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No. 74
Raul Alarcon Jr.
Chairman/president/CEO
Spanish Broadcasting System
Risk-taker Who Makes No. 1 Hits …
if you want a top five hit on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, you almost invariably need the support of Raúl Alarcón Jr.’s Spanish Broadcasting System. The company’s WSKQ-FM (Mega 97.9 FM) is the longtime top-rated Spanish-language station in New York, and with an average of 2.4 million weekly listeners, according to Arbitron spring 2011 numbers, WSKQ is the highest-ranked Spanish-language station in the country. Its strength, coupled with that of sister New York station WPAT (93.1 FM), makes SBS essential in any Spanish-language promotion. WSKQ and WPAT are two of the 21 radio stations in the United States owned and operated by SBS, the media company founded in 1983 by Cuban immigrant Raúl Alarcón Sr. and run by his son since 1994. Alarcón Jr., who grew up surrounded by artists, maintains close personal ties with performers and executives, who affectionately refer to him as “Raúlito.” Alarcón’s plans are ambitious and music-centric. Under his leadership the company expanded and launched TV network Mega, music site LaMusica.com and burgeoning live-event division SBS Entertainment-and became the largest publicly traded Hispanic-owned media company in the country, and one with a singular focus on music. “Our strategic vision of integrating our radio, TV, entertainment and online properties is in full swing,” Alarcón says. “We continue to seek out unique growth opportunities with a clear eye on capturing the U.S. Hispanic consumer.”
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