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http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2005/08/15/story2.html
Move over country: La Nueva takes to the airwaves
Margie Manning
Staff Writer
¡Oye! Shakira and Marc Anthony are shaking up the Tampa Bay radio market.
They are among the Latin artists featured on the first Hispanic FM station in the market, La Nueva FM 92.5, El Senido Latino de Tampa Bay, or The New 92.5, The Latin Sound of Tampa Bay.
Infinity Broadcasting launched the Spanish-language format Aug. 7 on WYUU-FM, booting the former country format. It's the first time a major company has gone to the Hispanic format on the FM band in Tampa, said Glenn Serafin, president of Serafin Bros., a Tampa-based broadcast brokerage and finance firm.
The move comes as Hispanic media grows at a double-digit rate. While general market radio is growing revenue at 3 percent to 4 percent annually, Hispanic radio revenue is growing at 12 percent, with about $600 million spent on Hispanic radio at 650 stations nationwide, said Luis Diaz-Albertini, Infinity VP and GM of the station.
It's one of two big changes in the Bay area radio industry. In the next few weeks, WGUL-AM in Dunedin, currently playing adult standards from artists such as Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, will convert to a news-talk format under its new owner, Salem Communications Corp. Salem's pending $9.5 million purchase of WGUL and WLSS-AM in Sarasota will double the company's stations in the Bay area market.
Boosting ratings and revenue
Diaz-Albertini said the switch by WTBT-FM, owned by Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU), from classic rock to country in April pushed WYUU into the third-rated spot among country stations, behind WTBT and Infinity's own WQYK-FM.
"We thought we had a better chance for ratings and revenue doing something else," he said.
While there are several AM radio stations in the market serving the Spanish-language market, WYUU has a stronger signal and the improved fidelity of an FM station.
WYUU also pulls in more revenue than any of the existing Hispanic stations, according to estimates from BIA Financial Network, a Chantilly, Va.-based adviser for the media and telecommunications industry.
BIA's Investing in Radio Market Report estimated 2004 revenue for WYUU was $7.5 million. Estimated revenue for the five AM Spanish/Tropical format stations was $500,000 for WAMA, $700,000 for WQBN, $1.1 million for WRMD, $1.6 million for WLCC and $2 million for WMGG, according to BIA.
"Last year, Hispanic radio did about $5 million in Tampa, and we believe television did $15 million to $18 million," Diaz-Albertini said. "We believe that will grow dramatically with an FM in the marketplace, and we mean to get our unfair share."
Response from car dealers and banks
Diaz-Albertini said WYUU will continue to share sales staff with WQYK, but he said the price of spot ads will be higher than those charged for WYUU's country format, ranging from $75 to $150, depending on the time of day.
"We've had incredible response from the advertising community, specifically automotive and financial companies," he said.
Cherie Wenstrom, VP and director of media for Wenstrom Communications, a media planning and placement company in Clearwater, said sales at WYUU likely would increase in part because the station's new format is a Top 40 blend of music designed to appeal to Hispanics of all nationalities, unlike other stations that focus on Puerto Ricans, Mexicans or Cubans.
The growth of the Hispanic population in the Bay area makes the move a smart one for Infinity, Wenstrom said.
As much as 8.2 percent of the metro area's population is Hispanic, including 17 percent of all households in Tampa, she said.
Diaz-Albertini said the Tampa figure is a bit lower at 13 percent, but half of the area's population growth was from Hispanics.
In other markets with a fast-growing Hispanic population, Spanish-language radio is increasingly popular and attractive to advertisers. In Dallas-Fort Worth, KESS-FM and its Mexican regional format became the first Spanish-language radio station to top the charts, ranking No. 1 in the Arbitron spring ratings, according to a July 30 report in the Dallas Morning News.
Voices of the presidents
The sound will change on WGUL in the next few weeks as well under the new owner, Salem Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SALM), a Camarillo, Calif.-based broadcast firm.
Chris Gould, GM at Salem's existing Tampa stations, WTBN-AM 570 and AM 910, said the purchases have been approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the closing is imminent, although he didn't have an exact date.
Unlike WTBN, which broadcasts a Christian talk format, WLSS in Sarasota will maintain its existing news-talk format, although some of its syndicated shows may be replaced, Gould said. WGUL in Dunedin also will have a news-talk format, with local news, weather and traffic and syndicated talk shows.
As soon as the deal closes, Gould plans a transition period, in which WGUL will broadcast presidential speeches around-the-clock, to appeal to the "Greatest Generation" listeners who make up the core of the audience. The speeches will run ad-free, but after the station converts to news-talk, the number of spot ads could increase.
"There's going to be more inventory available on a news-talk station than on a music station," Gould said, "But I'm more concerned with providing news, talk and information and community service than I am in extra advertising units on the clock. Initially we may have more content than advertising."
The news-talk additions put Salem well on the way to achieving its goals in the communities where it has stations. The company wants stations featuring Christian talk, news-talk and contemporary Christian music. News-talk and music are the fastest-growing segments for Salem, which had broadcast revenue of $99.3 million and posted net income of $5.9 million for the first half of 2005, public filings show.
Salem is looking for opportunities to have a contemporary Christian music station in the Bay area, but "there's nothing on the horizon now with regard to that format," Gould said.
