Catholic Radio Goes Clear-Channel, Sports Shut Out

Tijuana’s XEPRS goes from Mightier to Monte María on August 1

It’s the end of an era for XEPRS-AM in Tijuana. On Thursday, August 1, it will flip to Catholic radio from Monte María Radio, a Tijuana-based Catholic media ministry. The Mightier 1090 sports radio format that has been using the frequency will cease after just under four years on the air.

The Mightier 1090 launched August 17, 2020. It revived sports radio on the frequency after the financial problems of Broadcast Company of the Americas forced The Mighty 1090 off the air, first off XEPRS and then off a webstream, in April 2019. Its programming consists of local and national sports talk, including ESPN Radio since January 2022. Bill Hagen has programmed the station under what at the time was reported to be a five-year lease with its owners, the Bichara family (Interamericana de Radio).

The first announcement of the Monte María change was made by the Catholic group on July 19. As of the writing of this article, no programming or social media on The Mightier 1090 has indicated the forthcoming change. An attempt to contact Bill Hagen was unsuccessful as of press time.

For Monte María, this is a big move up for a group whose roots lie in radio. Padre Rayito founded the ministry in 2001 after being a fill-in on a religious radio program on XEXX-AM 1420. Monte María then went on to broadcast the Mass for Radio Fórmula’s XEKAM-AM 950, later growing to program 12 hours a day. In 2005, a television ministry was added, initially on San Diego’s low-power channel 61 and later with a slot on Sky in Mexico.