CORAL GABLES, FLA. — In early June 2022, one of the biggest radio deals in the last 24 months came to fruition. Many questions arose across the radio broadcasting industry regarding the individuals behind Latino Media Network, which had announced it was purchasing 18 radio stations in 10 markets from TelevisaUnivision for $60 million.
Closing is on track for the fourth quarter of 2023 for LMN, which sees Hispanic media veteran Tom Castro on its board of directors. Stephanie Valencia and Jess Morales Rocketto are the co-founders and are featured on the cover of the September 2022 edition of the Radio Ink magazine.
In Miami, listeners to one of the stations LMN has agreed to purchase voiced their concerns about the transaction. Some of the air personalities at the station, WAQI-AM “Radio Mambí,” a longtime voice of the Cuban exile and dissident community, fretted that LMN would shift the station’s content away from conservative-leaning Spanish-language talk and exited. Links to George Soros arose, with FOX News making the connection in a Thursday (9/29) report that Lourdes Ubieta, who quit Radio Mambí in July and is now with Americano Media, will host today Philadelphia’s first-ever “Hispanic Town Hall” with Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano.
Come Monday, Ubieta will again be heard in Miami. And, it is thanks to Audacy Corp.
Introducing “Radio Libre 790,” which will replace the sports talk programming on WAXY-AM 790.
The change is the direct result of a partnership with the SiriusXM-distributed Americano Media, which calls itself “the nation’s first national conservative Hispanic network in Spanish.”
“We’re proud to introduce Spanish radio to our South Florida portfolio for the first time ever and empower the voice of so many of our neighbors in this community,” said Claudia Menegus, Regional President and Market Manager for Audacy Corp. “With the launch of this station, we aim to not only serve our listeners but give them a reliable home for the news they seek and the information they rely on every day.”
For Audacy, it indeed brings a Hispanic audio asset to a group of radio properties comprised of Adult Contemporary “101.5 Lite FM,” Classic Hits “102.7 The Beach,” Country WKIS-FM 99.9, Sports WQAM-AM, Rhythmic CHR “Power 96,” and Alternative Rock “104.3 The Shark.”
For Americano Media, it sends a message to LMN that “Radio Mambí” is on notice that conservative Spanish-language listeners, which include immigrants from Venezuela and Central America who have escaped dictatorships from leaders such as Nicolas Maduro and Daniel Ortega, won’t stand for any loss of the programming they have come to love.
As Ivan Garcia-Hidalgo, Founder and Chief Executive for Americano Media, sees it, “The joint endeavor with Audacy is a natural fit for Americano.”
Garcia-Hidalgo also confirms that this is the first of many terrestrial radio syndication agreements for Americano, and that it looks forward to “a strong partnership with Audacy.”
While Ubieta’s return to Miami’s radio airwaves is big news, she will be joined by former “Radio Mambí” hosts Nelson Rubio and Dania Alexandrino. They’ll be offering commentary and observation en español of the day’s political and critical news events, technology, and breaking news.
Americano Media will produce 18 hours of original programming weekdays from 6am-midnight for “Radio Libre,” which translates to “Freedom Radio” in English. It is not yet known what will air outside of those hours.
Word of the arrival of “Radio Libre 790” was first shared by NBC News late Thursday. According to NBC, Americano Media is using WAXY as a gateway to transition from SiriusXM, which it will be ending its relationship with.
An announcement from Audacy did not confirm this. Americano Media debuted on SiriusXM in March 2022; it is presently on Channel 153. Just before 11am, Palabra de Presidente with Fernando Fiore was heard. Fiore is a famed Argentine sports commentator, and the program is syndicated by HRN Media Network. This is a clear sign that conservative talk programming is indeed exiting the SiriusXM channel.
While Americano Media has its sights set on taking audience away from “Radio Mambí,” the ratings leader according to Nielsen Audio ratings for Miami-Fort Lauderdale, it will also be seeking to attract audience from “Actualidad 1040,” WURN-AM; and from a lesser extend WWFE “La Poderosa AM 670,” and WSUA, “America Noticias Caracol Radio.”
WSUA has been the subject of its own chatter regarding programming based on political ideology, and the use of the station as a pulpit for conservative Republicans. Formerly operated by Grupo Latino de Radio (GLR) directly, “Caracol 1260” in 2010 was a ratings leader. Today, it is a laggard that in April 2022 saw a planned transfer to Marcell Felipe and Carlos Vasallo collapse.
One year earlier, the parent of America TeVe acted on a previously expressed desire to become a multimedia operation in one of the nation’s largest Hispanic markets by filing paperwork seeking approval of a plan to purchase WSUA from GLR, the domestic subsidiary of Madrid-based Iberoamerican media giant Grupo PRISA. The deal generated much chatter, and claims of political bias. Some sought to prevent the deal from happening.
As it turned out, the Grupo PRISA U.S.-based licensee “WSUA Broadcasting Corp.” in April voluntarily dismissed its FCC assignment application, filed on April 16, 2021.
National attention was given to the intended purchase of WSUA by Felipe and Vasallo, a $350,000 deal. Why? A significant programming shift that attracted the attention of Newsweek; Miami’s Spanish-language Talk stations have historically leaned conservative, and during the 1980s and 1990s gained listeners for their staunch anti-Castro stance, winning over Cuban immigrants. WSUA went in this direction.
Now, WAXY is, too. But, unlike the aborted WSUA deal, the arrival of Americano Media likely won’t have any financing concerns. While the political chatter dominated the WSUA discussion, America TeVe parent ATV Holdings Inc. in 2021 through its America-CV Station Group declared bankruptcy in the U.S. District Court in Miami. A new buyer could emerge — with WAXY and WAQI becoming two big competitors in a crowding space.
