Luis Jimenez Gone from SalSoul?

[Identnut]

I've just heard that Salsoul's morning show, La Perrera, has been extended from 5:30-10:00 a.m. and that Luis Jimenez's show has been replaced by a music block.

What a shame too, it was a great show. There have been times where I have outright laughed out loud.

Of course, could it be that the show is moving to another station? Perhaps Univision wants to acquire a new station and put him there in the mornings. There are plenty of underperforming stations that could become Univision's next big station.

I think WVJP, if acquired by Univision, could hold a WXNY-kind format; that is a Spanish Tropical format that blends salsa, merengue, bachata and reggaetón. Of course, I'm a bit iffy on the reggaetón, as Univision would naturally want to protect their mothership KQ105; of course, I could be wrong, since they play mostly pop music, and a decent amount of the rhythmic variety. I haven't even gotten to the songs by Black-Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga, which would definitely cannibalize KQ.

Of course, what to call the station? X is out the window; it's already taken by another station. So is Mix (which is also an underperforming station that could be easily acquired by Univision). La Kalle is not taken as a name, but Reggaetón 94 uses "La Calle" as its slogan, so that could create another "Circo"-style fiasco with SBS. So, we're going to have to look to other stations for inspiration.

Personally, I like the name "Onda Cero", which is used by stations in Spain, Peru, and Ecuador. I even have a good slogan for the station "Onda Cero, la prefiero!"

If I were Univision, I'd make this station part of a new project that includes completing the transition of WSTE-TV into a Telefutura affiliate. For a company that dominates Puerto Rican media, you have to wonder why they rest in their laurels to the point that they have a channel commited to infomercials, as well as no hot talk outlet of their own.

 

[Identnut]

Luis said in Twitter that the reason the show is not airing on Salsoul was a dispute between Uno Radio Group and Univision. But he says the show will come back someday.

I personally doubt he'll be back at Uno for a couple of reasons. One, they extended La Perrera. Two, Uno runs WKAQ's rival, Noti-Uno, and they'll be damned if they're giving Uno more money. Also, Uno's CHR (Toca De To') is, bluntly putting it, a clone of KQ105, and they are probably close to giving it island-wide coverage.

But where would Luis pop up that isn't run by Uno or SBS? WXYX is out. They already have a succesful morning show. WOYE? Not his kind of format, and they recently hired Ronny the Hyper. That leaves only WVJP and WVOZ. WVJP, I'd say has the advantage, as they have connections to Univision (they syndicate Javier Romero's Hit Parade de América). Of course, we're talking about stations that, not making the books ever, probably have trouble paying the power bills every month (WVOZ doesn't even have jocks!).

Interestingly, WVJP is beginning to find itself in a similar predicament to WVOZ. WVOZ, you may remember, was the pioneer of reggaetón on the island. That is, until SBS launched Reggaetón 94, which basically left it in the dust. Now, WVJP, was never a major player in the ratings, but they were notable for being the only station on the metropolitan area that played merengue and bachata as a regular part of the line-up. But now SBS has launched Ritmo 96.5, which, unlike WVJP, plays merengue and bachata 24/7.

A good morning show like Luis would give them some ratings and maybe quite a bit of relevance. But Univision, given its success with the tropical format in New York and Miami, should be more ambitious and turn the station around itself. That would mean putting Luis on morning drive, moving Javier's show to KQ, removing pop music from WVJP's line-up, and putting a WXNY tropical/rhythmic format on it. Given Univision's... well, vision, they could create a good contender in the competitive Puerto Rican market.