KMVK: Mega to La Grande

[davideduardo]

CBS flipped KMVK from pop / CHR to Regional Mexican today at 1 AM. The new name is La Grande.

New logo and webpage:

http://lagrande1075.cbslocal.com/

 

[Mediafrog+]

Might this flip be in anticipation of one of the Liberman stations being sold to Cumulus and dropping a similar format? Perhaps wild speculation...or a shrewd preemptive move.

I would think the CBS Mega station in Houston is safe, especially with the buzzards possibly circling the Liberman cluster there.

 

[JustinT]

Might this flip be in anticipation of one of the Liberman stations being sold to Cumulus and dropping a similar format? Perhaps wild speculation...or a shrewd preemptive move.

I would think the CBS Mega station in Houston is safe, especially with the buzzards possibly circling the Liberman cluster there.

Mega in Houston is running promos right now claiming that they are #1 in a certain demo, so I'd think they are safe as well. Since Liberman's ratings aren't publicly available, anyone know how La Raza in Dallas (and Houston, for that matter) is doing compared to its Univision counterpart?

 

[metroneck]

So in layman's terms, is this like KDMX102.9 'flipping' from older top 40, to newer old top 40? Me no habla Espanol?! Enlighten me.

 

[LibertyNT]

Yay.
What is the difference though?
Only thing I've noticed is Regional Mexican tends to be on poorer sticks.

 

[davideduardo]

So in layman's terms, is this like KDMX102.9 'flipping' from older top 40, to newer old top 40? Me no habla Espanol?! Enlighten me.

It is the equivalent of going from Hot AC to country.

http://www.hispanicformats.com/ has an explanation of all the Spanish language formats in the US with samples of the music.

 

[JustinT]

So in layman's terms, is this like KDMX102.9 'flipping' from older top 40, to newer old top 40? Me no habla Espanol?! Enlighten me.

(I'll try)

Going from Spanish CHR to Regional Mexican is like going from a young-skewing CHR to country. The "Mega" format would have been favored by younger, bilingual Hispanic listeners who favor an urban environment. If you go to Monterrey or Mexico City, you'll hear this type of music a lot.

The "La Grande" format is more of a middle-aged format for first and second generation Mexican Americans. Some younger listeners do enjoy this type of music, though, as it is important to the culture and is often played at family gatherings and the sort. This music ties a lot more to those with family roots in rural areas. Obviously, this format really only appeals to a Mexican audience, so the format is not too successful in heavily Hispanic areas like New York and Miami.

 

[davideduardo]

Yay.
What is the difference though?

What's the difference between Kiss and KSCS?

Only thing I've noticed is Regional Mexican tends to be on poorer sticks.

No, it tends to be the first choice on the biggest ones.

KLNO. KLTN. WOJO. KSCA. KSOL. KLNV. KROM. KISF.

http://www.hispanicformats.com/ explains the differences.

 

[davideduardo]

[
The "La Grande" format is more of a middle-aged format for first and second generation Mexican Americans. Some younger listeners do enjoy this type of music, though, as it is important to the culture and is often played at family gatherings and the sort. This music ties a lot more to those with family roots in rural areas. Obviously, this format really only appeals to a Mexican audience, so the format is not too successful in heavily Hispanic areas like New York and Miami.

Nope. Regional Mexican is a format for 25-44, with 18-34 being the strongest segment. There are variants, with some stations doing a pure 18-34 approach, and others aiming 25-44.

The listeners are predominantly first generation immigrants. The listening by second generation Mexican Americans is not the core.

 

[JustinT]

Nope. Regional Mexican is a format for 25-44, with 18-34 being the strongest segment. There are variants, with some stations doing a pure 18-34 approach, and others aiming 25-44.

Is that the difference between 94.1/107.1 in Dallas and 93.3/102.9 in Houston?

 

[davideduardo]

Nope. Regional Mexican is a format for 25-44, with 18-34 being the strongest segment. There are variants, with some stations doing a pure 18-34 approach, and others aiming 25-44.

Is that the difference between 94.1/107.1 in Dallas and 93.3/102.9 in Houston?

