| ATSC 3.0 station | |
|---|---|
| |
| City | Fairfax, Virginia |
| Channels | |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | 6.1:The Country Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Signal AboveLLC |
| Operator | Costa Mesa Boston |
| History | |
| Founded | 1996 (29 years ago) (1996) |
Former call signs |
|
Former channel number |
|
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 20450 |
| Class | LD |
| ERP | 3 kW |
| HAAT | 189.9 m (623 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 38°52′28.2″N77°13′23.6″W / 38.874500°N 77.223222°W /38.874500; -77.223222 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Radio station information | |
| Frequency | 87.7MHz |
| Branding | QuéOnnda 87.7FM |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | queonnda |
WDCN-LD (channel 6), branded on air asQuéOnnda 87.7FM, is alow-power television station licensed toFairfax, Virginia, United States, serving theWashington, D.C.,metropolitan area. Owned by Signal AboveLLC, WDCN-LD markets itself as a conventionalFMradio station, broadcastingSpanishcontemporary hits.
WDCN-LD has itsstudios on Old Gallows Road inTysons. Thetransmitter is on Lee Highway (US 29) nearInterstate 495 (The Capital Beltway) inMerrifield.[2]
In theanalog television era, stations on television channel 6 broadcast anFM audio signal at 87.75 MHz which is receivable by ordinary FM radios. Some low-powered stations – colloquially known as "Franken-FMs" – took advantage of this fact and a loophole inFederal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations that did not require a television station's video and audio content to be related (only that there is some sort of video content) to market themselves as radio stations.
WDCN-LP began broadcasting primarily audio content in 2009, prior to which it was a conventional television station broadcasting Spanish religious programming. At first, it was to be leased to Mega Media as the second outlet forPulse 87, which had already been on the air atWNYZ-LP inNew York City; the deal fell through and Mega went bankrupt later in the year.[3][4] Instead, the station began broadcasting Spanish hits as "La Nueva 87.7". This continues to the present day, with a branding change to "DC 87.7" in 2022 when Costa Media took over programming at the same time it purchasedWFAX (1220 AM).[5]
Low-powered analog stations were exempt from the 2009digital television transition, allowing WDCN-LP to continue operating as a Franken-FM. However, the later set a 2021 deadline for all low-powered stations to cease operating in analog. Several Franken-FMs proposed experimentally embedding an FM carrier at 87.7 MHz inside anATSC 3.0 signal, which tests later showed to be technically feasible; the FCC initially allowed this underspecial temporary authority grants, provided the stations broadcast at least one accompanying television service, and the FM and television signals had similar coverage.[6] On July 20, 2023, an FCC "Report and Order" included this station as one of 13"FM6" stations allowed to continue to operate an FM radio broadcast, as a "ancillary or supplementary" service.[7]
WDCN-LP signed off on July 13, 2021, the day on which the FCC ended all analog television operation nationwide.[8] It restarted operations on October 5, 2021, carryingThe Country Network and the embedded FM signal.[9]
WDCN-LP previously simulcast on co-owned WOWZ-LP, another low-power channel 6 station, licensed toSalisbury, Maryland, and serving theOcean City–Salisbury area. That station has since switched to a simulcast ofWVES.[10]
From 2010 through 2012, WDCN-LP was the home for Spanish-language broadcasts ofD.C. United soccer games. WDCN-LP carried all of the team's games, including those not broadcast on television.[11]
Since the2019 NFL season, WDCN-LD is the flagship Spanish-language radio station of theNFL'sBaltimore Ravens.[12]
WDCN-LD and co-ownedWFAX (1220 AM) broadcast allWashington Nationals games in Spanish for the2024 season.[13] Prior to the2025 season, the agreement was extended for an additional three years.[14]
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 1080p | 16:9 | WDCN | The Country Network |
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