I could have waited for the “Intriguing Stations of 2023” article, coming to Ross On Radio in early January. But I’ve seen iHeart’s new WMIA (Magic 93.9) Miami generating talk among English-language programmers already on Facebook. It is one of the fascinating programming gambits of the year, so some quick thoughts:
WMIA is the station that was heavily covered in these pages three years ago as all-‘90s Totally 93.9, before segueing to a more traditional bright AC. Now Magic 93.9 is playing mostly English-language gold-based AC punctuated with two Spanish-language songs an hour, and with all its between-the-records content in Spanish. Magic’s positioner translates to “Your All-Time Favorites.” But there are also references to being “the station designed for Latinos in Miami.”
Magic is most obviously aimed at the similar Soft AC/Classic Hits mix of WFEZ (Easy 93.1), one of South Florida’s dominant stations of recent years, but also at Audacy’s AC WLYF (101.5 Lite FM) and Univision’s longtime Spanish-language AC WAMR (Amor 107.5). English-language music presented in Spanish is more common outside the U.S., but Magic also has echoes of WCMQ (Classica 92) when that station was a successful mix of Spanish- and English-language Classic Hits in the ‘00s.
Easy 93.1 has remained consistently successful since evolving from a traditional Soft AC to more of a pop-based Classic Hits stations in recent years. WAMR is one of the stations that has remained most identifiably AC in texture when many of its counterparts became Hot ACs, following the success of Bad Bunny and other urbano artists. But Amor’s music is primarily 2000s. That is perhaps why the Spanish-language titles that Magic plays are mostly late ‘90s/2K; a sweeper positions them as “your all-time favorites in English and Spanish.”
Besides launching with 10,000 songs in a row, WMIA is also asking listeners to write down to the first three songs of the hour for a chance to win five times a day. Here’s the station at 11 a.m., Nov. 29:
- Selena, “Dreaming of You”
- Rick Astley, “Never Gonna Give You Up”
- Donna Summer, “On the Radio”—the most unusual title of the hour and one not on WFEZ at the moment
- Mr. Mister, “Broken Wings”
- Backstreet Boys, “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”
- Chayanne, “Yo Te Amo” (a 2001 song amidst the ‘80s and ‘90s)
- U2, “With or Without You”
- Whitney Houston, “I Have Nothing”
- Kenny Loggins, “Footloose”
- Berlin, “Take My Breath Away”
- Fonesca, “Te Mando Flores” (from 2005)
- Cher, “Believe”
- UB40, “Red Red Wine”
IHeart made a great move! I consult stations in Mexico that have been doing this format for years. These stations lead their markets in ratings and revenue, including Mexico City, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. For bilingual and Spanish-speaking Hispanics, this station gives them a “unique” AC station they feel is just for them. I’ve often wondered why this format hasn’t been done in the states, especially in markets with large Hispanic audiences. Miami is not the only market where this can work.
Bob Perry
Thanks, Bob. Definitely respect your opinion on this as somebody who’s been working in exactly this area for so many years.
Will be interesting to see. So many have tried to figure this market and the Latino listeners. Miami is not Texas, California or even New York and that’s where programmers make the mistake. They lump all Spanish cultures into one listener and it’s not like that. Consultants from those markets don’t get it unless they listen to the locals and understand this market they never will. Good luck
South Florida radio is a wide variety of influences that has made for some unusual and interesting stations over the years (such as not just WCMQ but also the bilingual CHR on WQBA that kind of anticipated ’80s CHR in the market). The thing that bothers me most on either the Spanish- or English-language side is when people come into the market and they don’t even try to acknowledge those differences. There are a lot of stations in the market that have been right for the Rust Belt but not Miami (or even Broward).