• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

KXOS owner reports loss, closes 4 stations in home market

DavidEduardo

DavidEduardo

Moderator/Administrator
Staff member
Per frequent poster Raymie, Grupo Radio Centro has closed 4 AM stations in Mexico City, a market of 23 million.

Grupo Radio Centro today shut off several AM stations in Mexico City, its breadbasket radio market, and moved their programs around, as described above. The stations affected - XERC at 790, XEQR at 1030, XEJP at 1150, and XEEST at 1440 - have all gone off the air. In exchange, XEINFO 1560 AM is on with a regular format (read: not automated Regional Mexican music without PSAs or INE spots) for the first time since it was sold to Eduardo Henkel Rojas in 2008, a move likely facilitated by the definitive end of legal proceedings between GRC and José Gutiérrez Vivó.

So four fulltime, significant signal AMs were just shut off!

And the, a few days ago, GRC reported its Q1 financial results to the Mexican equivalent of the SEC. They disclose that KXOS in Los Angeles lost approximately U$S 950,000 in the first three months of the year. The company's Mexican operations, though, were profitable.

Ah, and I feel so smart for turning down those job offers!
 
Last edited:
DavidEduardo said:
Per frequent poster Raymie, Grupo Radio Centro has closed 4 AM stations in Mexico City, a market of 23 million.

Grupo Radio Centro today shut off several AM stations in Mexico City, its breadbasket radio market, and moved their programs around, as described above. The stations affected - XERC at 790, XEQR at 1030, XEJP at 1150, and XEEST at 1440 - have all gone off the air. In exchange, XEINFO 1560 AM is on with a regular format (read: not automated Regional Mexican music without PSAs or INE spots) for the first time since it was sold to Eduardo Henkel Rojas in 2008, a move likely facilitated by the definitive end of legal proceedings between GRC and José Gutiérrez Vivó.

So four fulltime, significant signal AMs were just shut off!

And the, a few days ago, GRC reported its Q1 financial results to the Mexican equivalent of the SEC. They disclose that KXOS in Los Angeles lost approximately U$S 950,000 in the first three months of the year.

Ah, and I feel so smart for turning down those job offers!
Click to expand...

Sounds like they need you now more than ever.

But they were probably already playing "Bailando" once an hour like the public demands.
 
radio128 said:
I think they should sell to an English language broadcaster and go soft ac.
Click to expand...

Cox tried that in Miami, using a model based on their retirement-community station WDUV in the Tampa Bay market. It bombed because it did not work in a market that was highly Hispanic and African American and had no significant over-indexing of retired seniors. They had to go to a basically mainstream AC sound.

(In the end, Cox adjusted WDUV to sound younger, and moved from 15th in 25-54 up into the top 5 with a much more conventional AC sound)

And LA is about the most transactional market in the US. Soft AC will get predominantly over-55 listeners. It will do poorly among 25-54 or any subset of that sales demo. It will not make money and will not justify the investment.

Just look at the softer AC entrants in San Francisco and San Diego... both are mostly 55+ demo heavy, and have adjusted to be more contemporary as they grew. KXSN in San Diego appears to be #1. But it barely wobbles in and out of the top 10 in 25-54, but is overwhelmingly #1 in 55+. Not a good sales proposition. KISQ in SF is 4th overall, but around 12th to 13th in 25-54, with mostly 55+ demos. Another apparent winner that is not going to get on most buys unless they price really cheap.
 
ChannelFlipper said:
Sounds like they need you now more than ever.
Click to expand...

They first offered me a job in 1969!

But they were probably already playing "Bailando" once an hour like the public demands.
Click to expand...

Nah. They are playing Gerardo Ortiz, Banda MS and El Comander nearly that often. It's not a CHR station.

Bailando is now down to only a couple of hundred national spins a week on Spanish language CHRs, while the new Luis Fonsi ft Daddy Yankee tune got about 1,800 spins nationally and Enrique's latest got 1,700.
 
Last edited:
GRC keeps maintaining this is to allow major technical changes at GRC's AMs — and the net loss of stations was actually three. (A station mired for years in legal disputes that recently ended is being used to replace another presumably being maintained.)

But Radio Centro these days is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. One day, they need credit, then they buy an El Paso cluster...one moment they're winning new stations in major cities, the next they're shrinking their footprint for a time in their breadbasket market.

Fittingly, on the day this news came down, the sewer cover outside GRC's studio headquarters was missing posing a danger on a major roadway. I can't think of a more intriguing metaphor.
 
Raymie said:
GRC keeps maintaining this is to allow major technical changes at GRC's AMs — and the net loss of stations was actually three. (A station mired for years in legal disputes that recently ended is being used to replace another presumably being maintained.)
Click to expand...

