After leasing Hubbard Radio’s 1050 WBQH/93.5 W228DI Silver Spring MD/Washington DC for the past fifteen years, United Media Communications has ceased operations on its Regional Mexican “La Mera Mera”
The station is currently simulcasting Freeform “The Gamut” WTOP-HD3 Washington/98.3 W252DC Reston VA, which is also heard on digital only AM 820 WSHE Frederick as well as 107.7 WWWT-HD3 Manassas VA and 103.9 WTLP-HD3 Braddock Heights MD.
WBQH rose to a 1.6 share in the July 2025 Nielsen Audio ratings, marking a high for the Spanish format.
In a letter shared on the station’s social media, the operators wrote:
To our community, collaborators, clients, and partners:
With deep gratitude-and at the same time, with immense sadness-we must share that we have made the difficult decision to cease the operations of our company.
For years, we worked with dedication and passion to build a project that not only provided a service or product, but also created both human and professional value for everyone involved. However, the continued economic instability in the United States, rising market costs for sustaining independent radio stations, and increasing pressures on our community have brought us to this point.
Throughout it all, our top priority has always been to act with integrity and respect toward people. For this reason, we have strived to carry out this closure in an orderly and humane manner, with special care for the well-being of our team. To each of our collaborators, we extend our heartfelt thanks for your dedication, your talent, and your commitment. None of this would have been possible without you.
We also extend our sincere gratitude to our clients and partners, who accompanied us with trust and generosity throughout the years. Your support was essential in every stage of our growth.
Although this chapter is coming to a close, we walk away with pride in what we have built: La Mera Mera became the first AM station to surpass FM stations in ratings in the DMV area, the second most-listened-to Latino station in the market, and the number one Regional Mexican station in the DMV. We close our journey with a strong and loyal audience, reaching a rating of 1.6 and climbing, even to this day.
We carry in our hearts the relationships we built, the experiences we shared as a team, and the role we played in supporting the community, local businesses, and brands. We trust that what we have learned o n this journey will continue t o bear fruit in the future-for all of us who were part of this story.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com