Conservative Christian media company to buy Miami’s La Poderosa, Cadena Azul

Salem Media Group, a media company that owns dozens of conservative and Christian radio stations and publications, announced on Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Miami radio stations WWFE La Poderosa 670 AM and WRHC Cadena Azul 1550 AM.

The deal, which includes the stations’ FM affiliates, marks the latest shift in Miami’s Spanish-language talk radio landscape, with La Poderosa, a longtime voice for Cuban exiles in Miami, the latest to change hands.

Salem Media Group explained in a press release announcing the deal that it intends to continue broadcasting the stations in Spanish.

An executive was quoted in the announcement saying “leading Spanish-speaking voices of freedom” will be added to the lineup, but a La Poderosa spokesperson said that in a meeting between Salem Media Group and the station, La Poderosa representatives were told that there were no plans to add new programming or new hosts at the station.

“They don’t intend to change anything,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said La Poderosa staff were told about the purchase the day before it was announced. “No one knew until yesterday,” the spokesperson told the Herald.

Salem Media Group reaches over 11 million radio listeners, owning more than 100 radio stations and with more than 3,100 network affiliate stations, according to the press release. Salem’s programming includes conservative personalities such as Charlie Kirk, Brandon Tatum, Hugh Hewitt, Mike Gallagher, and others. Salem Media Group also owns news and opinion websites Townhall.com and Redstate.com.

The deal was announced about one month after the death of La Poderosa and Cadena Azul president Jorge Rodríguez Sr., who acquired La Poderosa in 1993. He was in favor of the deal with Salem, according to a statement released by his widow, La Poderosa Vice President Ana María Vidal Rodríguez.

The deal also comes as Miami’s Spanish-language talk radio landscape has shifted. Late last month, Audacy announced that it had struck a deal to broadcast conservative Spanish-language media startup Americano Media’s Radio Libre on WAXY-790 AM. TelevisaUnivision also recently announced it was selling Radio Mambí, an institution in Miami’s conservative Cuban exile community, to a new media group with ties to national Democrats and financing connected to progressive mega-donor George Soros.

“At a time when the voices of freedom in Spanish-language programming are threatened, it is our duty to step up and serve the South Florida audience,” Salem Media Executive Chairman Edward Atsinger said in the press release.

Just as conservatives have been wary of Mambi’s sale, some are wary of Salem’s entry into Miami’s Spanish-language media market. Eduardo Gamarra, a politics and international relations professor at Florida International University, said he is concerned that Salem “is linked to the Christian right ... so the station will probably have that very strong ideological message.”

“What’s happening here is that conservatives want to ensure they remain in control of conservative radio stations,” he said.

Salem Media Group did not make a representative available to comment on the purchase of La Poderosa and Cadena Azul.

The purchase has been filed with the FCC and both parties anticipate the deal will close around the beginning of 2023.