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96.1 Now has flipped to Mix 96.1

As of today, Mix 96.1 has tweaked the playlist to 99% English. The station presentation and contest are still in Spanish.


OK, now this is even more odd. Mix 96.1 has decided to only air a few songs a day in Spanish? But just up the dial at 101.9 is WQXT, an English language AC station also owned by iHeart. So won't Mix 96.1 cannibalize its own sister station with a similar playlist?

Here's what was played in the last 90 minutes...

Christine Aguilera ... What A Girl Wants
The Backstreet Boys ... As Long As You Love Me
Sheriff ... When I'm with You
The Spin Doctors ... Two Princes
Bryan Adams ... Please Forgive Me
Cher ... If I Could Turn Back Time
Donna Summer ... Last Dance
REO Speedwagon ... Keep on Lovin' You
TLC ... No Scrubs
Club Nouveau ... Lean on Me
Chicago ... You're The Inspiration
Enrique Iglesias ... Be with You
Diana Ross ... I'm Coming Out

No Spanish-language songs. Enrique Iglesias has many songs in Spanish but this one is in English. Some of these songs are from the 80s, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Chicago. I think they'd be too old for an English language AC station to play for fear of going above the 25-54 demo.
 
OK, now this is even more odd. Mix 96.1 has decided to only air a few songs a day in Spanish? But just up the dial at 101.9 is WQXT, an English language AC station also owned by iHeart. So won't Mix 96.1 cannibalize its own sister station with a similar playlist?

In D/FW, iHeart essentially has two classic rockers in KZPS and KEGL...but they are differentiated enough with KZPS the more traditional classic rock outlet and KEGL essentially an active rocker with little in the way of current rock. Similarly, Cumulus has two country outlets in KSCS and KPLX...with KPLX a bit more gold to keep some playlist separation. Cox has both gold-based soft AC WDUV Tampa next to a much brighter AC WWRM.

KXXM looks mostly like a 80s-90s gold-based AC, while KQXT is 80s to now. Aside from that, having a Spanish-language presentation on one and the other English should further keep them differentiated from each other.
 
OK, now this is even more odd. Mix 96.1 has decided to only air a few songs a day in Spanish? But just up the dial at 101.9 is WQXT, an English language AC station also owned by iHeart. So won't Mix 96.1 cannibalize its own sister station with a similar playlist?

Here's what was played in the last 90 minutes...

Christine Aguilera ... What A Girl Wants
The Backstreet Boys ... As Long As You Love Me
Sheriff ... When I'm with You
The Spin Doctors ... Two Princes
Bryan Adams ... Please Forgive Me
Cher ... If I Could Turn Back Time
Donna Summer ... Last Dance
REO Speedwagon ... Keep on Lovin' You
TLC ... No Scrubs
Club Nouveau ... Lean on Me
Chicago ... You're The Inspiration
Enrique Iglesias ... Be with You
Diana Ross ... I'm Coming Out

No Spanish-language songs. Enrique Iglesias has many songs in Spanish but this one is in English. Some of these songs are from the 80s, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Chicago. I think they'd be too old for an English language AC station to play for fear of going above the 25-54 demo.
Mix 96.1 is 100% English titles. The last Spanish song was played Monday evening. The music library is from the late 70s to the 90s with Disco, Soft Rock, Rhythmic Pop, and Classic Rock. The format is still being tweaked as I am hearing music never aired before on this station.

I still believe Q101.9 will eventually drop the 80s and reposition itself to the 90s to Now. This will likely happen sooner than later.
 
Mix 96.1 is 100% English titles. The last Spanish song was played Monday evening. The music library is from the late 70s to the 90s with Disco, Soft Rock, Rhythmic Pop, and Classic Rock. The format is still being tweaked as I am hearing music never aired before on this station.

I still believe Q101.9 will eventually drop the 80s and reposition itself to the 90s to Now. This will likely happen sooner than later.
Mix 96.1 should probably drop the Spanish presentation and maybe become an AC that's different or complimentary to Q. Even Univision has English-language stations in SA for a reason.
 
