Why is my e-mail amor993@hotmail.com?

I get this question asked every time I meet new folks inside and outside this fascinating industry we work in… that of broadcast media.

Well, it all started in Fall of 2002, while I was the Program Director for the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation’s cluster of station in fabulous Las Vegas, NV.

I was assigned a special project by David Gleason and Eleazar Garcia to design and create a format for a brand new radio station that was to be moved in from “Indian Springs, NV”. For those of you that don’t know where Indian Springs is, let me tell you, if you reside there, you are most likely sitting in a room, no bigger than 8x8, and have probably done something you shouldn’t have. Yes, Indian Springs is where the Federal Penitentiary is located in Southern Nevada, about 15 miles Norte of Pahrump, NV (another city known for other reasons, and where the things that are not legal in Clark County… ARE).

The assignment was to move this signal to the top of “Angel Peak”, above Mt. Charleston, NV. When you look at the City of Las Vegas from Angel Peak, it is a sight of glamour. You can see the entire city from a distance. It is about 9,000 feet above sea level. Without a doubt, Angel Peak does put you a step closer to God (especially at that altitude). I guess that is why they call it “Angel Peak”.

Anyway, back to the reason why... In November 2002, I assisted in launching this new “move-in” frequency, and formulated (together with Eleazar Garcia and David Gleason) a unique Spanish AC format that reflected the lifestyle of the Hispanic market it would serve in Southern Nevada. We called it “AMOR 99.3”.

When we launched it, we had all kinds of signal problems. We had issues with the STL not reaching the transmitter site or being able to find an STL frequency that worked. We had no way of getting an ISDN or T-1 line installed at the new mountain top facility. Since it was so high, we had issues with the antenna freezing (you name it, we had issues with it at Angel Peak). With hard work from my very good friend “Eric Martel” (a native of Louisiana), we got it to work, and we launched it with only 3 weeks left in the Fall 2002 Arbitron survey.

When I was asked the following question (by corporate), I trembled: Do you think we will show in the book?

My first and instant reaction was “NO”!

We’ll, to my surprise, KQMR-FM made the book, with a 1.5 December monthly (extrapolated), and a 0.5 AQH Share showing in Fall 2002 Arbitron Survey (12+) in Las Vegas. The following surveys, Amor 99.3 became the #1 radio station among Hispanic Women 18-34 and Women 25-54.

Since then, I grabbed a “hotmail” account and made my e-mail address amor993@hotmail.com .

In Late 2005/Early 2006, Univision Radio decided to change formats on Amor 99.3, and since then, I kept the e-mail address, as a reminder that with a “team effort, dedication and hard work”, you can win in this ratings game we call “Arbitron”.

Others that helped with the success of Amor 99.3 include my very good friend Zulema Santa Cruz and Dana Demerjian, who today I still consider the best management team I have (ever) been associated with (and very dear friends).

So now, in honor of the station that was successful in a very difficult (and competitive) Las Vegas market, as a Spanish POP/AC, and the only one to achieve high ratings in the format, I salute “Amor 99.3”, since it will always live on in the hearts and souls of those who created this unique format.

Jose Santos