WSTL


WSTL is a radio station licensed to serve Providence, Rhode Island. The station is owned by Nelson Diaz. It formerly aired a Christian radio format; it now broadcasts a Spanish Tropical format programmed by Radio Sharon Foundation. Its programming is also heard on translator stations in Providence, W229AN and W235CN.
The station has been assigned these call letters by the Federal Communications Commission since July 7, 2006.

History

1940s

1947

The station was started as a 250-watt daytimer, WRIB with studios at the old Narragansett Hotel.

1950s

1952

WRIB increased its daytime power to the current 1 kilowatt. It was still a daytime-only station at this point.

2000s

2006

For many years, WRIB had aired mostly brokered programming, serving as an outlet for primarily ethnic broadcasters. Faith Christian Center, an evangelical megachurch in nearby Seekonk, Massachusetts, bought WRIB in 2005. While the station's time brokers had expected to be forced to find new homes for their programming, Faith Christian took WRIB off the air at 12:30 on July 7, 2006, with no advance warning, angering many of WRIB's former time brokers. The church only gave the time brokers a few hours to get their equipment out of the studios or face charges for trespassing. Some shows continue on other stations but others disappeared.

2010s

2017

On the morning of Friday, June 23, 2017, the station reported to be going off the air soon; they then went silent. On November 29, 2017 WSTL returned to the air with Spanish tropical, branded as "Mega 94.9".

Translators