XHM-FM is a radio station in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

. Located on 88.9 MHz, XHM-FM is owned by

Grupo ACIR Grupo ACIR is a Mexican media company specializing in the operation of radio stations. It was established in 1965. ACIR is an acronym for ''Asociación de Concesionarios Independientes de Radio'' (Association of Independent Radio Concessionaires). ...

and currently broadcasts news and talk programming, along with blocks of Spanish-language rock from the 1980s and 1990s, as "88.9 Noticias".

History

The concession for 88.9 FM in Mexico City was issued in October 1962, to Santiago Ontañon Núñez, but it was not until the 1970s that the station began operations, known initially as "Un Oasis en FM" and later morphing into contemporary music-formatted "Sonido 89". The station's concession was given to Nuñez along with the concession for XHMM-FM, but the latter was later given to another concessionaire. The mid-1980s saw tumult for the station. Not long after becoming "Radio Metrópoli" and seeing its format move to 99.3 FM, the

1985 Mexico City earthquake The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City are ...

severely damaged the station's studios and forced it off the air for a month. Sonido 89 would return in October 1985, but the decade of change continued; Ondas de Alegría, the group that owned XHM, was dissolved that same year, with ARTSA taking control of XHM and its sister stations. After a brief year as "Fórmula Melódica", XHM finally found a format that stuck,

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

"Azul FM", in 1989, with both hits and lesser-known songs in English, French and Italian. The station's signature program in the Azul FM era was "Luna Azul", hosted by Jorge Lapuente. The station also featured programs dedicated to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

, blues and

Brazilian music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

. In 1995, XHM,

XHPOP-FM 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. History After initially being authorized as XEN-FM, a counterpart to XEN-AM ...

and XHDFM-FM were sold to Grupo ACIR, which did not make drastic changes until November 3, 2003, when XHM changed to an all-news format as "88.9 Noticias, Información que Sirve". The newly relaunched XHM featured ACIR's Panorama Informativo newscast, sports programming, other talk programs focused on finances, health and lifestyle, as well as traffic and weather reports every 15 minutes. The "Azul" format was later revived as an Internet-only station, without hosts or commercials. XHM siempre88

On July 5, 2013, the all-news format ended in favor of a mix between news and talk and music in Spanish from past decades, which was officially launched on July 15 as "Siempre 88.9". Several of the hosts on 88.9 Noticias were moved to other ACIR radio stations in Mexico City, but the main newscast, the sports programs, a lifestyle nightly show and the traffic reports remained. Musical programming on weekdays was scaled down in mid-2015, only airing between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, while still airing almost all day on weekends. In January 2018, ACIR restored the 88.9 Noticias brand to XHM, though it retains musical programming on weekends and overnights.

References

{{coord missing, Mexico City Radio stations in Mexico City Grupo ACIR