| Broadcast area | Atlanta metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1080kHz (analog) |
| Branding | La Ley 1080 AM |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | Regional Mexican |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Prieto Broadcasting, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | November 14,1955 |
Former call signs | WBIE (1955–1974) WCOB (1974–1985) WEKS (1985–1987) WECA (1987–1988) |
Call sign meaning | WaitingForTheDay (previous religious format) |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Class | D |
| Power | 50,000watts day 30,000wattscritical hours |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°01′24″N84°40′03″W / 34.023303°N 84.667372°W /34.023303; -84.667372 |
| Translator(s) | 96.5 W243DQ (Marietta) since 2019 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | [ laley1080am.com | Website] (Incomplete) |
WFTD (1080kHz) is a commercialAMradio stationlicensed toMarietta, Georgia, United States and serving theAtlanta metropolitan area. The station is owned by Prieto Broadcasting, Inc.[1] and airs aRegional Mexicanformat. Programming is also heard onFMtranslatorW243DQ at 96.5MHz.[2]
By day, WFTD operates at the maximum power permitted for AM radio stations, 50,000watts. Duringcritical hours it runs 30,000 watts, in both cases using adirectional antenna system. WFTD is classified as aClass D station according to theFederal Communications Commission, so it mustsign-off during nighttime hours to avoid interference toclear channel stationsWTIC inHartford, Connecticut, andKRLD inDallas, also onAM 1080.
On November 14, 1955,WBIEsigned on as afull-servicedaytimer facility owned by James M. Wilder.[3] Wilder later started asimulcast on WBIE-FM 101.5 MHz (nowWKHX-FM). WBIE's original operating frequency was 1050 kHz, powered at 500 watts, using anon-directional antenna. In 1965, WBIE moved to 1080kHz with 10,000watts directional, still daytime only. That enabled WBIE to pick up theCBS RadioNetwork affiliation for the Metro Atlanta area, which it held onto well into the 1970s. Several noted newscasters worked at WBIE early in their careers, including Steve Walsh (later atKGO/ABC News), and Chris Little (KFI News Director).[4] Over the years, the station switchedcall signs, to WCOB in 1978, WEKS in 1985, and WJYA in 1986. WFTD's current call sign has remained with the station since 1988; during this period station transmitter power was increased to 50,000 watts, though still a directional daytime-only operation.
From the 1980s through the 1990s, WFTD was the official radio home of Roswell Street Baptist Church and broadcast the weekly sermon of longtime pastor Dr. Nelson L. Price as well as additional RSBC programming. Roswell Street renamed the station as WFTD, which stands for "WaitingForTheDay" that Jesus Christ returns.
Through the early 2000s, WFTD aired programming for theMexican-American community. In July 2007 WFTD switched formats to carry aKorean language radio format, branded as "Atlanta Radio Korea", as a result of alocal marketing agreement (LMA).
On June 9, 2008, WFTD was a victim of amolotov cocktail bomb when a former employee who had been fired two months earlier walked into the station's Norcross studios and left a bomb there. As a result of the bomb, a small fire was sparked, but was quickly extinguished and the man who threw the cocktail suffered severe burns.[5]
By mid-2009, "Atlanta Radio Korea" was simulcasting its programming with 1040WPBS. A short time later, "Atlanta Radio Korea" was heard exclusively on WPBS and dropped from WFTD. WFTD then started carrying Mexican-American music and talk programming under the "Radio La Ley 1080 AM" branding. From 2015, this station has been broadcasting Vietnamese programming.
In December 2016, Atlanta Radio Korea purchasedWQXI (simulcastingWSTR) and flipped it Korean programming. In turn, Viet Song Media bought WPBS and switched it to Vietnamese programming on New Year's Day 2017. WFTD then flipped to oldies, specializing in tunes from the 1950s and early 1960s, without any DJs and repeating their identification after every song.
Effective July 1, 2017, WFTD dropped the temporary "oldies" format, and returned to Spanish language programming under the name "La Mega Mundial" (The latter format first appeared onWTBS-LP analog channel 6, until 2016).
On January 2, 2018, its Spanish CHR format was relaunched.