Since September 22, 1988, WQHT-FM has served the New York Tri-State Area as an audio offering under the “HOT 97” brand, moving from 103.5 MHz under Emmis Broadcasting ownership. Originally fueled by freestyle dance music and extended remixes of pop hits, HOT 97 followed sibling “POWER 106” in Los Angeles in the early 1990s with a transition to Hip-Hop. Today, the “HOT 97” brand is where hip-hop lives for a generation of New Yorkers. Now, it is getting a television home.
Starting Tuesday (3/31), WASA-LD 24, licensed to rural Port Jervis, N.Y., will become the over-the-air home for MediaCo’s recently launched “HOT 97 TV,” bringing the offering to the home market of the longtime radio brand.
For those who have Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable TV service, one may tune to Channel 811 for SD and Channel 1236 for HD access.
HOT 97 TV brings “Mornings with Mero,” “Nessa On Air,” and the daily two-hour “HOT 97 News” live broadcast to viewers.
“This is a natural evolution of one of the most powerful brands in media,” said Kudjo Sogadzi, Executive VP of Content & Growth at MediaCo. “Expanding HOT 97 TV in New York allows us to meet our audience everywhere – on-air, on screen, and across platforms, while creating new opportunities for brands to engage with culture in real time.”
Maire Mason, who exited Spanish Broadcasting System to join former colleague Alberto Rodriguez at MediaCo as VP/GM of Local Markets, added, “This launch gives advertisers direct access to a deeply engaged audience through a truly multiplatform solution spanning TV, audio, and digital.”
WASA-LD is held by MediaCo’s Estrella Television Licensee LLC subsidiary and acquired the property from HC2 Broadcasting in May 2025. While its city of license is a small town along the Delaware River in Orange County, N.Y., where New Jersey and Pennsylvania touch New York, WASA’s transmitter sits atop 1WTC in lower Manhattan, bringing the station coverage of Bergen County, N.J.; Nassau, Rockland and lower Westchester County, N.Y.; and four of the five boroughs of New York. Due to its highly directional signal, WASA-LD does not cover Staten Island or points southwest of its transmitter.
