WMIA-FM

93.9 FM signed on the air December 1, 1948, as WLRD, the first standalone FM station in Miami.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49627319/|date=November 28, 1948|work=The Miami Herald|title=FM Station WLRD On Air Dec. 1|page=9-F|access-date=April 26, 2020}} It was built by Alan Henry, Leo and Yvette Rosenson, doing business as the Mercantile Broadcasting Company; studios were in the Mercantile National Bank building at 420 Lincoln Road.{{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=83716 |title= History Cards for WMIA-FM|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards) The original {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on|sp=us}} mast at 812 First Street was damaged in Hurricane King in 1950.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196256/|title=Six Radios Lose Towers: Temporary Aerials Put Stations Back On Air|page=1-A|first=John|last=Oppitz|work=The Miami Herald|date=October 19, 1950}} Early programming was background music.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196285/|title=WLRD Warns Users Of 'Unplugged' Music|page=15-A|work=Miami Daily News|date=April 25, 1954}}

The station became WAHR-FM in 1956{{r|hc}} after the establishment of WAHR (1490 AM) two years prior.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49622990/|title=Radio Station WAHR On Air|date=October 31, 1954|page=10-A|work=Miami Daily News}} From this point, the FM primarily simulcast the AM. Both stations were sold to Community Service Broadcasting of Cincinnati in 1958, with the call letters changed to WMET-AM-FM,{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196396/|title=Radio Notes And Comments|work=The Miami News|page=14|date=May 18, 1958}} Four years later, WMBM-FM struck out on its own with a jazz format{{cite news|title=Jazz Buffs Get Own Station|page=4B|work=The Miami News|first=Kristine|last=Dunn|date=April 9, 1962}} and changed its call sign to WMVJ ("Miami's Voice of Jazz"). The change was reverted the next year, but it split off again as WGOS in 1966. Initially airing a gospel format, this changed to country "Wild Goose Country". In 1968, WGOS became WBUS; by 1970, it had turned the letters into business, airing a business news format.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196673/|title=Radio to Do Local Fights|page=9-D|work=The Miami Herald|date=May 25, 1970}} Three years later, WBUS flipped to progressive rock as "The Magic Bus".{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196716/|title=Zoo World: Soft line on hard rock|first=James|last=Trotter|pages=Tropic 16, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196739/ 18], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196745/ 20]|date=October 6, 1974}} A jazz format returned in 1974, and the station hired Symphony Sid out of retirement for its air staff.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196778/|title=Symphony Sid Hired by WBUS, Ends Two Years of Retirement|page=7-D|date=October 19, 1974|work=The Miami Herald}}

On October 29, 1976, after losing money with the jazz format, the station became WWWL "Love 94", changing to a "soft rock" adult contemporary format.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196817/|date=September 24, 1976|title=WBUS Drops Jazz Format|work=The Miami Herald|page=4-D|first=Jack|last=Anderson}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196836/|title=The Good News: Billy Joel; The Bad: WBUS Is Dead|first=Bill|last=Cosford|date=October 29, 1976|work=The Miami Herald|page=2-C}} DJ Irene Richard (later Irene Richard Brandon) joined the station in 1976, becoming one of South Florida's earliest, pioneer female broadcasters. The WLVE call letters were adopted in 1984 after being surrendered by a station in Madison, Wisconsin.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89196926/|title=WNLT new call letters for WLVE/FM|page=47|work=The Capital Times|date=March 22, 1984}} Later, the soft rock transitioned to smooth jazz and was successful for many years. On Sunday mornings, Love 94 had a Sunday Jazz Brunch program hosted by Stu Grant and a Brazilian Jazz program called "Brazilian Love Jazz" hosted by Gina Martell every Sunday evening. It also had a satellite station, WWLV 94.3 in West Palm Beach from 1998 to 2003. In the later years, however, due to the increasing amount of R&B and Adult Contemporary music being added to the playlist by Broadcast Architecture (which WLVE adopted in 2007), the ratings started to decrease drastically.