Yes. The bigger stations are both 25-44 targeted and on bigger signals.

 

[radioresearcher]

Actually in the last 18 months since the census data has been employed, Spanish Contemporary has been dying a painful death and Regional is now aging out of 18-24 in a lot of markets. My guess is this is a move due to Univision being vulnerable with Piolin gone.

 

[davideduardo]

Actually in the last 18 months since the census data has been employed, Spanish Contemporary has been dying a painful death and Regional is now aging out of 18-24 in a lot of markets. My guess is this is a move due to Univision being vulnerable with Piolin gone.

Any format seeking 18-24 Spanish speakers is at a disadvantage as nearly 7 years of zero net immigration has made that demo predominantly composed of second generation English dominants.

In contrast with that, Arbitron does not seek a proportional sample based on language preference, since it only gets 6+ or 12+ data from Nielsen. So, the result is that a few 18-24 Spanish dominants are weighted up to the average across all demos, making the data inaccurate and less than stable.

A few contemporary stations, such as the new KGSR-HD2 in Austin, KVVF in San José, KAMA / KLOL in Houstin, WPPN in Chicago and WRTO in Miami have gotten good results with a contemporary / CHR type format. but those stations are rhythmic contemporary, not pop or "romántica" based.

 

[radioresearcher]

Actually in the last 18 months since the census data has been employed, Spanish Contemporary has been dying a painful death and Regional is now aging out of 18-24 in a lot of markets. My guess is this is a move due to Univision being vulnerable with Piolin gone.

Any format seeking 18-24 Spanish speakers is at a disadvantage as nearly 7 years of zero net immigration has made that demo predominantly composed of second generation English dominants.

In contrast with that, Arbitron does not seek a proportional sample based on language preference, since it only gets 6+ or 12+ data from Nielsen. So, the result is that a few 18-24 Spanish dominants are weighted up to the average across all demos, making the data inaccurate and less than stable.

A few contemporary stations, such as the new KGSR-HD2 in Austin, KVVF in San José, KAMA / KLOL in Houstin, WPPN in Chicago and WRTO in Miami have gotten good results with a contemporary / CHR type format. but those stations are rhythmic contemporary, not pop or "romántica" based.

David - Houston seems to be very "island" in its tastes. The ones that are heavier Mexican seem to be failing badly the last 18 months. KRGT/Vegas, KGSX/San Antonio, both stations in Phoenix, KSSE and KXOL/L.A. (although the latter has been through changes) and KXOS (when it was Exitos) are all down or fading. The format could be on borrowed time. Is there maybe room to do it on a niche signal, maybe? But not on a big Dallas stick. Regional is the #1 format and can't blame CBS for going this route.

 

[davideduardo]

David - Houston seems to be very "island" in its tastes. The ones that are heavier Mexican seem to be failing badly the last 18 months. KRGT/Vegas, KGSX/San Antonio, both stations in Phoenix, KSSE and KXOL/L.A. (although the latter has been through changes) and KXOS (when it was Exitos) are all down or fading. The format could be on borrowed time. Is there maybe room to do it on a niche signal, maybe? But not on a big Dallas stick. Regional is the #1 format and can't blame CBS for going this route.

In a number of cases you have contemporary stations that are the "second station" to a regional. Entravision has such a case in Phoenix, Univision in Las Vegas and several other cases.

In these cases, the regional has bigger numbers, and the contemporary station has the second best. The problem with some, including both in PHX and KRGT in Las Vegas is that the signals often range from miserable to deficient.

I don't count KXOL as a true contemporary. It is more of the "flip side of KPWR" than a competitor in the contemporary side. And KXOS never even came close to getting it right with their "we are from Mexico City and we know more than you do" attitude. KSSE, of course, is a Class A and has limitations.

We are going to see more and more segmentation of regional into subsets such as exists in Mexico, just as Dallas has had three separate varieties in KNOR, KBOC and KLNO for a long time. KSCA is now quite different from the more comparable KBUE and KLAX in LA.

