It’s a 100kw FM that has had eight call letters since signing on the air in 1963 and across the last 61 years has offered Beautiful Music, Disco, and, later Adult Contemporary programming as “W-Lite,” “Mix 96,” and “Star 95.7.” In October 2003, some format stability came with the arrival of WBTP and a hip-hop presentation as “The Beat.”
As of today, the hip-hop programming and brand can now be found on a pair of FM translators, which have traded their Spanish-language programming for R&B and throwbacks as WBTP has become “Rumba 95.7.”
The branding mirrors that of iHeartLatino properties in nearby Orlando and in Philadelphia and Boston, and means iHeartMedia seeks to more vigorously compete for Spanish-language listeners and Hispanic ad dollars in a market that only recently saw the entry of Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) and has been dominated by Hispanic FM pioneer Beasley Media Group.
In August 2005, Beasley-owned WYUU adopted a Spanish Contemporary format with a Tropical flair, under the “Máxima” brand. Then, on May 9, 2022, WSUN-FM became “El Nuevo Zol 97.1” under SBS ownership, as the station was sold by Cox Media Group due to ownership concentration changes that put them over FCC limits in Tampa-St. Petersburg.
WBTP’s lineup as “Rumba” includes The Enrique Santos Show, Sarykarmen Rivera, Los Anormales, Rodolfo El Chamo, and Laura Laserna, with more local talent joining soon.
As such, “The Beat” is now on W275AZ at 102.9 MHz in the City of Tampa and on Class C2 WRUB-FM 106.5 in Sarasota, which covers not only Sarasota and Manatee Counties but most of Pinellas County.
