The first flip of the usually busy Memorial Day Weekend has taken place as iHeartMedia flipped Alternative “103.1 iHeart Austin” K276EL/98.1 KVET-HD2 Austin TX to Spanish CHR “Tu 103.1” at 10am today.
Positioned as “Donde Viven Tus Hits” (Where Your Hits Live), the station clones the branding utilized at “Tu 94.9” WZTU Miami. Enrique Santos’ syndicated morning show based at WZTU will also be heard on K276EL.
The new format creates a direct format competitor to Emmis’ “Latino 102.7” K274AX/107.1 KLZT-HD2. K274AX held a 1.9 share in the April 2017 Nielsen Audio PPM ratings, while K276EL’s Alternative format held just a 0.2 share with a slightly larger coverage area.
iHeartMedia Austin announced today the debut of TU 103.1, the new home of Spanish Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) music for Austin, TX. The station will kick off today with commercial-free music featuring around-the-clock Spanish and English songs.
TU 103.1 will broadcast hit music from artists such as Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Nicky Jam, Shakira, and Mana. Beginning June 1, Enrique Santos will host Tu Manana con Enrique Santos from 5-9 a.m. The full programming lineup will be announced at a later date.
“We are so excited to introduce the new TU 103.1 to the Austin community,” said Brian Gann, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeartMedia Austin/San Antonio. “We truly believe this format will resonate well with our Austin listeners, and is a perfect complement to our other stations in the region.”
“I am thrilled to help wake the great people of Austin on weekday mornings with the best music and entertainment,” said Santos, Morning Show Host and Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of iHeartLatino, iHeartMedia’s new Hispanic platform. “Everything is bigger in Texas…but better in Spanish! I’m proud to represent mi gente on the new TU 103.1.”
“The addition of this new Spanish-language station adds a new dimension to our cluster and the Austin community,” said Matt Martin, President of iHeartMedia Austin/San Antonio. “We have an amazing team in place and I am excited for what’s to come!”
Ryan Williams 
atxmedia
I would not say that 103.1 is better than 102.7 in typical use. 103.1 does have 10 more watts and has a substantial elevation advantage, but is highly directional (not reflected on FCCData) and all of the radiation is on the vertical plane. In actual use, I’d say 102.7 is substantially better across the spectrum of radios in use (from first hand listening experience). I’m not surprised they are spinning the wheel on iHeart Austin, because it has long seemed to be running out of steam, but do I wonder how many Spanish CHR shares are available in Austin and Emmis can combo Latino with La Z. It’s an interesting flip for sure.
Latino 102.7 is a locally based, live station in ATX. Everyone has tried syndicated here, and it works best local live.