Radio station in Maitland?Orlando, Florida
WPYO
(95.3 FM), is a
radio station
licensed to
Maitland, Florida
. The station airs a
Spanish contemporary hits
format, and is branded as "El Zol 95.3.” Owned by
Spanish Broadcasting System
, it serves the
Greater Orlando
area. The station's transmitter is located in
Pine Hills
.
History
[
edit
]
Prior to
Cox Enterprises
buying the station in 1999, the station was WTLN-FM, a contemporary Christian outlet. But after the sale that same year, on January 15, it flipped to
Dance Top 40
as
95.3 Party
, and became a success in the market with its mix of dance and hip-hop music.
[1]
By 2004, the station had shifted to a hip-hop-driven direction, and rebranded as
rhythmic contemporary
Power 95.3
, restoring the format to Orlando since the flip of
WJHM
(now WQMP) to
urban contemporary
in the 1990s (WJHM returned to Rhythmic in 2012, but changed to
CHR
in 2014).
On April 27, 2018, WPYO flipped to CHR, maintaining the
Power
branding and some of its airstaff. The change came in response to WQMP's recent flip to
alternative rock
, which briefly gave
WXXL
a monopoly in the format within the Orlando market.
[2]
In 2019, Cox Media Group transferred WPYO, along with
Tampa Bay
sister station
WSUN
, to CXR Radio, LLC, a divestiture trust run by Elliot B. Evers.
[3]
The transfer followed the sale of the remainder of Cox Media Group from Cox Enterprises to
Apollo Global Management
;
[4]
Cox had owned five FM stations in Orlando, one over the FCC limit of four, and the sale eliminated this
grandfathered
status.
[5]
On February 9, 2022,
Spanish Broadcasting System
(SBS) announced it would purchase WPYO and WSUN from CXR Radio for $12.5 million. The deal marks SBS’ entry into both markets.
[6]
A version of the
Power
format without on-air personalities moved to one of
WCFB
's HD Radio subchannels, running as a commercial-free stream through the station's former app and website under the rebranded name "Power Orlando".
[7]
The flip left
WXXL
as the only CHR station remaining in the Orlando-Winter Haven market until country station WOTW flipped to rhythmic contemporary as
WFYY
in August 2022 (that station flipped to talk radio as “Florida Man Radio” in March 2024 due to low ratings).
On the station's final day as "Power", the station paid tribute to the run of "Power" and "Party" with an all-day live broadcast from 5:30 a.m. to midnight deemed "The Last Damn Show", where longtime listeners and former DJs dating back to the days of "Party" called in the station to give their personal station memories and give their own final farewell; in addition, the station would give a final run-through of their playlist, playing music through the day from each era of the station (from the dance music of "Party" to the hip-hop and pop music of "Power"). At midnight on April 1, 2022, after the entire airstaff gave one final goodbye before playing "
Raise The Roof
" by
Uncle Luke
(the first song that played on the station when it launched as "Party”; this was immediately followed by a final
station identification
and the playing of a final bumper for "Party" and one for "Power", which would fade out on an echo effect, followed by a moment of silence), the station flipped to a temporary simulcast of former sister station
WDBO
. On April 29, 2022, SBS officially closed on their purchase of WPYO; around 9:00 a.m. that day, the station began
stunting
with a loop of songs featured in their new
Spanish contemporary hits
format, which debuted May 9 at 6:00 a.m. as "El Zol 95.3," with “
El Incomprendido
” by
Farruko
being the first song played.
[8]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Cox's WTLN/Orlando Throws A CHR 'Party'
"
(PDF)
. p. 20
. Retrieved
2023-09-18
.
- ^
"Power 95.3 Orlando Shifts To Top 40"
.
RadioInsight
. 2018-04-27
. Retrieved
2018-04-29
.
- ^
"Cox-Apollo Radio Deal, With $500,000,000 Price Tag, Filed With FCC"
.
All Access
. July 3, 2019
. Retrieved
July 20,
2020
.
- ^
"Cox Earmarks WSUN Tampa, WPYO Orlando For Spin-offs"
.
Inside Radio
. June 28, 2019
. Retrieved
July 20,
2020
.
- ^
"CMG Radio Management To Stay Intact"
.
Radio Ink
. June 26, 2019
. Retrieved
July 20,
2020
.
- ^
"SBS To Acquire WPYO Orlando & WSUN Tampa"
.
RadioInsight
. 11 February 2022
. Retrieved
2022-03-28
.
- ^
"Power 95.3 Orlando To Sign-Off Thursday"
.
RadioInsight
. 28 March 2022
. Retrieved
2022-03-28
.
- ^
"SBS Begins Stunting on 95.3 Orlando and 97.1 Tampa"
.
RadioInsight
. 29 April 2022
. Retrieved
2022-04-29
.
External links
[
edit
]
26°53′08″N
80°05′17″W
/
26.8856036°N 80.0879376°W
/
26.8856036; -80.0879376