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WLII-DT (channel 11), branded on-air as TeleOnce, is a television station licensed to Caguas, Puerto Rico, serving the U.S. territory as an affiliate of Univision and UniMás. Owned by Liberman Media Group, the station maintains studio facilities on Calle Carazo in Guaynabo, with additional studios at The Mall of San Juan. Its transmitter is located near the Bosque Estatal de Carite mountain reserve.
 | This article contains promotional content. (April 2019) |
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| City | Caguas, Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding |
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| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Liberman Media Group LLC[1] |
| History | |
| Founded | 1960 |
First air date | May 23, 1960[2] |
Former call signs |
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Former channel number(s) |
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Call sign meaning |
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| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 19777 |
| ERP | 54.5 kW |
| HAAT | 350 m (1,148 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 18°16′47″N 66°6′45″W |
| Translator(s) | |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | TeleOnce |
TeleOnce operates two satellite stations: WSUR-DT (channel 9) in Ponce and WOLE-DT (channel 12) in Aguadilla.
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Telecadena Perez-Perry (1960–1981)
In 1960, Rafael Perez Perry received authorization from the government to start WKBM-TV on May 23, broadcasting on channel 11, as part of his new 'Telecadena Perez-Perry' chain of television stations. Some of the shows that WKBM-TV aired during these years included:
- Una Hora Contigo and Tira y Tapate with Myrta Silva
- Yo Soy el Gallo with José Miguel Class
- El Show de Carmita with Carmita Jiménez
- El Show de Lissette, El Show de Iris Chacón, El Hit del Momento, and El Super Show Goya with Enrique Maluenda, Lillian Hurst, and Luz Odilia Font
- Una Chica llamada: Ivonne Coll and Cambia Cambia with Alfred D. Herger
- Almorzando and Del Brazo with Ruth Fernández
- Mediodia Circular with Vilma Carbia
At the time, Perez Perry owned one of the most successful radio stations on the island, WKVM (810 AM). Perez Perry died of a heart attack of unknown cause while he was working on the transmitter in the late 1970s; his death eventually resulted in WKBM-TV declaring bankruptcy in 1981. The station went silent that year. Its former competition benefited from WKBM's demise—not only from a reduction in competition itself, but also from the availability of many of the stations' former hosts and talent.
TeleOnce (1986–2002)
In 1985, production company Lorimar-Telepictures (with the Telepictures division now part of Warner Bros. Television) acquired the station from bankruptcy court. The callsign became WLII-TV on December 12, and was branded as 'TeleOnce' on April 27, 1986, with a new slogan: "TeleOnce... Vívelo!" (lit. 'TeleOnce... Live it!').
Warner Communications (now part of Warner Bros. Discovery) gained indirect ownership of the stations after it bought Lorimar-Telepictures in 1988. The station became a success around this time by airing popular American programs translated in Spanish, especially The Simpsons. However, its lack of a repeater or rebroadcaster on the western portion of the island continued to put it behind the competition, WKAQ-TV (channel 2) and WAPA-TV (channel 4). This changed when WNJX-TV (channel 22) in Mayagüez signed an affiliation agreement with the station in the late 1980s. WLII was subsequently sold to Malrite Communications Group in 1991 after it sold WSTE-TV (channel 7); Malrite merged with Raycom Media in 1998.
On January 1, 1995, at midnight, TeleOnce entered into its first marketing agreement with a television station in western Puerto Rico, WORA-TV (channel 5), which at that time had ended an affiliation agreement with WKAQ-TV. In turn, WKAQ-TV switched its affiliation agreement to WOLE-TV (channel 12), which was WAPA-TV's repeater station at the time; this left WAPA-TV out of the western Puerto Rico television market for the first time in 30 years.
Some of the shows that aired on WLII during this time included:
- En Un Día, R con R
- El Show de Awilda
- Dime la Verdad
- Ellas al Mediodía
- La Noche es Nuestra
- Fiesta
- A Fuego
- Pulso Preciso
- Lio
- El Super Show
- Que Suerte que es Domingo
- Anda Pa'l Cará
- Entrando por la Cocina
- NBA Jam
- Atácate (a Spanish-language version of NBA Inside Stuff)
- El Kiosko Budweiser
In addition, the station aired live boxing fights during the weekends—some of which were hosted and promoted by Ivonne Class, the first Puerto Rican woman to become a boxing promoter.[4]
In the late 1980s, actresses Ángela Meyer and Camille Carrión founded Empresas Meca, a production company, which produced some of the last telenovelas shot in Puerto Rico: La Isla, Ave de Paso (starring Yolandita Monge), Yara Prohibida, and La Otra.
