WIAC (AM)
| City | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Puerto Rico |
| Branding | WIAC 740 AM |
| Slogan |
Más Noticias Más Análisis Más Variedad |
| Frequency | 740 kHz |
| First air date | March 1947 |
| Format | News Talk/Spanish Variety |
| Power | 10,000 watts |
| Class | B |
| Transmitter coordinates | 18°21′24″N 66°14′5″W / 18.35667°N 66.23472°W |
| Callsign meaning |
West Indies Advertising Company |
| Former callsigns | WIBS (1947-1951) |
| Former frequencies | 580 kHz (1942-1951) |
| Affiliations | Square Multimedia |
| Owner | Bestov Broadcasting Group (Bestov Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| Sister stations |
WYAC WISA |
| Website | www.wiac740.com |
WIAC (740 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information and Spanish Variety format. Licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico (a possession of the United States), it serves the Puerto Rico area. The station is currently owned by Bestov Broadcasting Group.
The station was rebroadcast through a synchronous repeater, WI2XAC Ponce, which also broadcasts at 740 kHz. On April 19, 2017 the Federal Communications Commission ruled that WI2XAC's license will not be renewed. The ruling stated that it must discontinue operation on May 29, 2017 and the license would be cancelled on May 30, 2017.
A petition for review of the order to cancel WI2XAC's license was submitted on April 24, 2017.
Puerto Rico's first advertising agency, the West Indies Advertising Company (WIAC), was founded in San Juan in 1933, by the Abarca family, which also owned a successful structural steel company. By 1942 the advertisement agency's management founded WIAC-AM at 580 kHz, with Félix Muñiz, the brother of Tomás Muñiz (and uncle of Tommy Muñiz, as its administrator. Due to the untimely death of Félix, Tomás became the station's administrator soon after.
WIAC was operating on 580 kHz in San Juan from 1942 to 1947, and it is currently occupied by WKAQ. WIAC officially began operations in March 1947 moving to the current frequency, 740 AM, replacing WIBS in Santurce.
During the 1950s & 1970s, WIAC was the only radio station broadcasting weather forecasts every 10 minutes & public affairs programming.
In 1961, Bestov Broadcasting, Inc. (a radio company owned by Alan Mejía and his brother, Luis Mejía) acquired the station, along with WIAC-FM 102.5 FM (formerly Sistema 102), which began operations that same year. In 1962, WISA 1390 AM in Isabela begins operations serving the western and north area, and it is owned by Mejia's subsidiary, Isabela Broadcasting, Inc., this serving as a satellite of WIAC. In 1982, WIAC changed its news programming, with the branding of WIAC NotiReloj. In 1998, WIAC NotiReloj became Cadena Radio Puerto Rico, with a News/Talk format. In 1999, Bestov Broadcasting acquires WEKO 930 (now WYAC) in Cabo Rojo from David Ortiz Cintron, a radio entrepreneur from Cabo Rojo, which becomes a repeater of WIAC. Bestov also acquires WTIL 1300 AM in Mayaguez and would become the repeater of WEKO until 2003.
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