 1, 2013, WTNT changed their format from talk to Spanish AC, branded as "La Capital". It eventually rebranded to "La Mega Capital" and moved towards a more Spanish contemporary format.

Translators

In addition to the main station, WTNT has two FM translators to widen its broadcast area.

References

External links

* {{Contemporary Hit Radio Stations in Virginia TNT (AM) Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Spanish-language radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1945 1945 establishments in Virginia Westinghouse Broadcasting