Mega 107.5 Hits the Air at 1:pm

[Kent]

Yes, Mega in Houston has changed...check it out online if you are outside the OTA coverage. Very definitely NOT the same format that was launched under the same name in 2004. I think the Houston and DFW versions will be pretty much the same thing. Even the logos are identical.

You are correct. Mega in Houston and Mega in Dallas sound much more alike than they do different (including playing the exact same song at the top of the 4 PM hour). The logos are also very much alike. I'm glad to see they did something with the Hurban Mega 101. Also, when you look at the ratings of Mega in Houston, they've improved considerably since they switched to pop en espanol. I wonder if CBS saw the success of its about-to-be-acquired Houston station and figured it could do the same in Dallas/Ft. Worth?

 

[ilistentotheradio]

It is amazing spanish language formats do not even make an attempt to attract other cultural groups. Prejudice? Yes BUT it will be denied "its a business decision"...

Spanish language formats don't make an attempt to attract other cultural groups? Lets see... I don't speak Spanish... so it wouldn't attract me... Prejudice? No.

 

[who_me]

Re: Mega 107.5 Hits the Air at 1:00 pm

This is especially interesting for those of us in Houston, as CBS is buying KLOL here, which runs the exact same "Mega" format. There had been speculation as to what they would do with the signal; with the launch of Mega in DFW it is a safe bet that they will retain the format in Houston once the sale closes.

Paging David Eduardo...any reaction? Did Univision see this coming? They have "Tu Musica 104.9" in Houston specifically to combat Mega.

Mediafrog,

I don't think they saw this coming because they would have had that format running here somewhere months ago. Typical, They launched Recuerdo after Percosia 97.1 started to show numbers but I do not think it will take that long for them to flip something. Percosia was a poorly programmed format but I think Mega will do much better.

 

[jeffdfw]

I have a prediction... Domino to evenings? I get the impression that he is not thrilled with 99.1 and that signal is crap.

 

[davideduardo]

Yes, Mega in Houston has changed...check it out online if you are outside the OTA coverage. Very definitely NOT the same format that was launched under the same name in 2004. I think the Houston and DFW versions will be pretty much the same thing. Even the logos are identical.

Mega Dallas is quite a bit more on the (hot) AC side than Mega Houston. Houston is more CHR, and the Dallas station, at least today, is a bit more soft.

They may be experimenting, as the numbers in Houston have been going down of late; in the most recent weekly they are #4 Spanish in 25-54 and 18-49, and #3 18-34. May be that they are looking for a slightly different music blend...

 

[charles123]

I have a prediction... Domino to evenings? I get the impression that he is not thrilled with 99.1 and that signal is crap.

I agree with you there, Jeff.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Spanish language formats don't make an attempt to attract other cultural groups? Lets see... I don't speak Spanish... so it wouldn't attract me... Prejudice? No.

Some of my best friends are of Mexican heritage. They listen to 106.1 and 104.5. Mega? They were upset because occasionally Movin' would play one of "their songs". Now it doesn't.

My Mexican heritage friends like riding in my car, because I have satellite radio which beats anything on the air in DFW.

Just because the market is 25% Hispanic, it doesn't mean that they all prefer Spanish language formats.

 

[greencougar7]

Absolutely Bruce. Several Hispanic friends of mine find it stereotyping and revolting of the new format. They hate it,and listen to KISS, KLUV or KZPS plus XM.

 

[henderson_s454]

Pardon me D. I am second generation hispanic. MY parents came here -LEGALLY..APPLIED FOR CITIZENSHIP, ETC. They stated "you speak the language of the country's written constitution you chose to reside in. The Constitutuion is written in English. Your assumption of one's bias is wrong. Don't play the card here,it has no value,nor relevance.

Now back to the original thread Movin was a bad idea, it showed. Mega is another one headed by the same group who have more losses than success on their records.Mega will not last long either. CBS doesn't seem to give full thought to any format ,just an impulse to inject one. Brian Purdy, Kurt Johnson ,neither one is the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Isela Montes, principal of Carver Elementary School in Greenville, Texas, told this story of her El Paso upbringing to reporters of Greenville's local newspaper - she said that her father once told her that, "When you go to El Paso, you speak English, but when you go to Juarez, you speak Spanish". Apparently not too many Hispanics get that idea these days. The ones who continue to speak Spanish on the El Paso side of the river, no matter what anyone says, are the ones who came to this country by illegal means; and those are the ones that should be deported - or as I'll say in not-so-great-Spanish, "Mi Americana es en el excusado; y yo soy esta deportivo" (Excusado, BTW, is Spanish for "Toilet").

