WOXY/WAOL Flippng to Spanish

[grey_dan]

Re: WOXY Flippng to Spanish

Been listening quite a bit this week. After hearing WVKO, it's about what I expected from TSJ, but it still seems like a pretty unusual Spanish format.

Probably 50-60% of WOXY's playlist is Regional Mexican, but the rest of it is pretty much from the Latin Pop and Tropical formats. Latin Pop and Tropical are typically relatively close formats with a decent amount of crossover (think the differences between Top 40 and Rhythmic), but Regional Mexican is a very different format. Occasionally you might find a Regional Mexican station playing a handful of pop or bachata tracks, or a Latin Pop station might play a few Regional banda tunes, if they're not too far of a stretch for the main format. But a full-on hybrid is very unusual, from what I've seen -- it would be akin to an English-language hybrid of Top 40 and Country. And it seems that just about any tune that's a current or recurrent relative hit on the Regional, Latin Pop, or Tropical charts (save for the handful of English-language crossovers) is fair game.

The variety is great. But I haven't decided if this is smart programming (trying to reach nearly the entire Latino community, given they're the only game in town), or "throw it to the wall and see what sticks" programming. I'm kind of leaning toward the latter. But I guess TSJ has done more research than I have.

In any case, I'm enjoying the variety and wish them success.

While they may have the means to stream...clicking on any of the streaming options on their page, for me; returned a 404 link "Page not Found".

Actually the stream is running directly on their homepage. The streaming options links are screwed up, though; they'll need to fix those.

If it's a full Spanish station, then why are some of the things on their current homepage in English? Dumb question, I know.

A couple possibilities. I've noticed quite the presence of English on a few Spanish radio station websites. A lot of younger Latinos are bilingual or speak sort of a "Spanglish" English; it may be a pull for that demographic.

Or it could just be that they used a template and haven't replaced all the English words on it yet.

 

[grey_dan]

Re: WOXY Flippng to Spanish

Been listening quite a bit this week. After hearing WVKO, it's about what I expected from TSJ, but it still seems like a pretty unusual Spanish format.

Probably 50-60% of WOXY's playlist is Regional Mexican, but the rest of it is pretty much from the Latin Pop and Tropical formats. Latin Pop and Tropical are typically relatively close formats with a decent amount of crossover (think the differences between Top 40 and Rhythmic), but Regional Mexican is a very different format. Occasionally you might find a Regional Mexican station playing a handful of pop or bachata tracks, or a Latin Pop station might play a few Regional banda tunes, if they're not too far of a stretch for the main format. But a full-on hybrid is very unusual from what I've seen, even in markets where there's only one Spanish station in town -- it would be akin to an English-language hybrid of Top 40 and Country. And it seems that just about any tune that's a current or recurrent relative hit on the Regional, Latin Pop, or Tropical charts (save for the handful of English-language crossovers) is fair game.

The variety is great. But I haven't decided if this is smart programming (trying to reach nearly the entire Latino community, given they're the only game in town), or "throw it to the wall and see what sticks" programming. I'm kind of leaning toward the latter. But I guess TSJ has done more research than I have.

In any case, I'm enjoying the variety and wish them success.

While they may have the means to stream...clicking on any of the streaming options on their page, for me; returned a 404 link "Page not Found".

Actually the stream is running directly on their homepage. The streaming options links are screwed up, though; they'll need to fix those.

If it's a full Spanish station, then why are some of the things on their current homepage in English? Dumb question, I know.

A couple possibilities. I've noticed quite the presence of English on a few Spanish radio station websites. A lot of younger Latinos are bilingual or speak sort of a "Spanglish" English; it may be a pull for that demographic.

Or it could just be that they used a template and haven't replaced all the English words on it yet.

 

[grey_dan]

Been listening quite a bit this week. After hearing WVKO, it's about what I expected from TSJ, but it still seems like a pretty unusual Spanish format.

Probably 50-60% of WOXY's playlist is Regional Mexican, but the rest of it is pretty much from the Latin Pop and Tropical formats. Latin Pop and Tropical are typically relatively close formats with a decent amount of crossover (think the differences between Top 40 and Rhythmic), but Regional Mexican is a very different format. Occasionally you might find a Regional Mexican station playing a handful of pop or bachata tracks, or a Latin Pop station might play a few Regional banda tunes, if they're not too far of a stretch for the main format. But a full-on hybrid is very unusual from what I've seen, even in markets where there's only one Spanish station in town -- it would be akin to an English-language hybrid of Top 40 and Country. And it seems that just about any tune that's a current or recurrent relative hit on the Regional, Latin Pop, or Tropical charts (save for the handful of English-language crossovers) is fair game.

