Bilingual AC. Could it work here?

[CurtisNEPA]

Given that NYC now has the Bilingual AC format, the first in its kind not only in the market, but anywhere in the Northeast, would such a format work well in Philly? More Hispanic-targeted music stations have popped up over the years, such as the translators on 105.7 and 99.9 and most recently, IHeart's "Rumba 106.1". With the Hispanic population growing in the region, my best bet is that this is a good opportunity for any radio company(be it Beasley, Audacy, or IHeart) to launch this new type of format. Heck, even my home market(Scr/W-B) now has two Spanish stations!

 

[davideduardo]

There are doubts in my mind that it will work in New York. Where that format works is all over Latin America. For example. in the US territory of Puerto Rico where 4 of the top 10 music stations play all or a significant amount of English language music.

But the audience is is middle and upper income. That is not the bulk of the migrants to the Northeastern US where most are, for lack of a better term, "working class".

The format will work in Miami and maybe Orlando because those markets are made up of upper class / upper income refugees of revolutions, bad governments and deteriorating economies "back home". They move to Florida. Period.

 

[Identnut]

When a format becomes hot in a market or two, a lot of radio programmers seek to imitate it without realizing what made it succesful in the first place. This seems to be happening with the Bilingual AC format.

 

[davideduardo]

When a format becomes hot in a market or two, a lot of radio programmers seek to imitate it without realizing what made it succesful in the first place. This seems to be happening with the Bilingual AC format.

For it to work, you have to have a huge number of middle and upper class immigrants who grew up listening to English language music on local stations in the larger markets in Mexico. How many of those leave a much better standard of living in Mexico to come to the U.S.?