WKDM
Encyclopedia
WKDM 1380 is a United States ethnic brokered radio station serving New York City
and owned by Multicultural Broadcasting
. The station broadcasts in Mandarin Chinese, 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday.
in central New Jersey. It operated 18 hours a day with general entertainment and brokered programming.
In 1960 WBNX was sold to United Broadcasting. By the mid-1960s, WBNX was airing a Spanish contemporary music format during most of its hours, with some Jewish-oriented and Italian-language programming on weekends.
In 1984 the station was renamed WKDM and became a full-time operation as United paid WAWZ owner Pillar of Fire to give up its portion of the time-share (WAWZ continued to operate on FM). It remained successful until the advent of a fulltime Spanish
format on WSKQ-FM in 1989, which pulled away listeners. As a result, in the early 1990s the station began to carry more leased-access/brokered shows. In 1992 it went completely brokered, and was sold to Multicultural in 1994.
In 1999 Multicultural transferred WKDM to Mega Communications in exchange for cash and various Washington D.C. area stations. Mega changed the call letters to WNNY and instituted an all news Spanish format (Noticas 1380). Eventually, the all-news evolved into a news/talk format. This format was not successful, and by 2002 Mega had changed the call letters to WLXE and the format to Mexican pop music as "X-1380". A few months later, Multicultural bought the station back and reinstated the WKDM call sign and the brokered programming policy.
Since 2007, WKDM has broadcast in Mandarin Chinese 24 hours a day Monday through Friday, featuring drama, popular music, talk shows, news program, children’s programs and sports, as well as programs from China and Taiwan. Also in 2007, a construction permit was granted to allow the station to increase its nighttime power from 5 kW to 13 kW.
The WBNX call sign is now used on UHF Channel 55
in Cleveland, Ohio
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and owned by Multicultural Broadcasting
Multicultural Broadcasting
Multicultural Broadcasting is a media company based in New York City founded by Chinese-American businessman Arthur Liu. Multicultural caters mostly to the Asian American community and owns television and radio stations in several of the top markets in multiple languages.-History:This company was...
. The station broadcasts in Mandarin Chinese, 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday.
History
The station began operation in 1926 as WBNX, the call letters reflecting the station's location in the borough of the Bronx. It changed frequencies several times during its early years, eventually finding a permanent home on 1380 kHz, sharing time on the frequency with religious broadcaster WAWZWAWZ
WAWZ is a contemporary Christian music radio station located in Zarephath, New Jersey. It is a Listener Supported/commercial radio station owned by the Pillar of Fire Church. The station's target demographic is a 25-34 year old female...
in central New Jersey. It operated 18 hours a day with general entertainment and brokered programming.
In 1960 WBNX was sold to United Broadcasting. By the mid-1960s, WBNX was airing a Spanish contemporary music format during most of its hours, with some Jewish-oriented and Italian-language programming on weekends.
In 1984 the station was renamed WKDM and became a full-time operation as United paid WAWZ owner Pillar of Fire to give up its portion of the time-share (WAWZ continued to operate on FM). It remained successful until the advent of a fulltime Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
format on WSKQ-FM in 1989, which pulled away listeners. As a result, in the early 1990s the station began to carry more leased-access/brokered shows. In 1992 it went completely brokered, and was sold to Multicultural in 1994.
In 1999 Multicultural transferred WKDM to Mega Communications in exchange for cash and various Washington D.C. area stations. Mega changed the call letters to WNNY and instituted an all news Spanish format (Noticas 1380). Eventually, the all-news evolved into a news/talk format. This format was not successful, and by 2002 Mega had changed the call letters to WLXE and the format to Mexican pop music as "X-1380". A few months later, Multicultural bought the station back and reinstated the WKDM call sign and the brokered programming policy.
Since 2007, WKDM has broadcast in Mandarin Chinese 24 hours a day Monday through Friday, featuring drama, popular music, talk shows, news program, children’s programs and sports, as well as programs from China and Taiwan. Also in 2007, a construction permit was granted to allow the station to increase its nighttime power from 5 kW to 13 kW.
The WBNX call sign is now used on UHF Channel 55
WBNX-TV
WBNX-TV, virtual channel 55 , is the CW television affiliate serving the Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Ohio television market; it brands itself as "WBNX, The CW". The studios are located in Cuyahoga Falls and the transmitter is in Parma, although it is licensed to Akron...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.