 

[metroneck]

So in layman's terms, is this like KDMX102.9 'flipping' from older top 40, to newer old top 40? Me no habla Espanol?! Enlighten me.

(I'll try)

Going from Spanish CHR to Regional Mexican is like going from a young-skewing CHR to country. The "Mega" format would have been favored by younger, bilingual Hispanic listeners who favor an urban environment. If you go to Monterrey or Mexico City, you'll hear this type of music a lot.

The "La Grande" format is more of a middle-aged format for first and second generation Mexican Americans. Some younger listeners do enjoy this type of music, though, as it is important to the culture and is often played at family gatherings and the sort. This music ties a lot more to those with family roots in rural areas. Obviously, this format really only appeals to a Mexican audience, so the format is not too successful in heavily Hispanic areas like New York and Miami.

So it's Pepper belly classic Rock. More Eagles than Hall and Oats...si?

 

[radioresearcher]

David - Houston seems to be very "island" in its tastes. The ones that are heavier Mexican seem to be failing badly the last 18 months. KRGT/Vegas, KGSX/San Antonio, both stations in Phoenix, KSSE and KXOL/L.A. (although the latter has been through changes) and KXOS (when it was Exitos) are all down or fading. The format could be on borrowed time. Is there maybe room to do it on a niche signal, maybe? But not on a big Dallas stick. Regional is the #1 format and can't blame CBS for going this route.

In a number of cases you have contemporary stations that are the "second station" to a regional. Entravision has such a case in Phoenix, Univision in Las Vegas and several other cases.

In these cases, the regional has bigger numbers, and the contemporary station has the second best. The problem with some, including both in PHX and KRGT in Las Vegas is that the signals often range from miserable to deficient.

I don't count KXOL as a true contemporary. It is more of the "flip side of KPWR" than a competitor in the contemporary side. And KXOS never even came close to getting it right with their "we are from Mexico City and we know more than you do" attitude. KSSE, of course, is a Class A and has limitations.

We are going to see more and more segmentation of regional into subsets such as exists in Mexico, just as Dallas has had three separate varieties in KNOR, KBOC and KLNO for a long time. KSCA is now quite different from the more comparable KBUE and KLAX in LA.

KSCA definitely took a more recurrent/gold-based approach to the format and it seems to be working well. I know Mandril is popping his mouth off but he's had like 2 or 3 #1 months. I agree with you that the three morning shows have all had their share of leading that battle. What bothers me the most is that most people would rather make ignorant comments than asking questions and being educated.

 

[davideduardo]

What bothers me the most is that most people would rather make ignorant comments than asking questions and being educated.

Are you referring to the ugly racial epithet in the post preceding yours?

 

[e-dawg]

Regional Mexican.....YUCK! I rather listen to Spanish Pop music format than this ghetto low class music format. Regional Mexicans formats targets Mexicans Immigrants who comes from rural areas of mexico with lower social economic class. If you go to major cities in Mexico, majority of middle and educated class hate this music format.

 

[davideduardo]

Regional Mexican.....YUCK! I rather listen to Spanish Pop music format than this ghetto low class music format. Regional Mexicans formats targets Mexicans Immigrants who comes from rural areas of mexico with lower social economic class. If you go to major cities in Mexico, majority of middle and educated class hate this music format.

But you look at the top two or three stations in those larger Mexican markets and they are "grupera" (the Mexican term used for what in the US is called "Regional Mexican") and they have the largest format share of any other music format in those markets.

Mexican regional music, whether it be mariachi, banda sinaloense or norteña, goes from the extremely moving and beautiful to junk... just as any US musical genre does. I've heard regional varieties played in the show of the Balet Folklórico de México in Bellas Artes in México City, and the music is stunningly beautiful, powerfully evocative and moving to the extreme when set to the dance.

Anecdotally, I'm literate and make a bit of money, and I have Chalino Sánchez, the Mariach Vargas de Tecalitlán, Coyote y su Band, Antonio Aguilar and Jorge Luis Cabrera as well as rancheras by Juan Gabriel and Rocío Dúrcal on my MP3 player... and don't think the music is low class... I think it is inspiring and moving.