The variety is great. But I haven't decided if this is smart programming (trying to reach nearly the entire Latino community, given they're the only game in town), or "throw it to the wall and see what sticks" programming. I'm kind of leaning toward the latter. But I guess TSJ has done more research than I have.

In any case, I'm enjoying the variety and wish them success.

While they may have the means to stream...clicking on any of the streaming options on their page, for me; returned a 404 link "Page not Found".

Actually the stream is running directly on their homepage. The streaming options links are screwed up, though; they'll need to fix those.

If it's a full Spanish station, then why are some of the things on their current homepage in English? Dumb question, I know.

A couple possibilities. I've noticed quite the presence of English on a few Spanish radio station websites. A lot of younger Latinos are bilingual or speak sort of a "Spanglish" English; it may be a pull for that demographic.

Or it could just be that they used a template and haven't replaced all the English words on it yet.

 

[Ken Tucky]

We get your point!

 

[jry]

Friends,

This has been tried before. I think it was on the perpetually for sale WCVG.

Is Cincinnati's Hispanic population large enough to support the format. Keep in mind that they are rimming the market.

If there is a healthy dose of interested listeners, where in the market do they live? Does the station cover those areas.

Maybe they are hitting the Hispanic pockets that reside in both Dayton and Cincinnati. I don't know. We'll see.

Someone did tell me that the deal almost blew up at the last minute.

 

[grey_dan]

^^Sorry for the duplicate posts, y'all.  My browser was choking up last night and not refreshing on the post.  I had no idea it was posting all those times. 

And I still might not know it, except for the fact that I came back this morning thinking I was going to try making my post again. 

*crawls back into his shell, at least on this matter*

Friends,

This has been tried before. I think it was on the perpetually for sale WCVG.

Is Cincinnati's Hispanic population large enough to support the format. Keep in mind that they are rimming the market.

Valid points for sure.  Of course there are a few differences, the most obvious that WOXY, although a rimshot, is on a better, easier to find FM signal, as opposed to WCVG's relatively weak AM signal.

I'd think the Latino population has grown as well since then, given Hispanics are the fastest-growing demographic in the country.

I never really listened to WCVG as a Spanish station and wasn't really following Spanish-language radio at the time.  But I do remember seeing them listed as Regional Mexican and would assume they were more of a straight Regional format.  As I mentioned in my previous post, WOXY's Regional Mexican/Latin Pop/Tropical hybrid may be an effort to reach out to a wider swath of the area's Latino community.  But this hybrid format is rare and may be a risk, even within the Latino community.

In any case, WOXY is definitely a demographic play.  Arbitron lists the market population as about 1.8 million, and an estimated 3% of that is Hispanic (according to an Enquirer article this week)... about 54,000.  Of course not all those are going to be WOXY listeners, and some of those who would listen won't be able to with the rimshot signal.  But I'd think that if WOXY can pull a large chunk of their target demo (and if advertisers to buy into it), they'll be happy.  From what I've seen, WVKO (a Columbus rimshot) hasn't exactly lit up the ratings, but it's apparently done well enough in its target demo to stay around for a few years now. 

All that said, I definitely think the points you raise are valid and I've wondered about them myself.  Only God knows whether WOXY will be able to duplicate some level of success in the Latino market at this point.

If there is a healthy dose of interested listeners, where in the market do they live? Does the station cover those areas.

Maybe they are hitting the Hispanic pockets that reside in both Dayton and Cincinnati. I don't know. We'll see.

Oh yeah, I'd think with that signal they're going for Latinos along the I-75 Cin-Day corridor... specifically in Butler and Warren Counties.  And there are plenty of them.  For a while I've thought that a Regional Mexican station in Butler County could do well, if they could find just the right person to head up sales. 

(Also, remember that Butler Co. has had problems with illegal immigration, so the number of undocumented Latinos in the county is probably a good bit higher than the census numbers show.  Not commenting on morality or legality of it... that's for another discussion.)