On December 25, 2008, WLVE flipped to rhythmic AC as "93.9 MIA." The demise followed the lead of similarly formatted stations in other cities, such as Dallas, Houston, New York City and Washington, D.C. The first song was Will Smith's "Miami", which is a reflection upon where the city it broadcasts from.[https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/netgnomes/595/love-94-wlve-miami-to-become-939mia WLVE Miami To Change Formats]

In 2010, WMIA-FM began adding more pop titles from artists such as Maroon 5, Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift to its playlist, following a pattern used by sister stations such as WWVA-FM and WISX which eventually evolved out of, or switched from rhythmic AC, as the station became more hot adult contemporary. In November 2010, the station switched to all-Christmas music. While there were rumors that the station would flip to adult top 40 after the holidays, the rhythmic AC format returned on Christmas Day 2010, at 11:58 am, with "Material Girl" by Madonna being the first song to be played. By that time, although WMIA-FM had continued to be listed on Mediabase's hot AC panel, its playlist had shifted back to a rhythmic direction with less hot AC material. By June 2012, BDS has moved the station to the Top 40 panel due to its increasing amount of rhythmic pop product, although this was done to complement sister station WHYI-FM, who is the market's primary Top 40/CHR outlet, and to a lesser extent, to shift the older 1980s, 1990s and 2000s product to adult hits sister WSHE.

Once again, in December 2012, WMIA-FM revamped their direction to adult top 40 with recurrents from the 1990s and 2000s, billing themselves as "90s and Now". The majority of rhythmic material that had not charted on that format was dropped, only to reinstate it by the spring of 2013, when it dropped most of the 1990s music and changed its slogan to "Today's Hits". It also adopted an adult top 40 presentation, using the same approach as sister station WKTU in the New York City market,[http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/public%20factsheets/Soundscan/BDS_StationsMonitored.pdf BDS monitored radio panel update] and in early 2014, changed slogans to "Miami's Variety from the '90s to Now". In May 2014, WMIA-FM changed their slogan to "93.9 MIA Means Variety" and added 1980s hit songs to their playlist.

On August 8, 2014, WMIA-FM rebranded as "MY 93.9" with their slogan becoming "More Music, Better Variety". This change came after WMIA-FM was the lowest rated music station in the Nielsen ratings for the Miami market, with a 2.3 share in the July 2014 ratings. "MY 93.9" dropped most of the 1980s material from their playlist and focused on hits from the 1990s and 2000s.[https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/89673/wmia-miami-revamps-as-my-93-9 WMIA Miami Revamps As My 93.9]

File:WMIA 93.9MIA logo.png

On March 18, 2016, WMIA-FM rebranded once again as "93.9 MIA", shifting back to rhythmic AC with the new slogan "Rhythm from the 80s to Now."[https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/105544/wmia-miami-flips-back-to-rhythmic-ac WMIA Miami Flips Back To Rhythmic AC] In March 2018, the station shifted to hot adult contemporary. This put WMIA-FM in a crowded field for adult music competing between WFEZ, WLYF, WFLC and WRMF.{{Cite web |url=http://www.939mia.iheart.com/ |title=939 MIA - Variety from the 80s, 90s and Today! |access-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-date=September 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901174535/https://939mia.iheart.com/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.939mia.iheart.com/music/ |title=939 MIA Music - Recently Played Songs | 939 MIA |access-date=October 23, 2018 |archive-date=October 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160702/https://939mia.iheart.com/music/ |url-status=dead }}

On July 9, 2020, at Noon, WMIA-FM flipped to 1990s hits, branded as "Totally 93.9".{{Cite web |date=July 9, 2020 |title=iHeartMedia Launches 1990s Hits "Totally 93.9" In Miami |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/190654/iheartmedia-launches-1990s-hits-totally-93-9-in-miami/ |access-date=September 18, 2024 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}}

On February 9, 2022, at 6 am, WMIA-FM flipped back to hot adult contemporary, also reviving the "93.9 MIA" branding.{{Cite web|title=WMIA Drops All 90s; Launches New On-Air Lineup As DJ Laz Returns To Mornings With Kimmy B|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/219739/wmia-drops-all-90s-launches-new-on-air-lineup-as-dj-laz-returns-to-mornings/|access-date=February 10, 2022|website=RadioInsight|language=en-US}} "MIA" failed once again in its third go-around, finishing 20th in the market in their last books, the October 2023 Nielsen Audio market ratings, with a mere 2.1 share.

