Beasley Media Group has launched another music format that will broadcast on HD Radio side channels in several markets. “Playa,” described as a “Salsa and More” format, is deployed on HD sub-channels of company stations in Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Charlotte.
The new outlet features traditional rhythms and heritage music born across the Caribbean in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Columbia with artists that include Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, and Juan Luis Guerra.
“With the Hispanic communities growing fast in many of our markets, we’re proud to present this mass appeal music format with the biggest and most familiar Latin stars,” Chief Content Officer Justin Chase said in a release. “Our brilliant Director of Latin Formats, Nio Fernandez, has made Playa highly popular in a couple of our markets already and I’m excited to watch the brand continue to expand.”
The “Playa” brand has been attached to Beasley’s Spanish adult hits WWCN Ft. Myers (99.3) and Spanish CHR WYUU-HD2 Tampa.
The new “Playa” national format will be carried on WBQT-HD2 Boston, WMGK-HD3 Philadelphia, WMGC-HD2 Detroit, KKLZ-HD2 Las Vegas, and WNKS-HD3 Charlotte. “Playa” will also have an Atlanta presence on the company’s stand-alone WAEC (860), which has been programming a religious teaching format as “Love 860.”
“The salsa format is one that we have successfully offered in Tampa and Fort Myers,” Fernandez remarked. “We are extremely proud to expand it to Atlanta, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Detroit, Boston, and Charlotte. Beasley takes pride in the growth of its Hispanic footprint as the company continues to align with the demand for these formats in the nation’s rapidly changing demographics.”
Last month, the company launched a new country music discovery format “NuTune Country” on HD channels in seven markets.