Navidad en Español!

A real life story of novelty right before the holiday. Clear Channel in their own weird dystopian way have debuted a new, arguably experimental format in Tucson on 97.1 KTZR-FM. It's only been a couple days and most of the airplay has on the overnights so far. But I expect since they had the initiative to do it at all, that they'll go 24/7 sometime after thanksgiving.

Clear Channel picked a rimshotter in a small market to roll this out. It has all the hallmarks of a taste test. their tower of off to the South West of Tucson. It's location because of terrain and other forces is weak in the northern suburbs robbing them of full metro coverage that might otherwise be possible.  Despite large Hispanic populations in Tucson and it's southern suburbs they scrape the bottom of the Arbitron ratings book regularly. In 2003 they debuted a Spanish format for the first time under the brand Suave 97.1.  That was dropped in favor of La Preciosa which is more of a Spanish classic hits. They re-branded as Mia 97.1 about this time last year. My suspicion is that this format is the work of a local programmer.

Everybody knows the Jose Feliciano version of Feliz Navidad.  It's played on Spanish and pop stations alike. But there's a lot more Christmas music out there in the Spanish language. The playlist on KTZR is a strange blend of nostalgia such as Bing Crosby and brand new Spanish covers of yule time standards. If this succeeds in the ratings book, I'd expect to see a lot more of this next year. This will of course create demand for a slew of new releases. Here are some highlights from the play list in no order whatsoever:

Darlene Love - Christmas
Edith Marquez - Noche De Paz
Andrea Bocelli - God Bless Us Everyone
Ana Gabriel - Amarga Navidad
Grupo Mojado - Regalo A Santa Claus
El General - Jingle Belele
Bing Crosby - Do You Hear What I Hear
Belinda Rodolfo - El Reno De La Nariz Roja
Tito El Bambino - Feliz Navidad
Luis Miguel - Blanca Navidad
Los Bukis - Navidad Sin Ti
Andy Williams - Sleigh Ride
Juan Gabriel - 24 De Diciembre
Jon Secada - Feliz Navidad
Daniela Romo - Blanca Navidad
Perry Como - Winter Wonderland
Pedro Fernandez and Ricky Martin - Amigos Del Mundo
Raphael - El Tamborilero
Amalia Mendoza - Amarga Navidad
Luis Miguel - Navidad, Navidad
Los Fugitivos -  Triste Navidad
Mijares - Adeste Fideles
Ana Barbara - Dame Un Beso En Noche Buena
Daniela Romo - Blanca Navidad
Frank Sinatra -  Jingle Bells
Luis Miguel Te Deseos Muy Felices Fiestas
Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
Aventura - El Burrito De Belen