On the matter of Kurt Johnson, Brian Purdy, Brad Henry and Gavin Spittle, I have really taken lots of thought to the format changes that have occurred at the CBS-Dallas cluster lately, and can't help but predict that 103.7 Lite FM will be the next to flip formats, leaving Dallas/Fort Worth without a lite rock station for the first time ever. This will then be followed by Jack changing to something undesirable, then finally by the firing of those four incompetent fools. Too bad this is going to take a long time to finally fix up and make right. The only thing that's going to make things right is a whole bunch of laws being passed and enforced to make the CONsultants' daily tasks illegal. I may be wrong, but that's what's going to have to happen if the good ol' days from the 70's and 80's are EVER going to come back and take full-force over the money-hungry times of today, where revenue is more important than listener input.

 

[davideduardo]

Isela Montes, principal of Carver Elementary School in Greenville, Texas, told this story of her El Paso upbringing to reporters of Greenville's local newspaper - she said that her father once told her that, "When you go to El Paso, you speak English, but when you go to Juarez, you speak Spanish". Apparently not too many Hispanics get that idea these days. The ones who continue to speak Spanish on the El Paso side of the river, no matter what anyone says, are the ones who came to this country by illegal means; and those are the ones that should be deported - or as I'll say in not-so-great-Spanish, "Mi Americana es en el excusado; y yo soy esta deportivo" (Excusado, BTW, is Spanish for "Toilet").

Actually, "excusado" is a "retrete" or room used for one's neccesities. An inodoro is the porcelain recepticle. You just, also, said "My American girl is in the bathroom, and I am this sporting."

In any case, it's all the better to rais children who 1) are not ashamed of their heritage, 2) are bilingual and use the langauge most appropriate for the conversation and 3) who understand the nuances of more than one culture.

I took one of my daughters out of a school when she was punished for speaking Spanish at recess; my daughters are all at least bilingual and one is proficient in 5 languages. Guess how many more educational opportunities and career paths each had?

That old "Spanish is bad, English is good" mentality is just a piece of the jingoism and xenophobia that has plagued America in the past. It costs us billions and billions of dollars, and represents the worst of stereotypes. Ms. Montés, I hope, has a more modern view of the world and America than her brainwashed father did.

...and can't help but predict that 103.7 Lite FM will be the next to flip formats, leaving Dallas/Fort Worth without a lite rock station for the first time ever.

Why would a top-10 biller be flipped?

 

[Board Editor 3]

MOVED: Re: Mega 107.5 Hits the Air at 1m

Some posts have been moved to Take It Outside.

[iurl]http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=120879.0[/iurl]

 

[scrtr84]

I took one of my daughters out of a school when she was punished for speaking Spanish at recess; my daughters are all at least bilingual and one is proficient in 5 languages. Guess how many more educational opportunities and career paths each had?

OK Mr. E. tell us, what did she say and whom did she say it to? Could it be she said something insulting in spanish? Perhaps the person she said it to, or someone nearby, was fluent in spanish. Without knowing those details, it's hard to justify your actions.

 

[davideduardo]

OK Mr. E. tell us, what did she say and whom did she say it to? Could it be she said something insulting in spanish? Perhaps the person she said it to, or someone nearby, was fluent in spanish. Without knowing those details, it's hard to justify your actions.

This was first grade and they were just chatting... two classmates among themselves. Both were disciplined for speaking Spanish, not for anything they said.

At my High School, we were encouraged to use all languages we knew on the campus. The least of us were bilingual, but there were quite a few polyglots in the class, too.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

This was first grade and they were just chatting... two classmates among themselves. Both were disciplined for speaking Spanish, not for anything they said.

At my High School, we were encouraged to use all languages we knew on the campus. The least of us were bilingual, but there were quite a few polyglots in the class, too.

