After a one-month absence, La Mega Spanish-language radio programming has returned to Cincinnati airwaves on Urban One’s FM 101.5.
Radio One, a diversified media company that primarily targets Black Americans, has dropped its Le Grande format after four years in favor of La Mega, which lost a local outlet when broadcasting executive Randy Michaels bought WOXY-FM (97.7) a month ago.
The Cincinnati format change was part of a deal announced Monday to put La Mega on FM radio stations in Columbus, Cleveland and Indianapolis.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to add La Mega to our strong portfolio of assets in the Cincinnati market. This rebranding of our existing Spanish-language station brings with it a strong team and legacy that will only enhance our ability to serve the rapidly expanding Hispanic community,” said Dan Abercrombie, vice president and general manager for Urban One Cincinnati.
Urban One also operates WIZF-FM “The WIZ” urban contemporary and hip-hop at 101.1 FM; WOSL-FM, urban adult contemporary and soul at 100.3 FM; and WDBZ-AM, the talk and urban gospel station known as “1230AM The Buzz.”
Adding La Mega to the “existing heritage brands . . . truly strengthens our offerings to reach the minority communities we serve in Cincinnati,” he says.
Urban One Cincinnati has entered into a local management agreement with La Mega Media Inc. and Lazo Media LLC to operate FM 101.5, he says.
The company also named Claudia DeLeon, most recently the chief operating officer of La Mega Media, the vice president and general manager for the Cleveland market, and head of Spanish Broadcast Operations for Urban One. Urban One also owns Telemundo television affiliates in Columbus and Indianapolis, according to the company’s media release.
In November of 2021 the 101.5 FM frequency stopped simulcasting “1230 The Buzz” and adopted the La Grande Hispanic format
WOXY-FM (97.7) now broadcasts “The Oasis” rock hits from the 1970s under a local management agreement with Jeff Ziesmann’s Grant County Broadcasters, which airs the format on WNKR-FM (106.7) in Dry Ridge, Ky. Until a year ago, “The Oasis” had been heard on Middletown’s WNKN-FM (105.9) when Ziesmann sold the station to Relevant Radio, a Catholic broadcaster.