On November 24, 2023, at Noon, WMIA-FM relaunched as "Magic 93.9"; the station features a gold-based mix of Latin pop and English-language adult contemporary hits from the 1980s and 1990s (with its first song being "Conga" by Miami Sound Machine, and its playlist and promoted core artists including performers such as the Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Luis Miguel, Madonna. Marc Anthony, Michael Jackson, Selena, and Shakira), with on-air presentation and programming conducted in Spanish.{{Cite web |date=December 29, 2023 |title=Miami's 'Magic 93.9' Makes Ratings Splash In Maiden Book. |url=https://www.insideradio.com/free/miami-s-magic-93-9-makes-ratings-splash-in-maiden-book/article_4f2080da-a621-11ee-bcff-9b654a37aeb9.html |access-date=September 18, 2024 |website=Insideradio.com |language=en}}

iHeartMedia's chief programming officer Tom Poleman stated that the format was designed to appeal to bilingual listeners "that love the big Anglo hits but want to be spoken to in Spanish", emphasizing "the importance of companionship in radio, how the elements between the songs are our unique proposition", and that a "Spanglish" presentation would not have had the same cultural impact. The station launched with a full airstaff, with the most notable member being Humberto "El Gato" Rodríguez, formerly of WZTA and WRMA, in mornings.{{Cite web |date=November 24, 2023 |title=WMIA Flips To Bilingual AC Magic 93.9 |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/261424/wmia-flips-to-bilingual-ac-magic-93-9/ |access-date=September 18, 2024 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}} "Magic" proved more successful, with its December 2023 ratings increasing from 15th place to 6th among adults 25-54; Poleman credited word-of-mouth as having been a factor alongside the company's own marketing.{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2024 |title=Is Soft AC Unsound? Or Still Magic? |url=https://radioinsight.com/blogs/280434/is-soft-ac-unsound-or-still-magic/ |access-date=September 18, 2024 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}} By September 2024, the station had achieved its highest ratings share since the first run of the "MIA" format in 2009.{{Cite web |date=September 4, 2024 |title=August 2024 (7/18 – 8/14) Nielsen Audio PPM Ratings Day 2: Big Gains For WWBX & KXKL |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/280253/august-2024-7-18-8-14-nielsen-audio-ppm-ratings-day-2-big-gains-for-wwbx-kxkl/ |access-date=September 18, 2024 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}}

WMIA-FM signed on HD Radio operations in 2006. The HD1 sub-channel airs the same format as the analog, while the HD2 sub-channel initially aired a traditional jazz format. When the analog/HD1 format flipped to Rhythmic AC in 2008, the smooth jazz format moved to the HD2 channel. On July 11, 2014, WMIA-FMHD2 flipped to Country, branded as "93.5 The Bull", which was relayed on FM translator W228BV 93.5 in Fort Lauderdale.[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/89406/bull-launches-in-fort-lauderdale/ Bull Launches in Ft. Lauderdale] On July 1, 2016, Zoo Communications acquired W228BV, and on November 17 of that year, W228BV and Zoo's W284CS (104.7 FM) swapped formats and ownership, with the Country format moving to 104.7 (with iHeart now owning that translator), while the Dance/EDM format of W228BY began simulcasting on W228BV.[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/109199/revolution-bull-swap-frequencies-in-fort-lauderdale/ Revolution & Bull Swap Frequencies in Ft. Lauderdale]{{Cite web |url=http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=12 |title=HD Radio Guide for Miami-Ft. Lauderdale |access-date=September 23, 2016 |archive-date=September 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924031337/http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=12 |url-status=dead }} In addition, "104.7 the Bull" airs several NASCAR events from the Motor Racing Network.

{{Reflist}}

• {{officialwebsite|https://magic939miami.iheart.com/}}
• {{FM station data|51978|WMIA-FM}}
• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|158312|W284CS}}
• {{FXL|W284CS}}

{{Miami Radio}}

{{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Florida}}

{{The Bobby Bones Show}}

{{IHeartMedia}}

{{coord|25.968|N|80.209|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}

Category:1948 establishments in Florida

Category:IHeartMedia radio stations

Category:Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States

Category:Radio stations established in 1948

MIA-FM

MIA-FM