The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 76

20 The Media Spanish radio stations: Sedate not A listener can tune into political polemic Spanish golden oldies salsa the Latin version 'Of easy -listening ii i music talk shows news and diatribe Levin: more news about international events and the Cuban issue By MMI WHITEFIELD Her aid Business Writer When you enter the realm of Spanish language programming in Miami prepare for much more than English formats translated into Spanish with a salsa beat It is the land of afternoon novelas (soap operas) open mjke shows hosted by anti-Castro groups and political passion AJfcheugh ethnic radio is still in its infancy in many parts of the country Miami has seven Spanish radio stations more than any other market in the US And the Federal Communications Commission approved the application of an eighth station Friday The combined Arbitron ratings of WQBA AM and FM WCMQ AM and FM WRHC-AM WOCN-AM and WHTT-AM accounted for 195 of the audience share in the com- bined Miami-Fort Lauderdale market and nearly a third of the Miami audience share in the latest survey San Antonio Texas with five stations is closest competitor New York which has the largest Hispanic population in the coun- try has only one part-time and two full-time stations As the Latin listening audience grows (41 per cent of Dade Coun- 752000 population) and competition increases among Spanish stations there are more and more options for the Latin listener With a flip of the dial a listener can tune into Spanish golden oldies salsa the Latin version of easy-listening music talk shows news or more traditional Latin entertain- ment formats Levin general manager of WQBA thinks the number of Spanish radio stations is a good sign be- cause "they are only reflecting the health of the Latin He estimates that advertisements Miami but he says he thinks that share is eroding Levin says WQBA takes the competition seriously but estimates it is still doing 50 per cent of the advertising in the Spanish market Last combined AM-FM revenues were $59 million and WQBA is projecting revenues of $67 million in 1981 says Levin the Cuban advertisers care less about says Levin believe RHC is on National advertisers and non-Latin advertisers have been understanding and have adopted a wait-and-see attitude had a lot of people ask me what Levin says think give us another book before There also will be some changes at WQBA but Levin says they were WQBA (55) WCMQ AM and FM (both 39) WOCN (31) WQBA-FM (3) and WHTT (23) However the Birch Report an-' other radio rating survey still shows WQBA as the dominant sta- tion among Miami market listeners 18 years and older Salvador Lew general manager Of WRHC says his success is a matter of having the right format at the right time The daytime station switched to the news-talk format in June 1979 living in a time of news In the last 10 to 15 days all heard about is the inauguration and the hostages" says Lew This year the Cuban community also was vitally interested in news of the Peru- vian Embassy takeover and the Mariel boatlift have better information sources and we go after the he says WRHC has a full-time Washington bureau a newsroom staff of 20 in Spanish-language newspapers and radio and TV stations total about $22 million annually with radio capturing about 40 per cent of the total WQBA-AM nicknamed La Cu-banisima very Cuban) has dominated Dade County radio for nearly a decade Until recently its mix of novelas music news talk and humor consistently racked up higher ratings than any English or Span- ish station in Dade County But there are signs that its stranglehold is weakening WRHC-AM a feisty all-news station has toppled WQBA in the last two Arbitron rating periods WRHC the first station in the US owned by a group of Cuban-Ameri-cans takes its name from the call letters of the old Cuban radio station RHC (Radio Havana Cuba) In the OctoberNovember survey WRHC emerged with a 106 rating among Miami listeners 12 years and older It was followed by SOLUTION INFLATION and news exchange agreements with stations in virtually every Latin American country says Lew However WQBA is still the undisputed advertising king main competition in this market is WQBA" says David Gleason general manager of WHTT an adult comtempo-rary music station that began broadcasting in August think the ratings will keep them down for long I think definitely he says WQBA is still commanding the rates that go with top ratings Six 60-second ads cost between $120 and $130 apiece WRHC charges national advertisers $80 per primetime minute but is considering increasing its rates Jospeh Rey general manager of WCMQ estimates that WQBA gets about 40 per cent of the advertising dollars spent on Spanish radio in MORTGAGEXdS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SURGICAL SERVICES This is a challenging opportunity for an individual with proven management ability and operating room experience RN desirable but not essential We offer an outstanding salary and comprehensive benefits package Send resume to: HERALD ADV 1770P Equal Opportunity Employer MP tf you are now receiving a 9-12 return on your investment (CD saving certificates Gov't bonds dividends etc) after taxes and inflation you are losing over 5 per year on your dollars In today's economy you rieed a good hedge investment that has been doing in excess of 30 a year We are one of the oldest investment companies of our kind in America recommended by leading financial periodicals and have been providing an investment that has been averaging better than 2 per year for the Iasi ten years It has not gone down in value for 45 consecutive years Qualifies foi Profit Sharing Retirement KEOGH Plans Runnformation Call local from Dade (305) 593-932! American Broward (305) 522-2203 Diamond Palm (305) 655-4255 Or Write: Company 25 NW 53rd St Suite 126 Miami FL 33 1 66 20 INTERESI is nothing compared to the discount and service receive on fine clothes when you shop at EISENBERG EISENGERG 28414 NE 15 Ct NMB 1-95 to Ives Dairy Rd 2 Blks West 1 South 651-68896892 5S Opening new real estate office Want Protessionais to work in pleasant cooperative surroundings Ft SCHWEDEL REViTZ Louis Sherry Assoc 1 Lincoln Rd Bldg MB (305) 538-5433 AieilKTfAlLtllZ ONOUR EXPERTIS INDIVIDUALS PENSION PUNS PROFIT SHARING PUNS RETIREMENT PLANS 8 MIN 305Z888S56BZ DOWNTOWN MIAMI FLAGLER STREET -r STORE FOR RENT $15 SQ FT YEARLY FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 371-5811 mm mmmm mmm mm mm fir tNaf IBank Fla 33012 rrrrmv i Thi Miami Herald Monday February 2 1981.