WFID

WFID
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico;
Broadcast area	Eastern Puerto Rico
Frequency	95.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	Fidelity
Programming
Format	Adult Contemporary
Ownership
Owner	Uno Radio Group; (Madifide, Inc.);
Sister stations	WUNO/WPRP/WORA/WCMN; WPRM/WIVA/WRIO; WTOK-FM; WCMN-FM/WMIO; WNEL; WLEO
History
First air date	November 17, 1958
Call sign meaning	FIDelity
Technical information
Facility ID	10063
Class	B
ERP	50,000 watts
HAAT	287 meters (942 feet)
Transmitter coordinates	18°16′0.00″N 66°5′5.00″W / 18.2666667°N 66.0847222°W
Links
Website	fidelitypr.com

WFID (95.7 FM, "Fidelity") is a radio station licensed to serve Río Piedras, Puerto Rico established in 1958. As of 2015^[update] it is owned by the Uno Radio Group, and the broadcast license held by Madifide, Inc.

WFID broadcasts an adult contemporary music format.^[2]

History

WFID's predecessor was Fidelity Broadcasting Corporation. The founders were Rafael Acosta and his wife Victoria Suarez, who, with no employees, made their first broadcast from their house with a 250W FM transmitter on November 17, 1958.

Originally, WFID was allocated the frequency of 95.9 MHz, but this frequency was at that time catalogued as Class A, subject to restrictions on power, so Acosta applied for a change of frequency to 95.7 MHz, class B, allowing power to be increased in 1962 to 12,500 watts. Acosta frequently travelled to the United States to stay up to date with technology, particularly the Gates transmitters and equipment. Acosta died in 1971, before FM became predominant. In 1962 the station had some employees, and became the first FM radio station broadcasting in stereophonic sound in Puerto Rico and Latin America. After Acosta' death the station was managed by Suarez, known as Doña Vicky, and the Acostas' son José Julián and daughter Carola. In 1980 Beautiful Music Service began broadcasting uninterrupted music for businesses. In 1983 the recently acquired WUNO AM station was turned into NotiUno, a newstalk radio station. As of 2015^[update] the 50,000-watts WFID was owned and operated by Arso Radio Corporation under Jesús Soto, who had been a friend of Acosta's.

One of Mr. Acosta's personal friend was the famous announcer and brother of the talented, The voice of Carlos Montalbán, a friend of Acosta and brother of Ricardo Montalbán, was the principal announcer in the early 1970s. WFID was the first FM radio station broadcasting "salsa", tropical music in stereo sound, Saturday nights on their program "El Bailable Don Q". The program later was modified to Spanish ballads when the first "salsa" FM station came on the air. That radio station was Jesus Soto's WPRM-FM, SalSoul 98.

Satellites

Callsign	Frequency	City of license	Broadcast Area	ERP	HAAT	First air date	Former callsigns	Licensee
WFDT	105.5 FM	Aguada	[1]	3,000 watts	304.0 meters	1977	WRFE (1977-1992) WNNV (1992–2000)	Arso Radio Corporation
WZAR	101.9 FM (HD Radio)	Ponce	[2]	14,000 watts	789.0 meters	1966	WLEO-FM (1966-1979)	Uno Radio of Ponce, Inc.

Programming

Vamo' Arriba
Fidelity al Mediodía
El Happy Hour
De Vuelta a Casa
Fidelity Nocturno
Fidelity Dance Fever
Fidelity Gospel

In the seventies, WFID programs included:

Temas Musicales del Cine
Nuestra Estrella Invitada
Melodías Identificadas
Juntos Con Don Q (Saturday night, 1979)
Duos Musicales
Oldies Sábado en la noche (1980's)
The Music Man (Friday night)
Domingo de recuerdos.
Jazzeando, smooth jazz Sunday night, and other programs sponsored by different businesses.

In the sixties programming included segments like :

The General Electric Stereophonic hour (this is the time when they played the few stereophonic records they could find).
La Hora Hípica (with Pito Rivera Monge, network with WUNO, WLEO and WLEY among others).
El Bailable Don Q (Saturday night)

References

^ "The Facilities of Radio". 1979 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-251.
^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.