A very complex issue, especially as it relates to radio. Specifically, the focus of the station:

Do they program for bilingual Hispanics who prefer to speak Spanish?
Do they program for bilingual Hispanics who prefer to speak English even at home?
Do they program for bilingual Hispanics who prefer to speak English except at home / in the company of family members?
Do they program for Hispanics who do not know English at all?

A lot of this issue is the issue of exclusion - speaking any foreign language with the intent of excluding people around you who do not know the language. Which is just as bad when English speaking people do it in Mexico as when people of Mexican descent do it in America. There may be a privacy issue, but knowing just enough Spanish to be dangerous, more often than not, it is to cover up gossip about non-Spanish speakers around them. An intent to exclude is racist no matter who does it. Communication in private in a language two people are comfortable with is, of course , perfectly OK.

 

[scrtr84]

OK Mr. E. tell us, what did she say and whom did she say it to? Could it be she said something insulting in spanish? Perhaps the person she said it to, or someone nearby, was fluent in spanish. Without knowing those details, it's hard to justify your actions.

This was first grade and they were just chatting... two classmates among themselves. Both were disciplined for speaking Spanish, not for anything they said.

At my High School, we were encouraged to use all languages we knew on the campus. The least of us were bilingual, but there were quite a few polyglots in the class, too.

Based on what you have said, I think you overreacted. The simple fact is, your daughter "could" have been making unappropriate comments about the teachers, their fellow students or something else that could have been harmful. It may have seemed like innocent chatting to you, but kids will be kids.

 

[llamarama]

For anyone who's interested, I wanted to share a link to an interview with the CBS Dallas VP about the station's format change -- you can check it out here on the Dallas Observer's blog Unfair Park:

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/02/these_have_been_busy_days.php

Thanks,
-Patrick

 

[davideduardo]

Based on what you have said, I think you overreacted. The simple fact is, your daughter "could" have been making unappropriate comments about the teachers, their fellow students or something else that could have been harmful. It may have seemed like innocent chatting to you, but kids will be kids.

In this case, it turned out that it was the teacher's policy to punish any use of Spanish (odd in Miami, which is 60% Hispanic) and the school permitted this. The teacher4 did not speak the language, so they could not tell what the content was about.

Every so often someone on these boards suggests that foreign language radio should be made illegal, too Of course, nobody would accuse such people of having read the Constitution.

 

[e-dawg]

Geez.....why do people complain about Spanish radio besides a lot of anglos don't know the difference between Regional Mexican and Tropical format. If you visit Mexico, Spain, Argentina even a US Commenwealth Puerto Rico. They play a lot of songs in English. Besides, I like Mega 107.5 a least I don't have to listen to Regional Mexican crap.

How about this, why don't people in Germany or Netherlands complained about their radio station playing too much English music than German or Dutch music.

 

[greencougar7]

Bruce Carter wrote "An intent to exclude is racist no matter who does it. Communication in private in a language two people are comfortable with is, of course , perfectly"

He is exactly correct. I wrote earlier that my folks said you speak the language the country's constitution is written where you chose to reside. Its called respecting YOUR country. There have been many incidents in public be it at work,a restaurant,where the participants spoke english,then a few would break into spanish that excluded members of that group from understanding what they were saying. Very Discriminatory ,and the the few who were speaking spanish were actually speaking about the non Spanish speaking members in attendance. The content was not flattering. Thus in the case of school,the students could have been speaking about a teacher or principal in a non flattering way. You don't impose your language.laws or customs on a country that you chose to move to. You accept theirs or you simply do not reside there. It's your choice,but you simply can not select the laws to which to abide by or a workplace 's rules,etc. They are there for uniformity and cooperation,NOT DISCRIMINATION.

 

[LibertyNT]

Geez.....why do people complain about Spanish radio besides a lot of anglos don't know the difference between Regional Mexican and Tropical format. If you visit Mexico, Spain, Argentina even a US Commenwealth Puerto Rico. They play a lot of songs in English. Besides, I like Mega 107.5 a least I don't have to listen to Regional Mexican crap.

How about this, why don't people in Germany or Netherlands complained about their radio station playing too much English music than German or Dutch music.

Nail on the head right there.
Even in Germany English Music is VERY popular.
so why cant Spanish be in America?