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From the Spokesman-Review
Headline: “Spanish language radio station launches in Spokane; replaces classic rock station OZ 95.7”
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jul/20/spanish-language-radio-station-launches-in-spokane/UPDATED: Mon., July 20, 2020
WRITER: Amy EdelenSpokane-based Legend Broadcasting LLC recently launched a new commercial Spanish language radio station, making it the first of its kind in the Spokane market, the company says.
Legend Broadcasting, which owns KYOZ, replaced classic rock station OZ 95.7 with Ke Buena 95.7 on Monday. Ke Buena is also broadcast on 1330 AM.
Legend Broadcasting general manager Tom Hodgins made the decision to switch the station’s format after conducting internal market research and discovering a growing market for Spanish-language programming.
“It gave us an opportunity to grow, whereas I don’t know if we could have continued to grow in the prior format,” Hodgins said, adding that Spokane has two other classic rock stations in addition to the former OZ 95.7.
Ke Buena also fills a programming gap for Spokane’s Hispanic community, which was lacking a local Spanish language radio station, Hodgins said.
Spokane County’s Hispanic population grew from 5% in 2015 to 6.1% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The closest Spanish language stations to Spokane are in the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla.
Ke Buena, which is expected to reach nearly 500,000 people and more than 50,000 Spanish speakers, will broadcast MLC Media’s “La Numero Uno,” a Los Angeles-based syndicated radio network. It will also broadcast “Erazno y la Chokolata” in the afternoon, a program that includes news, comedy and music, said Benjamin Reed, programming consultant for Ke Buena and Spanish-language radio host.
Ke Buena plans to work closely with the Spokane community to bring local elements to the station and it will soon be releasing apps to tune into the network digitally, Reed said.
(Poster’s Note: FM 95.7 is really KYOZ-AM 1330’s cross-service translator running 210 watts K239CL-FM – it covers most of Spokane.)
A language not often heard on the dial in Portuguese. While dialing into KCKX tonight I heard a bilingual Portuguese/Spanish religious sermon on AM 1460 Stayton. (Most Spanish speakers can understand the general context of spoken Portuguese – often during a sports program an interview with a Brazilian soccer player will not get overdubbed into Spanish. Luso-Portuguese from Europe is another story…)
KIVI in Nampa-Boise has been running a series of stories about Spanish-language radio. The reporter did a nice job, especially on the translations… The second story frequently rings true for many Latinos involved in community radio,
The station featured is KBWE in Burley, a Class A FM. Each story has embedded video:
I noticed the logo of the California-based Radio Lazer showing up on the website of Gorge Country Media (KLCK, KYYT, KRSX) in the Goldendale-The Dalles area. The translator K276EE on 103.1 which once carried KWCQ Condon apparently is owned by Gorge Countty Media since 2016 , relaying KYYT 102.3 HD2. Is this correct? Any local listeners can confirm this?
Three radio-relayed transactions recently happened impacting the Tri-Cities and NE Oregon markets ,all by the same buyer. This demonstrates the continued growth of Spanish-language radio in the Northwest.
Radio Buy #1: Alcon Media (Noemy Rodriquez) purchased from Xana Oregon LLC , KZLY (FM) Ione, for $225,000. The transmitter site is located on a ridge 40km southeast of Hermiston. It’s a Class C3 running 1.8kw ERP at 370M HAAT, reaching Hermiston, Boardman and Umatilla. The 60 dBu contour does miss Pendleton by a bit. The station has been operating as “La Raza 99.5” with Diamante Media of the Tri-Cities as the LMAer (Website: diamantemedia.net). Trade press reports indicate Alcon Media will take direct operation.
Radio Buy #2: Alcon Media purchased a full powered station and one translator in the Tri-Cities from Alexandra Communications. It’s KQFO FM 100.1 in Pasco. Right now it’s a C2 at 8.4kw ERP but will jump to C1 status at 40kw ERP (317M HHAT) and whose 60dBu contour then will encompass Pendleton. This $736,000 bundle included a Kennewick translator at 106.9 (K295AV) which at 136 watts even hits most of Richland. Diamante has been programming 100.1 as the “La Ley 100.1” and the HD-fed translator as “La Reyna 106.9” (sic).
Radio Buy #3: Alcon Media continued its buying spree picking up two more Tri-Cities translators, also HD-fed. K258CN (Richland) “La Ley” and K285FN (Kennewick) “Radio Exitos” – a bundle for $75,000. (The sales arrangement posted on the FCC website were heavily redacted.)