Move over country: La Nueva takes to the airwaves
Margie Manning
Staff Writer
¡Oye! Shakira and Marc Anthony are shaking up the Tampa Bay radio market.
They are among the Latin artists featured on the first Hispanic FM station in the market, La Nueva FM 92.5, El Senido Latino de Tampa Bay, or The New 92.5, The Latin Sound of Tampa Bay.
Infinity Broadcasting launched the Spanish-language format Aug. 7 on WYUU-FM, booting the former country format. It's the first time a major company has gone to the Hispanic format on the FM band in Tampa, said Glenn Serafin, president of Serafin Bros., a Tampa-based broadcast brokerage and finance firm.
The move comes as Hispanic media grows at a double-digit rate. While general market radio is growing revenue at 3 percent to 4 percent annually, Hispanic radio revenue is growing at 12 percent, with about $600 million spent on Hispanic radio at 650 stations nationwide, said Luis Diaz-Albertini, Infinity VP and GM of the station.
It's one of two big changes in the Bay area radio industry. In the next few weeks, WGUL-AM in Dunedin, currently playing adult standards from artists such as Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, will convert to a news-talk format under its new owner, Salem Communications Corp. Salem's pending $9.5 million purchase of WGUL and WLSS-AM in Sarasota will double the company's stations in the Bay area market.
Boosting ratings and revenue
Diaz-Albertini said the switch by WTBT-FM, owned by Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU), from classic rock to country in April pushed WYUU into the third-rated spot among country stations, behind WTBT and Infinity's own WQYK-FM.
"We thought we had a better chance for ratings and revenue doing something else," he said.
While there are several AM radio stations in the market serving the Spanish-language market, WYUU has a stronger signal and the improved fidelity of an FM station.
WYUU also pulls in more revenue than any of the existing Hispanic stations, according to estimates from BIA Financial Network, a Chantilly, Va.-based adviser for the media and telecommunications industry.
BIA's Investing in Radio Market Report estimated 2004 revenue for WYUU was $7.5 million. Estimated revenue for the five AM Spanish/Tropical format stations was $500,000 for WAMA, $700,000 for WQBN, $1.1 million for WRMD, $1.6 million for WLCC and $2 million for WMGG, according to BIA.
"Last year, Hispanic radio did about $5 million in Tampa, and we believe television did $15 million to $18 million," Diaz-Albertini said. "We believe that will grow dramatically with an FM in the marketplace, and we mean to get our unfair share."
Response from car dealers and banks
Diaz-Albertini said WYUU will continue to share sales staff with WQYK, but he said the price of spot ads will be higher than those charged for WYUU's country format, ranging from $75 to $150, depending on the time of day.
"We've had incredible response from the advertising community, specifically automotive and financial companies," he said.
Cherie Wenstrom, VP and director of media for Wenstrom Communications, a media planning and placement company in Clearwater, said sales at WYUU likely would increase in part because the station's new format is a Top 40 blend of music designed to appeal to Hispanics of all nationalities, unlike other stations that focus on Puerto Ricans, Mexicans or Cubans.
The growth of the Hispanic population in the Bay area makes the move a smart one for Infinity, Wenstrom said.
As much as 8.2 percent of the metro area's population is Hispanic, including 17 percent of all households in Tampa, she said.
Diaz-Albertini said the Tampa figure is a bit lower at 13 percent, but half of the area's population growth was from Hispanics.
In other markets with a fast-growing Hispanic population, Spanish-language radio is increasingly popular and attractive to advertisers. In Dallas-Fort Worth, KESS-FM and its Mexican regional format became the first Spanish-language radio station to top the charts, ranking No. 1 in the Arbitron spring ratings, according to a July 30 report in the Dallas Morning News.
Voices of the presidents
The sound will change on WGUL in the next few weeks as well under the new owner, Salem Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SALM), a Camarillo, Calif.-based broadcast firm.
Chris Gould, GM at Salem's existing Tampa stations, WTBN-AM 570 and AM 910, said the purchases have been approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the closing is imminent, although he didn't have an exact date.
Unlike WTBN, which broadcasts a Christian talk format, WLSS in Sarasota will maintain its existing news-talk format, although some of its syndicated shows may be replaced, Gould said. WGUL in Dunedin also will have a news-talk format, with local news, weather and traffic and syndicated talk shows.
As soon as the deal closes, Gould plans a transition period, in which WGUL will broadcast presidential speeches around-the-clock, to appeal to the "Greatest Generation" listeners who make up the core of the audience. The speeches will run ad-free, but after the station converts to news-talk, the number of spot ads could increase.
"There's going to be more inventory available on a news-talk station than on a music station," Gould said, "But I'm more concerned with providing news, talk and information and community service than I am in extra advertising units on the clock. Initially we may have more content than advertising."
The news-talk additions put Salem well on the way to achieving its goals in the communities where it has stations. The company wants stations featuring Christian talk, news-talk and contemporary Christian music. News-talk and music are the fastest-growing segments for Salem, which had broadcast revenue of $99.3 million and posted net income of $5.9 million for the first half of 2005, public filings show.
Salem is looking for opportunities to have a contemporary Christian music station in the Bay area, but "there's nothing on the horizon now with regard to that format," Gould said.