XHPOP-FM
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
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|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.3 MHz |
| Branding | Match FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1964 |
Former call signs | XEN-FM (1964–1977) |
Call sign meaning | POP music |
| Technical information | |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 90 kW[1] |
| HAAT | 115 meters (377 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 19°23′11.2″N 99°12′21.1″W / 19.386444°N 99.205861°W |
| Links | |
| Website | matchmx |
XHPOP-FM is a radio station on 99.3 FM in Mexico City. The station is owned by Grupo ACIR and airs the company's Match format of contemporary hit radio in English. The transmitter is located atop a tower in "Ciudad de la Radio" west of the city centre.
History
[edit]The XHPOP history begins with authorized as XEN-FM, a counterpart to XEN-AM 690 in 1964, the station was simulcasting known as Radio Mundo. The station was sold in 1977 and the callsign changed to the current the same year. It initially broadcast an instrumental music format under the name Música Feliz 99 before changing to a hit radio format as Sonido 99 by the end of the decade.
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake severely damaged the studios used by XEN and its Ondas de Alegría sister stations, and after some time off the air and a relocation to new studios, the station reemerged as Radio Metrópoli and then Fórmula Mexicana, both broadcasting Mexican music. The station reverted to Sonido 99 at the end of 1987—a year in which the Díaz Romo cluster was split due to family differences—and soon changed to Digital 99.
In 1995, it was leased alongside ARTSA sister stations XHPOP, XHM and XHDFM to Grupo ACIR for a period of 10 years, with the goal being to combine the stations to form new national network concepts.[2] In 2005, the station was sold outright to Grupo ACIR.
Radio Disney
[edit]In August 2013, the station stopped using the "Digital" name on-air, only referring to itself as "99-3". This sparked speculation about a format change, with Radio Disney as the main replacement option.[3] This rumors were confirmed, when it was announced that on October 9, XHPOP-FM would become the Mexican version of Radio Disney, which officially launched at noon on that day. Most of the Digital hosts remained on Radio Disney.[4][5]
Match
[edit]On December 26, 2019, Disney and ACIR announced they were mutually ending their relationship, which had covered twelve Mexican cities.[6] Ten of the twelve Radio Disney stations, including XHPOP, were transitioned to ACIR's replacement format, Match, which formally launched on January 7, 2020.[7] Unlike Radio Disney, Match's programming is mostly composed of English-language hits from the 2000s to the present, with no Spanish hits and no Latin urban music.
References
[edit]- ^ Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. Infraestructura de Estaciones de Radio FM. Last modified 2018-05-16. Retrieved June 30, 2014. Technical information from the IFT Coverage Viewer.
- ^ Vidal, Francisco (June 2, 1996). "Cuadrante de gigantes". Reforma. p. 16.
- ^ Digital 99.3 concluye transmisión: Diario Basta (in spanish)
- ^ Radio Disney ya tiene presencia en México – El Universal Archived October 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ Radio Disney transmitirá en México – Azteca Noticias (in Spanish)
- ^ "Radio Disney México 2020". Radio Disney (in Spanish). December 26, 2019. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ Acosta, Gabriela (December 26, 2019). "Nace Match Fm en el cuadrante mexicano". Publimetro. Retrieved December 27, 2019.