XHFO-FM
 | |
| Broadcast area | Mexico City Metropolitan area - Regional FM |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 92.1 MHz |
| First air date | 1979 |
| Format | News and talk; contemporary music in English |
| ERP | 100 kW[1] |
| Transmitter coordinates | 19°23′40″N 99°10′28″W / 19.3945°N 99.1744°W |
| Owner |
Grupo Siete (programmed by Grupo Radio Centro) (Grupo Radial Siete, S.A. de C.V.) |
| Website | 92.1 Red FM |
XHFO-FM is a radio station in Mexico City. The station broadcasts news and talk programming as Red FM. The station is operated by Grupo Radio Centro, under contract with Grupo Siete, which owns the station's concession. Its broadcast frequency is 92.1 MHz.
History
XHFO received its initial concession on November 26, 1964. It was owned by Raymundo Romero Damian.
XHFO signed on in 1979 as "Radio Triunfadora", being renamed to "Crystal FM" in 1982, with a contemporary Spanish music format. In 1993, as grupera music began to gain success, the station was lent to Grupo Radio Centro in exchange for XEEST-AM in a relationship that has been extended for more than 20 years. GRC promptly changed the name and format of XHFO to "Sonido Z" with grupera and regional Mexican music. In 1996 it was renamed "La Z".
On December 7, 1998, a format swap occurred between XHFO and XEQR-FM, with XHFO adopting the English classic hits format "Universal Stereo" that had begun in 1974, whereas "La Z" moved to XEQR. The swap was due to both formats being in close proximity to competitor stations with almost the same formats (XEQ-FM and XHDFM-FM), as well as to keep XHFO's operation in GRC's hands, since Grupo Siete tried to reclaim it after "La Z" had become Mexico City's top-rated station.
On May 16, 2016, XHFO and XHRED 88.1 swapped formats. This time, the swap was due to technical considerations involving GRC's contract to operate XHFO, in order to preserve the continuity of the more profitable "Universal" format.
After a reorganization of GRC's AM stations in 2017, most talk programs from XERED-AM moved to XHFO, limiting music to overnight hours. Following yet another programming change on November 20, said programming was dropped entirely.
Format
Red FM's format consists of multiple longform newscasts throughout the day, featuring such hosts as Sergio Sarmiento, Juan Francisco Castañeda and Jesús Martín Mendoza, talk programs about various topics such as sports, health, finances and culture, and formerly contemporary music in English. Every year since 2013, the station's musical blocks turn into an all-Christmas music format from late November until Christmas Day (later even launching an online spin-off of 24/7 all-Christmas music, in 2017 it was not repeated on XHFO due to the removal of music programming). Red FM also airs Sunday night games during the NFL season.
References
- ↑ Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. Infraestructura de Estaciones de Radio FM. Last modified 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2014-12-24. Technical information from the IFT Coverage Viewer.