Spanish FM Radio...is it really lacking?

[Power91]

Obviously this is a matter of personal opinion, but it always makes me wonder...when people are arguing about flipping a station, one that always comes up is an FM Spanish station...with the point being made that Boston is behind the times and lacking in this area. Demographic numbers would tend to disagree:

Boston is the 2nd/3rd most white radio market in the top 25 (behind only Seattle, and possibly Minneapolis/St. Paul)...

The only noise made by a Spanish AM is a rating of less than 1 by WNNW 800...yes this is a suburban station and true an FM signal could probably pull more listeners in..but still...it's not like Boston is aching for a Spanish station.

I understand that there's formats that appeal to different people...however, I just cannot see the success of a Spanish FM station that would be much better than some of the signals that are now near the bottom. Hell, i think a comeback of a dance station would probably draw higher ratings from what is a younger-skewing market...

just something to discuss...

~RM

 

[raccoonradio]

Isn't 97.3 out of New Bedford/Fall River in Spanish? Their signal is surprisingly strong here on the North Shore though maybe that just
the terrain/water helping

 

[FMRadio1]

No, 97.3 is in Portugese.

--Mike Thomas

> Isn't 97.3 out of New Bedford/Fall River in Spanish? Their
> signal is surprisingly strong here on the North Shore though
> maybe that just
> the terrain/water helping
>

 

[BRNout]

> Obviously this is a matter of personal opinion, but it
> always makes me wonder...when people are arguing about
> flipping a station, one that always comes up is an FM
> Spanish station...with the point being made that Boston is
> behind the times and lacking in this area. Demographic
> numbers would tend to disagree:
>
> Boston is the 2nd/3rd most white radio market in the top 25
> (behind only Seattle, and possibly Minneapolis/St. Paul)...
>
> The only noise made by a Spanish AM is a rating of less than
> 1 by WNNW 800...yes this is a suburban station and true an
> FM signal could probably pull more listeners in..but
> still...it's not like Boston is aching for a Spanish
> station.
>
> I understand that there's formats that appeal to different
> people...however, I just cannot see the success of a Spanish
> FM station that would be much better than some of the
> signals that are now near the bottom. Hell, i think a
> comeback of a dance station would probably draw higher
> ratings from what is a younger-skewing market...
>
> just something to discuss...
>
> ~RM
>
Given the lack of available radio frequencies, I'd say no. As has been mentioned here many times in the past, a Class A (such as 101.7) might do well with Spanish. For any of the big signals, it would probably represent a loss of listerners.

Personally, I just don't see or hear a huge groundswell of people clamoring for a Spanish FM. And, other cities with much more sizeable Spanish-speaking audiences seem to feature only one or two favorite such stations with the rest being ratings "throw aways".

Another factor to be considered is billing. Who are you reaching with Spanish radio in Boston? Largely an audience that has a lower than average level of disposable income. Just because people are Latino DOES NOT mean that they insist on listening to Spanish radio. The Latino folks who have higher incomes (which is what the agencies really want) are already tuned in to English-speaking stations such as Jamn 94.5.

In other markets, there is such a huge influx of first-generation Spanish speakers, plus more FM frequences to fill, so the economics make more sense. But, even in places like Dallas, New York or LA, you see that there are one or two hugely successful Spanish FMs and the rest are bottom dwellers. Even in New York, where Mega 97.9 has been a ratings success, its billing is far below many stations that have a fraction of its ratings.

Have you ever watched the 3 Spanish TV stations in this market? I have, and you'll see local ads that have the same low-budget quality as you'd get in Grand Junction, Presque Isle or Altoona. Same goes for news, which is only "local" on WUNI...and covers Boston, Hartford and Providence. The big bucks just aren't there.

In many cities (LA, Miami, etc.) there are Hispanic station owners who provide Spanish radio as a corporate dictate for social reasons rather than as a money maker. We don't have that here either (except in New Bedford with the Portuguese station).

Combine these factors with the inherently lower billing that Spanish radio does - a reality of life (PC or not) - and you can see why there's no Spanish FM in Boston, Hartford, or in many other cities. And, given the few signals available in Boston, there are a lot of other formats (Urban, for example) that would do better.

I know that a lot of owners have jumped on Spanish as a wave of the future, but I feel strongly that the wave has already crested. Just my 0.02..........

 

[JustinT]

> Obviously this is a matter of personal opinion, but it
> always makes me wonder...when people are arguing about
> flipping a station, one that always comes up is an FM
> Spanish station...with the point being made that Boston is
> behind the times and lacking in this area. Demographic
> numbers would tend to disagree:
>
> Boston is the 2nd/3rd most white radio market in the top 25
> (behind only Seattle, and possibly Minneapolis/St. Paul)...
>
> The only noise made by a Spanish AM is a rating of less than
> 1 by WNNW 800...yes this is a suburban station and true an
> FM signal could probably pull more listeners in..but
> still...it's not like Boston is aching for a Spanish
> station.
>
> I understand that there's formats that appeal to different
> people...however, I just cannot see the success of a Spanish
> FM station that would be much better than some of the
> signals that are now near the bottom. Hell, i think a
> comeback of a dance station would probably draw higher
> ratings from what is a younger-skewing market...
>
> just something to discuss...
>
> ~RM
>

Look at Radio-Locator to see why WNNW's ratings are as they are. While Lowell and Lawrence both likely have the largest Hispanic population densities in Eastern Massachusetts, the signal barely reaches beyond there.

Before it switched to Sports, Mega had success with the Spanish Tropical formatted 890-WAMG/1400-WLLH simulcast. The stations were getting a total 12+ share around (but not exactly) 1.5.

And as another poster wrote, locally-owned stations typically have low-quality production and commercials. I'd bet that a Hurban on 101.7, "101.7 La Kalle", owned by Univision, would dominate over WNNW, take over the old Mega shares, and take some Hispanic shares from Jam'n, largely due to quality production and national advertising. But as we all know, this will never happen.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> > The only noise made by a Spanish AM is a rating of less than
> > 1 by WNNW 800...yes this is a suburban station and true an
> > FM signal could probably pull more listeners in..but
> > still...it's not like Boston is aching for a Spanish
> > station.
>
> Look at Radio-Locator to see why WNNW's ratings are as they
> are. While Lowell and Lawrence both likely have the largest
> Hispanic population densities in Eastern Massachusetts, the
> signal barely reaches beyond there.

I agree, you can't say that WNNW is representative of potential Spanish ratings in Boston with that signal. In the daytime, it comes in as a weak marginal rimshot. It's barely audible at night, sometimes completely covered up by CKLW Windsor ONT/(Detroit) skywave. I tuned in last night here in Somerville, and all I could hear was CKLW.

 

[blabhead]

I am interested to know,does anyone one think that people under 30 have a very limited tolerance for A.M. and won't listen to it under most circumstances?
Maybe this skews the ratings of any A.M. Spanish station also?
The Hispanic population slighty outnumbers the Black population right now in the Boston market,I would guess the Hispanic population will keep growing while the Black population will stay the same or decline a little.