Mix 96.1 should probably drop the Spanish presentation and maybe become an AC that's different or complimentary to Q.
It is very possible that they researched against Hispanics only. There are differences in the English language songs Hispanics like and those that non-Hispanic whites like.
 
It is very possible that they researched against Hispanics only. There are differences in the English language songs Hispanics like and those that non-Hispanic whites like.
Exactly, they should do what they're doing with English-speaking jocks and target an AC to English-speaking Hispanics.

To take another example, KMYO is not just an AC station aimed at Spanish-speaking Hispanics. It is an AC station aimed at Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants. That means virtually no songs in English and rancheras and cumbias on top of the ballads, even a handful of romantic bands songs. That is not only different from Miami's WMIA, that's different from Globo or Amor in Mexico! Both stations target demos who were affluent in their homeland.
 
Exactly, they should do what they're doing with English-speaking jocks and target an AC to English-speaking Hispanics.

To take another example, KMYO is not just an AC station aimed at Spanish-speaking Hispanics. It is an AC station aimed at Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants. That means virtually no songs in English and rancheras and cumbias on top of the ballads, even a handful of romantic bands songs. That is not only different from Miami's WMIA, that's different from Globo or Amor in Mexico! Both stations target demos who were affluent in their homeland.
The idea of blending soft regional Mexican with AC ballads and Grupera music is a purely United States creation. It was created by Amalia Gonzalez, the program director of KRCD in Los Angeles and intended to differentiate between la Nueva and K-LOVE.

Over 1500 songs were researched of which nearly 900 were playable. The format was set up to do what in the old beautiful music world we called matched flow. That meant that a great deal of attention was made to the transition from one song to another And the blend of multiple music types in each music sweep.

The target was 100% Mexican and Mexican American, but predominantly first generation. The first generation had generally grown up in smaller cities and rural areas in Mexico where radio tended to play a little bit of everything so listeners knew both Jose Jose and Vicente Fernández and everything in between. In addition, a great deal of attention was paid to the artists who had been predominant over the decades on the Televisa network.

Such a format had never been done in Mexico itself because, in Mexico, stations, want to appeal to the higher income levels if they can. That means that blending in Ranchetta and soft Norteña and even Banda ballads as well as light Cumbias was not something a station that played AC ballads and pop gold because it reduced the higher income appeal. And that is where the money is in Mexico.

Because so much of the music had extensive television exposure, auditorium music testing showed the same songs did just as well in Dallas and Houston as in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
 
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Not only that, but I believe in ages 6+ in the just released survey, they outranked all other Latino-focused stations in the market. Sister station KZEP trailed by just 0.2 shares. I suspect iHM is very pleased with the performance of that duo.
 
Both of you are correct. The latest book showed Mix 96.1 up by almost a point from where it was the last couple months, and it's the highest ranked Spanish-language station in the market. Whether it can sustain is still an open question, but I suspect it has exceeded expectations so far.
 
I admit, I thought the idea to get rid of all Spanish-language songs on a Spanish/English AC station was odd. The other iHeart stations with this format, mainly WMIA-FM Miami and WZJZ Fort Myers follow the same rules as Cox-owned WOEX Orlando and Emmis-owned WEPN-FM New York... three Spanish language songs per hour, the rest in English.

I guess I was wrong. It apparently is a good plan, going all English songs but keeping Spanish speaking DJs and mostly Spanish language commercials, promos and liners. Will KXXM influence other stations in this format?
 
I admit, I thought the idea to get rid of all Spanish-language songs on a Spanish/English AC station was odd. The other iHeart stations with this format, mainly WMIA-FM Miami and WZJZ Fort Myers follow the same rules as Cox-owned WOEX Orlando and Emmis-owned WEPN-FM New York... three Spanish language songs per hour, the rest in English.

I guess I was wrong. It apparently is a good plan, going all English songs but keeping Spanish speaking DJs and mostly Spanish language commercials, promos and liners. Will KXXM influence other stations in this format?
Let's pretend for a moment that you are a non-spanish speaker in a town that is Half&Half (like San Antonio). Suddenly all your favorite songs are on the radio, but the commercials are in Spanish. How much nicer is it to not have to hear the nasty accident lawyers and all the other crap, but rather to hear just some pleasant sounding Spanish that you can't easily understand unless you focus on it? So, to me this format is a real winner for dominant English listeners.
 
