WSTE-DT

WSTE-DT, channel 7, is an independent television station that is licensed to Ponce, Puerto Rico. The station is owned by Univision Communications, as part of a duopoly with Univision owned-and-operated station WLII-DT (channel 11) and is also sister to radio stations WKAQ (580 AM) and WKAQ-FM (104.7). WSTE and WLII-DT share studios located in Guaynabo, WSTE's transmitter is located in Mayagüez.

History

1958–1969

The station first signed on as WRIK-TV on February 2, 1958, after receiving the FCC permit to go on the air on channel 7. It was the first television station in Ponce, and the third in the island of Puerto Rico, after WKAQ-TV and WAPA-TV, both were established four years earlier. It was owned by Alfredo Ramírez de Arellano. Its news director was Manuel Morales-Flores, with Felix Suria as production manager and Edmund Reid as its chief engineer. It transmitted from the Darlington building on Calle Marina in Ponce. It transmission tower was located on Hotel Ponce Intercontinental. It operated as an independent station, as did all stations in Puerto Rico at that time. In 1964, the station's staff had expanded to include president George A. Mayoral, general manager William Cortada, commercial manager and news director Luis A. Wito Morales, promotional manager Monsita M. Diaz, and chief engineer Americo Cintron.