Univision Puerto Rico (2002–2021)
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In 2002, Univision entered into a local marketing agreement with Raycom Media to operate WLII and WSUR-TV. At the time, WLII had a longtime local marketing agreement with another Puerto Rican station, WSTE (channel 7), which Univision honored. Both WLII and WSUR-TV were sold to Univision Communications in 2005; Univision bought WSTE at the end of 2007. Although Univision operated a second network, UniMás, in the mainland United States, WSTE remained an independent station. In 2005, WLII relocated from its studios in the Puerta de Tierra area of San Juan to a new facility in Guaynabo.[5][6][7]
On October 17, 2014, WLII-DT laid off 109 staffers and canceled most of its local programming, becoming a repeater of Univision network programming with minimal local content. With the move, the station's daily talk show, Ruben & Co., became the only local program still produced by WLII. In addition, WLII shared a general manager with Univision's Puerto Rico radio stations.[8]
On February 25, 2020, investment firms ForgeLight (launched by founder, CEO, and ex-Viacom CFO Wade Davis) and Searchlight Capital agreed to acquire the 64% controlling stake of Univision Communications which owned WLII-DT, while minority owner Televisa continued to hold its 36% stake with the company. However, both Searchlight and ForgeLight had a stake in Hemisphere Media Group, which owns WAPA-TV in San Juan. Univision was required to divest WLII and its satellite stations in order to comply with ownership limits.[9][10][11][12]
Liberman purchase and the return of TeleOnce (2021–present)
On August 27, 2020, Univision announced that WLII and its satellite stations would be acquired by Liberman Media Group, a company owned by Estrella Media founder Lenard Liberman, for $1 million each.[13] The sale was completed on December 10, 2020. Univision retained WSTE-DT, WKAQ-AM, and WKAQ-FM. It was also reported that WLII would bring back the TeleOnce branding, which the station used for 15 years from 1986 to 2002.[14] On January 19, 2021, Liberman Media Group named Winter Horton as the new general manager for the station.[15]
WLII-DT (and its repeaters) aired as Univision Puerto Rico until February 18, 2021, when the on-screen branding switched to TeleOnce at 8 p.m. The station held a press conference unveiling the new station logo and a new slate of programming, which included the return of local newscasts after more than six years since the dissolution of the original news department. Longtime WAPA-TV news director José Enrique Cruz was named as an adviser for the newly established news department. The debut of new shows, like Ahora Es que Es and a new season of La Comay, brought high ratings for the revamped network.[16][17][18]
On March 2, 2021, WLII's second digital subchannel launched as a UniMás affiliate, branded as UniMás Puerto Rico.[19]
On July 2, 2021, Liberman Media Group and TeleOnce entered a distribution agreement with SBS operated stations WACX-DT11 in Orlando, Florida,[nb 1] and WGCT-LD in Tampa, Florida, to show TeleOnce programming on their stations. Local programs La Comay, Jugando Pelota Dura, and Ahora Es que Es began airing on Mega TV stations either live or on the same day they originally aired in Puerto Rico.[20] This agreement marked the first time that local Puerto Rican programming was exported to the mainland United States since the launch of WAPA America in 2004.[citation needed]
On December 8, 2021, WLII-DT unveiled their new studio facility at The Mall of San Juan. The facility, which occupies one of the empty anchor spaces at the shopping center, was unveiled during the station's upfront presentation which was held at the site. The station's new game show, La Boveda de Mr. Cash, was the first to broadcast live from the new studios when it premiered on March 1, 2022.[21]
WSUR-TV history (1958–present)
WSUR-TV was founded on February 20, 1958, by American Colonial Broadcasting.[22] In 1963, the station was located on Avenida Tito Castro (Puerto Rico Highway 14) in the La Rambla sector of Barrio Machuelo Abajo; its transmitter tower was located within the municipality of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, and it was an affiliate of WAPA-TV, but carried two local programs from Ponce.[22] The station transmitted its analog signal over VHF channel 9.[22]
Currently, WSUR originates no local programming of its own. Its tower is now located at Cerro Jayuya in the border between the municipality of Ponce with Jayuya.[23]
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Las Noticias (1986–2014, 2021–present)
Las Noticias Teleonce is the flagship news program for WLII and its repeater stations, it is currently anchored by Celimar Adames Casalduc during its day editions and by Ricardo Curras and Shirlyan Odette during its night edition.
