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| Broadcast area | Miami metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1700kHz |
| Branding | Radio Mega 1700 AM |
| Programming | |
| Language | Multilingual |
| Format | Haitian Creole talk music and news World Ethnic |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WEXY,WNMA | |
| History | |
First air date | December 5, 1997 (27 years ago) (1997-12-05) |
Former call signs | WCMQ (1997–1999) WRNU (1999) WAFN (1999–2001) WJCC (2001–2006) (Station was deleted 2006, relicensed 2012)[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 87169 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 10,000watts day 1,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 25°54′2″N80°21′50″W / 25.90056°N 80.36389°W /25.90056; -80.36389 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | radiomega.net |
WJCC (1700kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationlicensed toMiami Springs, Florida, and serving theMiami metropolitan area. It is owned byMulticultural Broadcasting with studios on NW 58rd Street at NW 72nd Avenue inMiami. It broadcasts mostlyHaitian Creole talk, music and news with some other ethnic programming. The station has abrokered programmingformat, where hosts pay for their time on the air and may advertise their services and products. Most of the schedule is used by Radio Mega, which broadcasts in the U.S. andHaiti.
WJCC is aClass B station. By day, it is powered at 10,000watts. But to reduce interference to other stations on1700 AM, at night it drops its power to 1,000 watts. It uses anon-directional antenna. Thetransmitter is on NW 102nd Avenue near NW 138th Street inHialeah.[3] As part of theExpanded Band, there are only a handful of other radio stations in the U.S. and one in Mexico on 1700 AM.
WJCC originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band.
On March 17, 1997, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that 88 stations been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz. A radio station, at the timeWCMQ, was authorized to move from 1210 to 1700 kHz.[4] Its goal was to improve its signal, covering more of the Miami metropolitan area on the 1700 frequency. Thecall sign for the original WCMQ on 1210 AM was changed to WNMA on November 25, 1997, thus allowing aConstruction Permit for the expanded band station on 1700 AM to inherit the historic WCMQ call letters on December 5, 1997.[1] (The originalCMQ640 AM was a popular radio station in the 1940s and 50s in Cuba.)
AM 1700's call letters were changed to WRNU on February 1, 1999, and to WAFN on September 9, 1999. The station is notable as the first broadcasting home of South Florida sports radio personalityJorge Sedano, who began his career in 1999 as a host/update anchor/producer at WAFN ("The Fan"). He went on to a successful radio career withFox Sports Radio, and laterESPN. During its time as "The Fan", WAFN carried programming from New York'sWFAN660 AM, including thesyndicatedImus in the Morning.
AM 1700's call letters were changed again, to WJCC, on October 30, 2001.
The FCC's initial policy for expanded band stations was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.[4] Due to this requirement, WJCC was deleted on February 23, 2006. However, numerous other joint standard/expanded band station pairs had been permitted to operate beyond the initial five-year deadline, and a petition to resume operations was granted, with WJCC's license restored on October 4, 2012.[5] Since then the FCC deadline has been extended multiple times, and both stations have remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership.[6][7] Multicultural Broadcasting continues to own WNMA and WJCC, as well as WEXY 1520 AM, in the Miamiradio market.
