Columbus GA Radio: Hispanic Unidos 107.7 FM Plans Shut Down

Hispanic residents in Columbus, GA will soon bid farewell to their one and only radio station.

Jim Martin, a managing partner at PMB Broadcasting, which owns UNIDOS 107.7 T-FM, plans to shut down the station by the end of the year, he told the Ledger-Enquirer. 107.7 is W299AX fed via WLTC 103.7 FM HD3.  He said general manager Harold "Lefty" Encarnacion and his staff worked hard to keep the station going, and he thanks them for their service.

Encarnacion, the son of Puerto Rican immigrants, said the station is a significant part of the Latino community but faced many obstacles.

First, he struggled selling advertisements because he couldn't provide businesses with audience information, he said.

Then it was a challenge trying to serve a diverse Latino population comprised of about 21 different nationalities. Encarnacion said there's also the matter of staffing. He said he has one paid disc jockey and a volunteer.

W299AX 107.7 FM (250watts) 60dBu Coverage

"Basically, I didn't have sufficient staff to go out there and touch base with businesses and try and sell adds," he said. "It's just me and with my full schedule it's hard."

A new format for the 107.7 FM has not been disclosed yet. In addition to W299AX, PMB Broadcasting operates five full powered stations and three additional HD fed translators in the Columbus market.