Spanish Broadcasting System will be adding a new network to its radio arsenal before the year’s end, according to company Chairman and CEO Raúl Alarcón. The network, La Privada, will feature a fusion of regional Mexican and urban music.
Alarcón revealed the news during a Q&A session at the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week. La Privada is set to debut in major markets, including Chicago and New York, within the next 90 days. Alarcón emphasized that the new network was born from observing a growing interest in the fusion of regional Mexican music with urban genres.
The expansion comes as SBS steers toward financial recovery, as seen in the company’s second-quarter 2024 results. SBS reduced its net loss to $346,000, a significant improvement from the $8.55 million loss a year prior. SBS currently operates 16 radio stations in major US markets and Puerto Rico and runs AIRE Radio Networks, serving more than 290 affiliates.
During the Q&A, Alarcón also addressed radio’s unique ability to capture local trends and connect with communities in a way that digital platforms cannot. “We can perceive trends because radio stations are hyperlocal. Like corridos tumbados or bélicos, we were able to catch that trend as it was happening, we saw indications of the trend and we were able to adapt quickly because radio is local. People will tell us right away if they like it or not — it’s one of our strengths. We adapt to what our listeners want,” he said.
“Artists have told us, ‘You makes the hits, you sell tickets, run promotions.’ [Radio has] been discarded before when TV came, now I have noticed that there’s a resurgence. Radio is important, radio is everything, it’s the connection with the local public, it adapts to trends, it’s entertainment. It’s not just a repeater, few people can create, and creativity is adaptation.”
