“Issues with BCA have been ongoing for more than 3 years now,” tweeted Andrés Bichara, whose company, Interamericana de Radio, is the signal operator for the station. “It’s impossible to work with them if they don’t pay the owner of the asset they manage. Since January they haven’t paid a cent.”
In yet another Tweet, he wrote, “BCA hasn’t pay (sic) their duties since 4 months ago. That’s why 1090 is off the air.”
Mike Glickenhaus, president of BCA, declined to comment Thursday.
While the station remained off the air Thursday, its three local shows streamed online and on the station’s mobile app.
It is unlikely that the radio station will return to the air if it cannot come up with the money due for its lease payments, Bichara said in an interview late Thursday. Months of non-payment led Bichara to take the station off the air, he said.
“They have had multiple warnings that they should pay,” said Bichara, whose company is based in Monterrey, Mexico. Transmission comes from an antenna in Rosarito Beach, he explained.
The surprise exit from the airwaves Wednesday was not the first time a BCA-operated station has experienced troubles. Last December, an issue over lease payments arose between two former BCA stations and Tijuana-born businessman Jaime Bonilla Valdez, who held the license. The dispute resulted in 105.7 FM going off the air and 1700 AM switching from ESPN and local sports play-by-play to Spanish-language content.
Mighty 1090 is among a few dozen stations, from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas, with audiences in the United States but antennas south of the border. While many are Spanish-language stations targeting U.S. Latinos, several are also aimed at English-speaking listeners.
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