The news program originated in 1986 and ran four editions weekdays and two on weekends until its abrupt cancellation in 2014 by Univision who decided to close the station's news department. In 2020, Univision sold TeleOnce to Liberman Media Group and the new ownership quickly reopened the station's news department and revived Las Noticias.[24][25][26][27][28][29]
Tu Mañana/En La Mañana (1991–2014, 2023–present)
On March 11, 1991, a weekday morning news program, Tu Mañana, made its debut; the program was anchored by Carlos Ochoteco and Cyd Marie Fleming and featured segments such as panels of experts on different topics. Over the course of its history the program was hosted by Burni Torres and Felipe Gomez, Nuria Sebazco and Elwood Cruz, and finally, Grisell Mamery and Gredmarie Colón. After the closure of the station's news department Tu Mañana was cancelled. The show's revival finally arrived in 2023 after Liberman Media Group's purchase of WLII from Univision. The new version of the show will now be called En La Mañana and it premiered on October 30, 2023.
Jugando Pelota Dura (2017–present)
In November 2017, it was announced that the political analysis show Jugando Pelota Dura would move to Univision Puerto Rico after initially premiering on NCN Television and Sistema TV.[30] The show, hosted by radio personality and former PPD legislator Ferdinand Perez with a panel of journalists and political analysts discussing current events, began airing soon thereafter during the 6 p.m. spot, before bouncing around several timeslots on the station.[31][32] Currently the program airs at 7 p.m. and features Alex Delgado from NotiUno, Cyd Marie Fleming and Margarita Aponte as contributors, both of whom were original reporters for Las Noticias prior to it shutting down in 2014.
On August 28, 2022, the show premiered its new special Sunday edition called Jugando Pelota Dura: Puerto Rico Habla ('Puerto Rico Speaks'). The show works as a town hall meeting where a live audience is welcomed and encouraged to ask questions on social problems and a panel of experts and local politicians is present to respond to these issues and offer solutions. The specials will air once a month on Sundays in the show's usual time slot of 7 p.m. and will take place from the channel's studios at The Mall of San Juan.[33][34]
Acuéstate con Francis (2021–2022)
On June 11, 2021, WLII announced the surprise signing of Puerto Rican comedian Francis Rosas, who had worked as part of comedy projects on WAPA-TV for over 20 years. The deal with Rosas allowed the comedian to launch his own comedy show with him serving as executive producer and his production company (Rosas and Pitbull, Co.) working alongside WLII's owner, Liberman Media Group, in the production of other future projects.[35][36]
At the time of Rosas' signing with WLII, the comedian was still under contract with WAPA-TV's Sanco Productions, owned by actor and comedian Sunshine Logroño. On July 2, 2021, Logroño and his wife Gilda Santini sued Francis Rosas and his production company for breach of contract (Rosas had signed a 2-year extension to his contract with WAPA-TV in January 2021); additionally, the lawsuit asked Rosas to pay $100,000 in damages and included a request for the court to prohibit Rosas from appearing on any television network until the end of his deal in October 2022.[37] On July 15, 2021, The First Instance Court of San Juan denied the injunction by Logroño to prohibit Rosas from appearing on any other television network until 2022, stating: "The court recognized an artists' liberty of working where they pleased."[38][39]
On September 27, 2021, it was announced that the title of Rosas' upcoming show would be Acuéstate con Francis ('Go to Bed with Francis'). The show's premiere date was scheduled for October 11, 2021, at 10 p.m. Rosas described the show as a family show that would follow a late-night talk show format, featuring sketches, interviews, and games with a variety of guests and a live studio audience.[40][41] The show officially premiered on October 11, 2021, featuring guests Félix Trinidad, Celimar Adames Casalduc, and musical guest Nio Garcia who performed his single "Tus Poses". The premiere also featured special appearances by Danilo Beauchamp and Alejandro Gil, who worked alongside Rosas on WAPA-TV; the duo teased joining Rosas on WLII in the future.[42]
On July 13, 2022, WLII-DT operator Liberman Media Group cancelled the show. The final episode aired on Friday July 15, 2022, and featured Rosas' comedy partners Danilo Beuchamp and Alejandro Gil, urban artist Alejo, and influencer Andrea Ojeda Cruz "La Peki" as guests; it closed with the show's house band playing the chorus to Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping". Rosas is expected to continue to work with the station and will develop a new show through his production company.[43][44]
La Boveda de Teleonce (2021–present)