I guess I was wrong. It apparently is a good plan, going all English songs but keeping Spanish speaking DJs and mostly Spanish language commercials, promos and liners. Will KXXM influence other stations in this format?
Part of this can or could be that the station has researched those English language songs against only Hispanics who like English AC music in general. In most cases and markets, there will be a rather significant difference in taste, particularly among first and second generation Hispanics who do like English language music.

I don't know if they specifically researched in San Antonio, but iHeart's program head, Pedro Javier González, has been a firm believer in research going back to his days as PD of WFID in Puerto Rico.
 
I guess I was wrong. It apparently is a good plan, going all English songs but keeping Spanish speaking DJs and mostly Spanish language commercials, promos and liners. Will KXXM influence other stations in this format?

I'm not convinced we were wrong yet. If the numbers are still flat to up from the CHR days around Fourth of July, I'll admit defeat. When stations launch, some of them tend to get high numbers only to level off after about six months. People might be more interested in Mix 96.1 just because it's new, and they're still getting a feel for the station. Deciding whether it's the right fit for them can take a little white.
 
yah the ratings are tanking nobody is listening to this station english or spanish speaking...iHeart kills everything with their crappy cookie cutter formats...you have at least 3 other stations playing 80's or some mix of 80's ..90's..even 00's now...I'd implode it and go all classic modern/gold based altetnative format it will evoke the past Q96's dabble with modern and fill a void I'd even get rid of the call letters ..call it KNXS after INXS this market would eat it up and cut into the rockers who are dominating
 
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yah the ratings are tanking nobody is listening to this station english or spanish speaking...iHeart kills everything with their crappy cookie cutter formats...you have at least 3 other stations playing 80's or some mix of 80's ..90's..even 00's now...I'd implode it and go all classic modern/gold based altetnative format it will evoke the past Q96's dabble with modern
You are oversimplifying this.

(I think you are commenting on KXXM but am not sure. If not, ignore the rest of this.)

The station seems to be doing better demographically with the new target. And it is now in a unique position of presenting an alternative to all the other Hispanic targeted stations: English hits that the listeners like but with a presentation in the language they use with family and friends.

There are a lot of dollars in Hispanic targeted ad budgets. The general market stations that get lots of Hispanics can't compete as most will not take ads in Spanish. And advertisers likely believe that bilingual listeners to this station may have higher consumer spendable income than all-Spanish stations reach.

So they have a very salable format which can show itself from being different from the other Spanish language stations. While they will never get the kind of numbers the Miami station gets, they did create a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) which is easy to pitch to clients.

Remember, this is a market where over half of the population is Hispanic. And that is the last group of people you will get with some kind of alternative format.
 
You are oversimplifying this.

(I think you are commenting on KXXM but am not sure. If not, ignore the rest of this.)

The station seems to be doing better demographically with the new target. And it is now in a unique position of presenting an alternative to all the other Hispanic targeted stations: English hits that the listeners like but with a presentation in the language they use with family and friends.

There are a lot of dollars in Hispanic targeted ad budgets. The general market stations that get lots of Hispanics can't compete as most will not take ads in Spanish. And advertisers likely believe that bilingual listeners to this station may have higher consumer spendable income than all-Spanish stations reach.

So they have a very salable format which can show itself from being different from the other Spanish language stations. While they will never get the kind of numbers the Miami station gets, they did create a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) which is easy to pitch to clients.

Remember, this is a market where over half of the population is Hispanic. And that is the last group of people you will get with some kind of alternative format.
yes I am referring to KXXM which was originally at one time KSAQ Q96....again nobody is listening to this station ...and nobody english or spanish goes to the radio and cares about AD's ..who are we kidding here...sure the sales team can convince advertisers ur money is better spent here but it's garbage it's a crappy format with zero sustainabilty ..srsly if you think that's what a radio listener cares about get out of the biz that's why terrestrial radio is tanking in general..I'd also add that I would not underestimate alternative in this market you can only cut up the spanish speaking hispanic pie so much
 


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