WQHT
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| City | New York, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | New York City area |
| Branding | Hot 97 |
| Slogan | "Where Hip-Hop Lives" |
| Frequency | 97.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1948 (as WNNJ at 103.5) 1949 (97.1, as WNBC-FM) |
| Format | FM/HD1: Rhythmic contemporary HD2: HumDesi Radio |
| ERP | 6,700 watts |
| HAAT | 408 meters (1,339 ft) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 19615 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°44′54.00″N 73°59′10.00″W / 40.7483333°N 73.9861111°W |
| Callsign meaning | W Q HoT |
| Former callsigns | WNBC-FM (1949–1954 and 1960–1975) WRCA-FM (1954–1960) WNWS (1975–1977) WYNY (1977–1988) |
| Owner |
Emmis Communications (Emmis License Corporation of New York) |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | hot97.com |
WQHT (97.1 FM) – also known as Hot 97 – is an American radio station in New York City under the corporate ownership of Emmis Communications. The station broadcasts on 97.1 MHz FM. Despite being billed as a Rhythmic CHR station on Mediabase and Nielsen BDS, WQHT primarily plays mainstream urban hits, with a few pop-leaning titles on occasion. It is one of two flagship radio properties of Emmis, in addition to co-owned KPWR ("Power 106") in Los Angeles.
The studios of WQHT are based in the Hudson Square neighborhood in Manhattan, and the transmitter is atop the Empire State Building.
WQHT broadcasts in the HD format.
The history of the 97.1 frequency goes back to 1949, when experimental station W2XWG came on the air in 1940 on 42.6 MHz. That station became W51NY when it moved to 45.1 MHz. On September 22, 1944, W51NY began commercial operations as WEAF-FM. After several frequency and call letters changes, WNBC-FM was established at 97.1 by 1949. It usually simulcast WNBC's AM programming. In 1954, it changed its call letters to WRCA-FM (reflecting NBC's then-parent company, RCA), but reverted to WNBC-FM in 1960.
WNBC-FM played classical music in the 1950s; it later switched to pop music. It ran network programming for some time, such as the NBC Monitor weekend series. By the 1970s, it was playing a pop-rock format. Beginning on June 4, 1973, it experimented with a fully automated programming scheme with local inserts known as "The Rock Pile"—a forerunner of today's DJ-free adult hits format with a wide diversity of pop, rock and R&B that proved to be 30 years ahead of its time—but technical glitches were frequent and listenership dropped. For a brief period starting in late 1974, the station attempted a fully automated beautiful music format for a younger demographic, called "The Love of New York".
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