Premiering on March 1, 2022, from TeleOnce's new studio facility at The Mall of San Juan, as La Boveda de Mr. Cash (Mr. Cash's Vault) the game show was initially hosted by Josue Carrión and featured a series of games where participants would try and win cash prizes and an opportunity to enter The Vault where they would have 30 seconds to retrieve prizes such as electronics, home appliances and more.[45][21] Initially scheduled to premiere on January 31, the date was pushed back,[46]
On August 5, 2022, WLII announced that La Boveda would move to prime time—starting August 22, 2022, the show would air at 8 p.m., following Jugando Pelota Dura. It was also announced that Josué Carrión would not continue as host and the show would be renamed La Boveda ('The Vault'); co-hosts Andrea Rivera, Luis Fontánez "Finito", and Awilda Herrera continued hosting the show after Carrión exit and were joined by musician Andres Waldemar as co-host.[47][48]
The new version of the show, which premiered on August 22, 2022, featured the introduction of TeleBingo a live bingo game where the audience watching at home got to play using bingo cards distributed through the local newspaper El Vocero and local supermarkets and restaurants. The prize is $1,000 for the winner of the live bingo game but if there's no winner by the end of the week that prize money will continue to double until there is a winner.[49][50][51][52][53]
On June 27, 2023, host Andres Waldemar announced through his social media pages that he would no longer be hosting La Bóveda after almost one year on the show. The network announced that comedian Danilo Beauchamp would take over as host of the show.[54][55][56][57]
PR En Vivo (2022–present)
Following the cancellation of Acuestate con Francis in July 2022, it was clarified that although the show was ending, comedian Francis Rosas was still under contract with Liberman Media Group and that he was already working on his next project for the station. On September 16, 2022, it was announced on La Comay that the station planned to premiere a new midday show featuring Rosas alongside radio personality Deddie Romero as co-host. On September 27, the station confirmed that the show would be called PR En Vivo ('PR Live') and would air weekdays at 12:30 p.m. and have a half-hour duration. It premiered on October 10, 2022. The show features Rosas and Romero discussing a variety of lifestyle issues, news, and conducting interviews with guests. A biweekly (Mondays and Wednesdays) segment featuring PNP Representative Jorge "Georgie" Navarro will also give viewers the opportunity to call in and report local issues to be resolved by the politician.[58][59][60]
On January 30, 2024, it was announced that PR En Vivo would now be an hour show starting February 12. With the extra half hour added, the show is now set to start at 11 a.m. and serve as a lead in for Las Noticias: Al Mediodía.[61]
El Poder del Pueblo (2022–present)
In January 2022, Gary Rodriguez signed an agreement with WLII to join the station's newscast Las Noticias and eventually develop his own show.[62] On October 21, 2022, WLII-DT announced a new project titled El Poder Del Pueblo ('The People's Power'), which would focus on community issues affecting Puerto Ricans. Rodriguez would host the show and be joined by Jessica Serrano and Shalimar Rivera (who previously worked for the station on the cancelled Ahora Es que Es). Additionally, the show would feature Ricardo Eladio Martínez (who previously worked on La Comay as a reporter), Carlisa Colón (making the jump from WKAQ-TV where she guest-hosted Alexandra a las 12), Rocky "The Kid", and professor Jorge Suárez Cáceres.[63] The program premiered on October 31, 2022, at the 2:55 p.m. timeslot and served as a lead-in for Las Noticias. The addition of El Poder Del Pueblo increased WLII-DT's local programming production to 35 hours per week.[64]
The program is filmed at the channel's studios in Guaynabo. It follows a panel show format wherein Rodriguez sets up a topic for Rivera, Gallart, and Colón to discuss while the audience can voice their own positions through on-screen polls. Jessica Serrano and Ricardo Eladio serve as on-field reporters covering news stories outside the studio. Additionally, the program features segments with collaborators such as Janet Parra, who served as a prosecutor for the Puerto Rico Justice Department and will be in charge of breaking down local crime stories and their subsequent court proceedings. Local politicians Jorge Suarez, Jorge Colberg, and Joanne Rodriguez Veve also feature as collaborators with occasional segments.[65][66]
On January 17, 2023, Rocky "The Kid" announced he was leaving the show just three months after the premiere. Gallart cited burn out and wanting to spend more time with his family while announcing his decision on La Comay. Though other personalities have been filling Gallart's role, a permanent replacement has not been announced yet.[as of?][67][68]