Even beyond that, 1560 was a family bone of contention. Francisco bought it on his own and returned it to the air, violating the covenant whereby the heirs of FAJ would not compete with each other in markets where the original ORC operated. This ended with the apparent buy-out of GRC shares still belonging to Carlos, Adrián and Tere and the absolute control by Pancho.

1320 was moved out of the group long ago, and 1440 followed. Both have low day power and could not really compete within the entire expanded metro area as now measured by INRA. 790, 1150 and 1030 all drop power at night, although 790 always seemed pretty good to me.

But Radio Centro these days is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. One day, they need credit, then they buy an El Paso cluster...one moment they're winning new stations in major cities, the next they're shrinking their footprint for a time in their breadbasket market.
Click to expand...

Those stations had essentially no salable audience. Whatever they did have will probably just make 1110 and 690 a bit bigger, and cut expenses radically. GRC now has over 55% of the audience in the market, so they have a very dominant position. It's all coming from the FMs, though.

The former Grupo Radio Mexico stations were 100% Panchito's property, run by Francisco Aguirre Kranz, his son. It appears they were merged with GRC to dilute the other brother's and sister's shares of GRC, a step towards moving them out of any kind of control.

Then, of course, the fine for not moving ahead on the TV side was painful.

Fittingly, on the day this news came down, the sewer cover outside GRC's studio headquarters was missing posing a danger on a major roadway. I can't think of a more intriguing metaphor.
Click to expand...

It's still a long way from Francisco Aguirre Jiménez' "night clubs".
 
DavidEduardo said:
Even beyond that, 1560 was a family bone of contention. Francisco bought it on his own and returned it to the air, violating the covenant whereby the heirs of FAJ would not compete with each other in markets where the original ORC operated. This ended with the apparent buy-out of GRC shares still belonging to Carlos, Adrián and Tere and the absolute control by Pancho.
Click to expand...

Now we're starting to see the signs of a breakup between the families that run Radiorama.

1320 was moved out of the group long ago, and 1440 followed. Both have low day power and could not really compete within the entire expanded metro area as now measured by INRA. 790, 1150 and 1030 all drop power at night, although 790 always seemed pretty good to me.
Click to expand...

I can definitely see that with 1320 and 1440. 1440 was basically given to Grupo Siete as a consolation prize for the long-running (nearly 25 year) operating agreement that lets GRC run 92.1 FM. 1320 and 1560 were cast off to José Gutiérrez Vivó not long after GRC bought 690, mostly so they could have fewer stations and look good for regulators. The Infored suit just ended with a court finding in favor of GRC to the tune of US $40 million. That's probably why GRC let Grupo Siete move to 1560, which they had control of anyway (see the attempts at an automated Regional Mexican format with no promotion whatsoever). I almost wonder if GRC will reinstate the XEFAJ-AM calls that Infored ditched when they had their falling out.

The expansion of the Mexico City area—or really, of any metro area—has definitely had consequences for AM radio. It basically exacerbates the RF noise problem.

The former Grupo Radio Mexico stations were 100% Panchito's property, run by Francisco Aguirre Kranz, his son. It appears they were merged with GRC to dilute the other brother's and sister's shares of GRC, a step towards moving them out of any kind of control.
Click to expand...

That makes some sense. I think it was also done to give GRC increased revenue after they needed credit, but I never thought of that.

Then, of course, the fine for not moving ahead on the TV side was painful.
Click to expand...

That's been something of a sentimental MacGuffin for GRC, and I think you get why. The expropriation of 1972 still stings.

It's still a long way from Francisco Aguirre Jiménez' "night clubs".
Click to expand...

Wait, what?
 
Raymie said:
Now we're starting to see the signs of a breakup between the families that run Radiorama.
Click to expand...

The original Pérez de Anda and Pereda team was known as Los Tupamaros due to their guerilla competitive tactics outside Mexico City. That the families are having problems is not a real surprise.


That's been something of a sentimental MacGuffin for GRC, and I think you get why. The expropriation of 1972 still stings.
Click to expand...

The original TV operation was Panchito's pet projects. He traveled all over Europe buying product for airing, and brought back Sarita Montiel as a souvenir.

Wait, what?
Click to expand...

The original business of FAJ was "night clubs". He moved up to more sophisticated clubs along Insurgentes Sur, like La Fuente. But the original ones were on the shady side. There is a story that he won XEJP in a debt settlement... but that may just be part of the legend, although it was told to me when I was an intern, and that was less than a decade later.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.
Back
Top Bottom