At noon today, iHeartMedia launched Spanish CHR “Rumba 106.1” on WISX Philadelphia.

Branding as “#1 Para Reggaetón Y Variedad”, the station is launching with 10,000 songs commercial-free. Core artists are listed as including Bad Bunny, J. Balvin, Karol G, Marc and Anthony.

The “Rumba” brand was previously utilized in the market on Spanish Tropical “Rumba 104.5” WUBA for a brief run from August 2006 to May 2007 before being moved to 1480 until November 2011. The first attempt at “Rumba” coincided with the shift of ratings measurement from diary to PPM and a changing competitive landscape in Philadelphia that made the launch of Alternative on the frequency possible.

There are currently multiple smaller AMs and translators filling the Spanish CHR and Tropical niches in the market, two of which show up in the ratings. Mega-Philadelphia LLC’s “Mega 105.7” 1310 WEMG is at a 0.8 share, while VM Broadcasting’s “La Kalle 99.9” 1340 WHAT/99.9 W260CZ holds a 0.5. That combined 1.3 share would currently rank ahead of both WTDY-FM and WRNB-FM and doesn’t include potential audience that can be gained from other stations including those in the adjacent Trenton and Wilmington markets. “Rumba 104.5’s” ratings that were in the low 2 shares in 2007 would not appear as bad now as they did then and the Hispanic population in the Philadelphia market now accounts for nearly 10% of the market.

iHeartMedia Philadelphia debuts Rumba 106.1, # 1 Para Reggaetón Y Variedad En Philadelphia, effective immediately. Rumba 106.1 will air high energy contemporary top 40 hits from the most popular genres in Latin music today, such as Reggaetón, Urban Pop, Bachata, Salsa and more.

Listeners can tune in to hear music from some of their favorite Latinx artists including Bad Bunny, J. Balvin, Karol G, Marc Anthony and more. Listeners can tune in to hear the biggest hits from their favorite Latinx artists including Bad Bunny, J. Balvin, Karol G, Marc Anthony and more. Broadcasting from Parx Casino Studios, Rumba 106.1 will play ten thousand songs commercial free to kick off the launch. Founding partners include Miller Lite, PGW, Top Dog Law, CarVision.com, Angels Are Us Home Health Agency and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

“Our decision to create Rumba 106.1 is a recognition of the importance and vitality of the Greater Philadelphia region’s Latino population, which has grown to just over 15 percent over the past five years,” said Derrick Corbett, Senior VP of Programming for iHeartMedia Philadelphia. “The latest Census Bureau statistics show that the Philadelphia region contains the third-highest Latino population in the Northeast.”

“History is unfolding in the city of brotherly love with the very first full-power FM signal dedicated to the Latino community, which has been longing for many years to have its voice represented in Philadelphia,” said P.J. Gonzalez, Senior VP of Programming for iHeartLatino.

“iHeartRadio is proud to introduce Rumba 106.1 as a companion station to the ever-excelling Latino culture.”

“The Delaware Valley has a wealth of organizations and individuals who are committed to serving the Latino community and we are excited that we have a radio station that will strongly support their efforts,” said Jeff Moore, Market President for iHeartMedia Philadelphia.

Update 3/10: At noon today, WISX’s stunting shifted from a simulcast of WIOQ to non-stop music from Bad Bunny and Spanish language promos for its new format launching on Friday, March 11.

The sweepers generally translate to “A new station is coming to Philadelphia, a new station just for Latinos. Coming tomorrow at noon.”

For more details on what will likely debut see our Domain Insight report from Wednesday here.

Original Report 3/8: A format change is in progress at iHeartMedia Soft AC “106.1 The Breeze” WISX Philadelphia.

WISX is currently simulcasting sister CHR “Q102” WIOQ. Outside of banner on the station’s website stating “Under Construction – Now Playing Philly’s #1 Hit Music Station” there are no references to the 106.1 signal being made on air or anywhere else right now.

Morning host Valerie Knight has posted a video acknowledging that she has been let go with the impending format change.

WISX ranked tenth in the Philadelphia market with a 3.3 share in the January 2022 Nielsen Audio ratings.