On November 1, 2023, just a day after the show's first anniversary, the show went through a major change of its presenters. Carlisa Colón announced she was leaving the show to go back to WKAQ-TV and Shalimar Rivera was relieved of her duties by the production. Former senator and political commentator Zoe Laboy would make the jump from WKAQ-TV to join El Poder del Pueblo as a result of these changes, her first episode aired on November 6, 2023.[69]
En Alerta (2024–present)
After the abrupt ending of the La Comay show in December 2023, TeleOnce needed a new show for the 5:55 p.m. time slot. On January 5, 2024, the station announced the new show would be called En Alerta (On Alert) and would feature extraordinary stories and unexpected situations, the format of the program is compared to that of Primer Impacto and Al Rojo Vivo. On January 10, 2024, TeleOnce announced that the show would be hosted by Jessica Serrano (who also works as a reporter on El Poder Del Pueblo) and Yan Ruiz (who was La Comay's sidekick before the show's abrupt ending). The show premiered on January 15, 2024, at 5:55 p.m. and has a duration of 35 minutes due to TeleOnce's decision to add an extra half-hour to Jugando Pelota Dura and have that show start at 6:30 p.m.[70][71][72][73]
Pa' Ganar y Reir con Teleonce (2024–present)
On January 30, 2024, TeleOnce announced a change in their daytime schedule with the addition of a new game show. The show would be titled Pa' Ganar y Reir con TeleOnce (To win and laugh with Teleonce) and would be hosted by Luis "Finito" Fontánez (who also serves as co-host of La Bóveda de Teleonce) and Wanda Sais (who joins from, WAPA). The show will be based on presenting games that viewers can play from their home by calling into the show. Pa' Ganar y Reir will take over PR En Vivo's old time slot of weekdays at 12:30 p.m., right after Las Noticias and will only have a half hour duration. Veteran actor Adrián García is also expected to join the show to act alongside Sais in comedy sketches.[74][75][76]
Edición Puerto Rico (2018, 2021)
In March 2018, the network announced plans to restore a news program with the creation of Edición Puerto Rico. The program is a 30-minute no-anchor, voiceover, videotaped newscast which, in addition to being broadcast in Puerto Rico, is shown on many Univision-affiliate stations owned by Entravision (such as Boston, Orlando, and Tampa) and Unimás owned-and-operated stations in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Raleigh, and Atlanta. It airs on weekday mornings, except in Puerto Rico, where it airs weeknights at 11 p.m. (the first local-themed newscast at that timeslot since the news department shutdown in 2014). On March 8, 2021, the newscast returned as Edición Puerto Rico, and aired weekdays at 5:30 p.m. (25 minutes) and 10 p.m. (60 minutes). The final newscast produced at the studios of WOLE-DT in Aguadilla aired on July 9, 2021.
Edición Digital Puerto Rico (2019–2021)
After more than five years without newscasts, WLII-DT aired a 60-minute local news program called Edición Digital Puerto Rico, similar to WKAQ-TV and WAPA-TV's news offerings. This newscast was produced at the studios of sister station WOLE-DT in Aguadilla, and started on April 22, 2019, and ended on March 5, 2021. The newscast focused on events happening in and around Puerto Rico and the United States, and interacted with viewers through social media platforms. The program also aired on WOLE, Facebook Live, and Univision Puerto Rico's mobile app and website.
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Subchannels
The stations' signals are multiplexed:
Analog-to-digital conversion
WLII shut down its analog signal on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 56 to VHF channel 11, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.[79] WSUR switched to digital-only broadcasts on January 23, 2009, broadcasting on VHF channel 9 (or virtual channel 9.1).
Satellite, repeater, and translator stations
WLII programming can be seen across Puerto Rico on the following stations:
| Station | City of license | Channels | First air date | ERP | HAAT | Facility ID | Transmitter coordinates |
Public license information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WOLE-DT | Aguadilla | 12 (VHF) 12 |
May 10, 1960 | 47.5 kW | 661 m (2,169 ft) | 71725 | 18°9′0″N 66°59′0″W | Public file LMS |
| WSUR-DT | Ponce | 9 (VHF) 9 |
February 20, 1958 | 21.6 kW | 857 m (2,812 ft) | 19776 | 18°10′9″N 66°34′36″W | Public file LMS |
| W21CX-D | Mayaguez | 21 (UHF) 12 |
1996 | 18.1 kW | 0.2 m (1 ft) | 71730 | 18°18′51″N 67°11′30″W | LMS |
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- WACX is owned by Associated Christian Television System, Inc. (ACTS), with SBS leasing subchannel space from ACTS.
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