If you add in Bustos Media’s rimshotters and CCR-TriCities’ KZHR (Dayton) you have a really crowded Hispanic radio market in that area.
(If anyone spots a new website for these stations please post the URL – Thanks.)
On Thursday, I noticed that 1130 was back on the air, simulcasting 940 KWBY. I suspect that this is being done just to keep the license active.
It may vary. The easiest way to answer that question is to look at the station’s license. There used to be Class minimums but I don’t know if they are still in place.
Bustos Media runs “regional-themed” websites for its station clusters.
Seattle – laradiodeseattle.com
Portland – laradiodeportland.com
Chico (CA) – laradiodechico.com
Milwaukee (WI) – laradiodemilwaukee.comSo what’s the website for their massive cluster from Wenatchee to Milton-Freewater? It’s …
laradiodeaqui.com
La-Radio-de-Aquí (Literally, “The Radio From ‘Here'” )
The Bustos Media enterprise added another domain to their collection: laradiodetucson.com
Why? Bustos recently bought K223CI, a 76-watt translator in Tucson. The sales prices was an incredible $450K. The translator (fed by KZLZ HD2 / new lease) is now running a younger-demo Spanish-language format called “Urbana”. A lot of rap, raggaeton, etc.
What does this have to do with the Northwest? It seems Bustos has been running this format on KZTM 102.9 HD2 in Centralia for awhile. If successful , could this format end up in metro Portland on an (analog) FM station?
It appears that Spanish language stations are among those which looked better in the diary system than PPM. I don’t expect any serious FM competition to El Rey anytime soon. Regional Mexican attracts a young audience, despite the fact that much of the music sounds 400 years old to me! There really isn’t room here for any other Spanish format.
Speaking of Spanish language radio format, we don’t have Spanish Language sports radio (Tudn) Spanish contemporary music (Shakira, Mana, Jessy and Joy, Luis Fonsi), Spanish Rhythmic Hits (Bad Bunny, Nicky Jams, Maluma,J. Balvin) in the Portland area. Only Regional Mexican and Spanish Christian radio format.
As I attempted to say, there isn’t enough of a Spanish audience in Portland that’s diverse enough for another Spanish format. Any other station would have to be Regional Mexican and that would just split the audience further. If we were still using the diary system for ratings, that might be possible but not with PPM.
Bustos made two failed attempts at bringing to Portland Spanish language music formats that were not specifically Mexican. The first was “Romance 1150,” which focused on contemporary ballads, presumably targeting a female demographic. Later, there was “Exitos 93.5,” a hit music format that was on KXET 1150, though the branding deliberately avoided mentioning the primary AM signal and only mentioned the translator.
I am not an expert on local Mexican-American culture, so I can only speculate on the demographic or psychological reasons that stations like Romance and Exitos failed in this market. My first observation is that “regional Mexican” is not a musical style, but a creation of radio program directors. The format is an amalgamation of several different musical styles that are strongly associated with Mexico in order to create a distinctly Mexican sound. People who feel a yearning for extended family and homes in Mexico are naturally drawn to such a format. As a testament to that, I vividly recall that when KUIK had Spanish programming on weekends, listeners would call in with shout-outs to family and friends in Mexico, and these usually included references to Mexican states or cities. This was in the late 1990s, so the friends and family could not have heard the greetings, but it was a feel-good exercise for the listeners that took part.
If our area had a Spanish-speaking population that were primarily Puerto Rican or Cuban, Spanish language radio would sound quite different. If the Spanish-speaking population of this area were split between several different countries in a roughly equal fashion, then the Spanish hit music formats would have a much greater chance.
The “old-timey” sounding Mexican music is likely Ranchera valseada. This style uses a 3/4 time signature, much like waltz (the term “valseada” means “waltzed,” and it was coined by Spanish-speakers mimicking the way that Germans pronounce “Waltz”). In some Latin American countries, very notably Mexico, sizeable German expatriate communities developed during the 19th century, and these immigrants brought elements of German culture, such as waltz.
I only know a bit of Spanish, but I love “Romantica” Luis Miguel is one of my favorite artists. But trying to find that format in the NW is nearly impossible. I used to know the GM at KTNQ LA years ago, and I as told “Romantica” was only popular with the older listeners and most Spanish language stations wanted to reach the young people. Like around here on the coast the few Spanish stations run Ranchiro or border music, which I am not a fan of. The Latinos have their music playing while working and most of it is the border stuff. Pretty much the same with English language stations, they want to reach the youth. Salsa is nice, but again a Cuban or Puerto Rican type music format.
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