Someone did tell me that the deal almost blew up at the last minute.

I wonder how much did the Buckeyes and Cyclones deals had to do with that.

 

[microbob]

How many Hispanics are using PPM and does that hurt WOXY's chances of being successful?

 

[Tri-State Media]

Friends,

This has been tried before. I think it was on the perpetually for sale WCVG.

Is Cincinnati's Hispanic population large enough to support the format. Keep in mind that they are rimming the market.

Valid points for sure. Of course there are a few differences, the most obvious that WOXY, although a rimshot, is on a better, easier to find FM signal, as opposed to WCVG's relatively weak AM signal.

I'd think the Latino population has grown as well since then, given Hispanics are the fastest-growing demographic in the country.

I never really listened to WCVG as a Spanish station and wasn't really following Spanish-language radio at the time. But I do remember seeing them listed as Regional Mexican and would assume they were more of a straight Regional format. As I mentioned in my previous post, WOXY's Regional Mexican/Latin Pop/Tropical hybrid may be an effort to reach out to a wider swath of the area's Latino community. But this hybrid format is rare and may be a risk, even within the Latino community.

In any case, WOXY is definitely a demographic play. Arbitron lists the market population as about 1.8 million, and an estimated 3% of that is Hispanic (according to an Enquirer article this week)... about 54,000. Of course not all those are going to be WOXY listeners, and some of those who would listen won't be able to with the rimshot signal. But I'd think that if WOXY can pull a large chunk of their target demo (and if advertisers to buy into it), they'll be happy. From what I've seen, WVKO (a Columbus rimshot) hasn't exactly lit up the ratings, but it's apparently done well enough in its target demo to stay around for a few years now.

All that said, I definitely think the points you raise are valid and I've wondered about them myself. Only God knows whether WOXY will be able to duplicate some level of success in the Latino market at this point.

If there is a healthy dose of interested listeners, where in the market do they live? Does the station cover those areas.

Maybe they are hitting the Hispanic pockets that reside in both Dayton and Cincinnati. I don't know. We'll see.

Oh yeah, I'd think with that signal they're going for Latinos along the I-75 Cin-Day corridor... specifically in Butler and Warren Counties. And there are plenty of them. For a while I've thought that a Regional Mexican station in Butler County could do well, if they could find just the right person to head up sales.

(Also, remember that Butler Co. has had problems with illegal immigration, so the number of undocumented Latinos in the county is probably a good bit higher than the census numbers show. Not commenting on morality or legality of it... that's for another discussion.)

Someone did tell me that the deal almost blew up at the last minute.

I wonder how much did the Buckeyes and Cyclones deals had to do with that.

It looks like, preliminarily, the Buckeyes will continue on WOXY (in English!) per the Enquirer on Thursday. That deal will be honored through the end of the Buckeyes' basketball season. No word on the Cyclones as far as WOXY in the below article, but they still air on WAOL at last check.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20101118/ENT11/11190362/TV-Sports-notes

 

[jry]

Great info and commentary. Dan.

If ICE is in the area clearing out the undocumented population, the available audience number will shrink, daily.

They used to say that the hispanic pop count needed to be at about 100 thousand.....

 

[mattsledge]

Great info and commentary. Dan.

If ICE is in the area clearing out the undocumented population, the available audience number will shrink, daily.

They used to say that the hispanic pop count needed to be at about 100 thousand.....

Just because it's a Spanish station doesn't mean that only Hispanics will listen. I know plenty of Americans that have ties to Spain and Mexico that will listen.

 

[jry]

And that is a good point, too.

Plus, the music choices can cross over into different groups as well.

 

[gabigley1]

Do you think WOXY is will be a viable Spanish radio station in Cincinnati? Will Spanish WOXY still be on the air in the next year or two?

I think if anyone can make it work, the present WOXY owners can make it work. They seen to be doing alright here in Columbus and seem
to be in business for the long term.

 

[jry]

Do you think WOXY is will be a viable Spanish radio station in Cincinnati? Will Spanish WOXY still be on the air in the next year or two?

I think if anyone can make it work, the present WOXY owners can make it work. They seen to be doing alright here in Columbus and seem
to be in business for the long term.

Well, they aren't owners. Merely renting the time under a "TBA".

 

[microbob]

Which means they have agreed to a multi year lease with the owner, with an option to purchase the station.