The first of two possible format changes in Asheville NC took place this morning as Saga Communications flipped “Pure Oldies 97.3” W247BV/96.5 WOXL-HD3 Asheville to Spanish CHR “La Pantera 97.3“.
The station is utilizing the branding and programming designed by Spanish language programming consultant Gerardo Lopez with a mix of Regional Mexican and Spanish pop music. Lopez also is President of Programming for Costa Media with the brand heard on stations in markets including Boston, San Antonio, and Washington DC as well as Dick Broadcasting stations in New Bern NC and Hilton Head SC. Lopez stated, “I’m very excited for La Pantera radio network to continue to grow now in Asheville. We are grateful for our partnership with Asheville Media Group to give us the opportunity to serve our growing Hispanic community.”
Saga Asheville Market Manager Tom Davis commented, “Our team felt it was time to launch Asheville’s first Spanish language radio station and mentioned the idea to friends at Hola Carolina. Hola Carolina builds bridges between cultures and embraces the diversity of our community. They were excited to hear our vision for this brand and offered valuable insight and advice. t’s been hard to keep this exciting news to ourselves, but we’ve had overwhelming support from clients who will have an opportunity to reach a portion of the population they have been unable to reach until now. We’re thrilled that La Pantera 97.3 is on the air in western North Carolina.”
Local programming will be added in the near future.
