95X

[mart]

What years did this station exist and how did it do in the ratings? I remember hearing this station in 1985 with 100% american top 40 hits with spanish speaking dj's and spanish commercials...from what I could tell, not a bad sounding station!

 

[DavidEduardo]

What years did this station exist and how did it do in the ratings? I remember hearing this station in 1985 with 100% american top 40 hits with spanish speaking dj's and spanish commercials...from what I could tell, not a bad sounding station!

In the late 60's and early 70's, this was, I believe, WEYA, "Ella" a station targeted at women. It had no numbers. It became 95-X some time in the 80's ('82 is my guess) as a CHR after the co-owned WRAI AM tried the format. Eventually, toward the early 90's, it became oldies and in 95' sold to Primeda, a local group who later sold to Chancellor. If you want exact dates, not an era, I can find out from a former staff member. Since the station was not a ratings factor, I did not pay much attention to it.

The reason they went CHR was that, while in 1978, the total FM share was about 14%, in early '79 a major market shift occured and the FM band, by mid-year, was over 60%. So about a year or so later, 94.7 went to a pop type format.

 

[mart]

I have an hour aircheck of the station from October 1985 and the closest thing to a spanish song was "Spanish Eddie" by Laura Branigan. On the aircheck they had a promo for American Top 40 with Casey and a recorded tag at the end (in spanish) and cool sounding jingles.

I do recall hearing the station again in 1988 when I made a trip to San Juan and I think it was called CD 95 then, still a CHR, a little more rock oriented and a simucast station in Mayaquez (95.1?).

Did WRAI-AM take the Top 40 format after WBMJ-AM (Radio Rock)? and did WMEG-FM become CHR after 94.7 dropped the format in the early 90's?

If you could find out more info from the formar staffer, that would be great!

Thanks for info David

 

[DavidEduardo]

I do recall hearing the station again in 1988 when I made a trip to San Juan and I think it was called CD 95 then, still a CHR, a little more rock oriented and a simucast station in Mayaquez (95.1?).

They simulcast with the Pirallo's WAEL-FM, owned by the "other" half of the family. It was not "CD" but "Oldies 95".

Did WRAI-AM take the Top 40 format after WBMJ-AM (Radio Rock)?

No, it was concurrent. WRAI had no ratings. WBMJ died in January, 1979 when WZNT debuted. It went from a 15 share to less than an 8 and then to a 5 share, and was sold to Jerry Masucci of Fania Records, and it went Salsa oldies in about 1982.

and did WMEG-FM become CHR after 94.7 dropped the format in the early 90's?

No, WSRA became WMEG in about 1988... and became CHR then. WMEG forced WRAI to go to oldies.

Most of these were low or mid-share stations, so as I said, they did not appear on my radar to the point I remember the changes...

 

[mart]

I did find out that CHR WGSX-FM (95X) went to oldies in 1992 as "oldies 94.7". Also WSRA-FM changed calls to WMEG-FM in june 1991, so I am assuming that's when they went CHR. So I think you meant that WMEG forced WGSX to switch to oldies about a year later. Anyway CHR (top 40) radio has interesting over the years on a anisland that's primarily spanish speaking.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I did find out that CHR WGSX-FM (95X) went to oldies in 1992 as "oldies 94.7". Also WSRA-FM changed calls to WMEG-FM in june 1991, so I am assuming that's when they went CHR. So I think you meant that WMEG forced WGSX to switch to oldies about a year later. Anyway CHR (top 40) radio has interesting over the years on a anisland that's primarily spanish speaking.

WSRA became mega several years before that... I programmed WSRA from sign on till about 6 months before it became mega (when I became VP of Arso Radio Corp instead of just consultant) and that was somewhere around 88, I believe.

Nearly every market in Latin America has one or two mostly US music CHRs. Where I interned in 63 one of my jobs was to do the mixes of the original US CHR hit and the Mexican cover in Spanish to create the "Bilingues 7-90" for XERC, Mexico City.