Red W Interactiva was a talk radio network in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

that operated from October 22, 2001, to January 31, 2002. It was owned by Grupo Pegaso, headed by Alejandro Burillo Azcárraga.

History

Red W Interactiva commenced operations on October 22, 2001, featuring a format composed entirely of talk radio programs. It provided talk shows, radio serials, entertainment and celebrity programs, and an audio simulcast of Multivisión's main newscast. The network signed up dozens of affiliates across the country, as many as 48 at launch, and was heard in Mexico City on XEUR-AM 1530. Red W Interactiva's live, talk-heavy format was cited as being a good fit for stations in the interior of the country, at the time primarily on AM. The network also planned opt-out windows in its programming to incorporate local content. The name of the network attracted some concern with regard to its similarity to XEW radio, colloquially known as "la W". According to Burillo, the name was chosen in order to "revive the tradition started by

Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta (2 March 1895, Tampico, Tamaulipas – 23 September 1972, Mexico City) was a Mexican businessman who built an entertainment conglomerate. The son of Basque immigrants Mariano Azcárraga and Emilia Vidaurreta, ...

". Within months of operation, its owner, Grupo Pegaso, encountered cash flow difficulties that led it to close less profitable ventures, including Red W Interactiva. The network ceased operations on January 31, 2002, with the closure costing Pegaso more than one million dollars and leading to layoffs at the network's Mexico City headquarters. A group of the network's executives, led by Eugenio Bernal Macouzet, sought to continue operation of the network, saying that Pegaso had not given the project enough time to mature. Pegaso's larger problems led to the sale of its core cellular telephony business to

Telefónica Telefónica, S.A. () is a Spanish Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is List of telephone operating companies, one of the largest telephone operators and List of mobile network ...

Movistar Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, Mobile telephony, mobile services, and pay television (Movistar+) in ...

division in 2002; the company also retained XEZHO-AM, a radio station in

Zihuatanejo, Guerrero Zihuatanejo (), or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, is the fourth-largest city in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was known by 18th century English mariners as Chequetan or Seguataneo. Politically the city belongs to the municipality of Zihuatanejo de Azu ...

, whose acquisition closed after the discontinuation of operations, on March 25, 2002. The network had negotiated the rights to radio coverage of the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

together with

Radiorama Radiorama were an Italian Italo disco band formed in 1984 by Simona Zanini and Aldo Martinelli. They were later joined by Mauro Farina and Giuliano Crivellente. Their first two singles, "Chance to Desire" and "Desire" were European hits. Disco ...

MVS Radio {{primary sources, date=December 2011 MVS Radio are a group of four international Spanish-language radio networks owned by the mass media conglomerate MVS Comunicaciones. The group of radio networks consists of Exa FM, La Mejor, FM Globo and MVS No ...

, Cadena RASA, and Radio 13; the deal did not continue after Red W Interactiva was shuttered. The network's former affiliates also manifested their discontent against Grupo Pegaso for not maintaining several of the commitments the network had made once it discontinued operations.

Programs

In its brief three months on the air, Red W Interactiva carried a wide range of news, talk and audience participation programs. Daniel Bisogno, one of the hosts of TV Azteca's '' Ventaneando'' entertainment talk show, hosted the network's morning show, ''El exprimidor''. Women's programming included the magazine program ''Diario de una mujer'', hosted by Margarita Gralia. Telenovela actor

José Ángel Llamas José Ángel Llamas Olmos (born 13 October 1966) is a Mexican retired actor in telenovelas, perhaps best known for his dual role as Pelluco and Rodolfo in ''Amor descarado''. His striking good looks made him a heartthrob among his many fans. In ...

was part of the cast of the radio novel and contest program ''La recompensa'', in which a 500,000-peso prize was on the line.

References

{{reflist, 30em 2001 establishments in Mexico 2002 disestablishments in Mexico Mexican radio networks