Los 40

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Los 40 (formerly Los 40 Principales, Spanish: Los Cuarenta) is a Top 40 music radio network and brand, operated in various Spanish-speaking countries by PRISA Radio. Originating as a music show at Radio Madrid now Cadena SER in 1966, it transitioned into an independent radio station in 1979.

Logo of Los 40 since 2016.

Broadcast[edit]

LOS40 stations are broadcast in: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

The stations predominantly play contemporary hit music in Spanish and English contemporary hit music, featuring a mix of American, Latin American, Pan-European, and British artists. The music selection varies by region, with stations in Mexico and Panama stations focusing more on European and English-language music, whereas Chile and Costa Rica feature more reggaeton and bachata.

History[edit]

In 1965, Spain's Ministry of Information and Tourism mandated FM station launches, leading to a focus on music programming due to production costs. The following year, Rafael Revert was tasked by Cadena SER to create a music show for a younger audience, resulting in the creation of the 40 Principales chart. The first show aired on 18 July 1966, with "Monday, Monday" by The Mamas & the Papas topping the inaugural chart.

Initially a daily program, the format evolved to include weekly chart updates every Saturday, with listeners voting for their favorite songs. By the end of the 1970s, the show's duration had expanded, and in 1979, 40 Principales became a dedicated radio network. The network started satellite broadcasts across Spain in 1985 and expanded into Latin America in the 2000s.

In 1990, the chart show extended to television through Canal+ followed by the launch of 40 Principales TV in 1998. This channel continued until its closure in September 2017.

Game 40[edit]

Los 40 ran a program in Spain dedicated to video games, under the name Game 40, from 1992 to 1998.[1] It aired in the evening each Sunday.[2] The show was first hosted by Juan Luis Ferrer, but he was eventually replaced by Guillem Caballé; a writer for La Razón later said that Caballé transitioned the program into "a very dynamic and fun style."[1] During Caballé's tenure, the program aired reviews, news and comedy segments interpersed with music from anime and video game soundtracks.[2] Caballé was joined by co-hosts Manuel Martín Vivaldi, Ángel Ortiz and Carlos Ulloa. Game 40 was highly popular,[1][2] and by late 1996 its website was among Los 40's most visited pages.[3] Its radio broadcast ultimately attained more than 500,000 regular listeners,[1] despite competing directly with the sports coverage program Carrusel Deportivo.[2] In 2008, Enrique García of MeriStation described Game 40 as "legendary",[4] a sentiment echoed by La Razón's writer in 2019. The program was canceled in October 1998, with its final episode aired on the fourth of that month.[1] According to author David Martínez, Game 40 proceeded to influence later game-focused radio shows in Spain, including Top Radio's Top Game (1998–2001).[2]

Controversy[edit]

In December 2014, DJ Paul Hip asked listeners of 40 Principales Chile what they would do for free music concert festival tickets.[5] The radio station hosted a competition for contestants to come up with their own challenges. If their challenge was accepted by the radio DJ, they were given the opportunity to complete it to win the tickets.[6]

A female listener offered to do "anything including licking whipped cream out of a human anus" to win tickets to the Mysteryland EDM festival. Hip took the woman up on the proposal - in the middle of his show.[5] On 17 December 2014,[7] she completed the act live on air.[6][8][9] Hip then proceeded to invite listeners of the radio station to kiss the woman[10] who had just licked whipped cream from his anus to win tickets of their own.[11]

The radio station's production team[10] tweeted an uncensored image of the act,[6] which went viral over Twitter and caused controversy,[10] with Twitter followers[6] calling the act "misogynist and humiliating" and questioning the station's ethics and journalistic integrity. The radio station later issued an apology saying they were sorry if they had offended their audience and they probably should not have accepted such challenge, but assured it was completely "voluntary and even suggested by the participant" in a contest that was open to what ever each contestant wanted to do. The radio station deleted the tweet promptly after the negative reactions and assured their fans the contest's only purpose was to have fun, and not to hurt or demean anyone.[12]

Stations[edit]

Location Callsign Frequency Property
Bogotá, Colombia HJL81 100.4 MHz PRISA
Buenos Aires, Argentina LS4 105.5 MHz Telefé
Madrid, Spain LOS40 93.9 MHz PRISA
Mexico City, Mexico XEX-FM 101.7 MHz PRISA
Santiago, Chile 101.7 MHz Ibero Americana Radio Chile

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Molinero, E. (24 February 2019). "De los 80 a la actualidad: Evolución de la información sobre videojuegos en España". La Razón (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Martínez, David (12 July 2016). "Videojuegos en la radio". De MicroHobby a Youtube: Prensa de videojuegos en España (in Spanish). Dolmen Editorial. pp. 155–157. ISBN 978-8416436651.
  3. ^ Gómez, Rosario G. (22 October 1996). "Los 40 digitales". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2019.
  4. ^ García, Enrique (15 January 2008). "BLADE 94.6 emitirá un especial del conocido programa Game 40". MeriStation (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. ^ a b Barell, Ryan (22 December 2014). "Rimjob Live on Air Prompts Apology After Chilean Radio DJ Paul Hip's Competition Turns Weird". HuffPost. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d Cullen, Clare (23 December 2014). "Outrage as woman licks whipped cream from radio presenters bum crack live on air to win concert tickets". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Outrage After A Woman Gave A Radio DJ A Rim Job Live on the Air". BuzzFeed. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  8. ^ "chilena besa trasero de locutor de radio para ganar entradas" (in Spanish). Taringa!. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  9. ^ "YouTube: mujer besa trasero de locutor por ganar entradas para concierto y genera polémica - VIDEO". la Repubblica (in Spanish). 19 December 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b c Payton, Matt (21 December 2014). "Radio station apologises for DJ having cream licked from his backside live on-air". Metro. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  11. ^ Kinder, Tabatha (20 December 2014). "Outrage as Chilean DJ receives 'rim job' from listener live on air". International Business Times. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  12. ^ Roterman, Natalie (21 December 2014). "Woman's Gruesome Challenge To Get Free Concert Tickets Causes Outrage in Chile!". Latin Times. Retrieved 11 August 2015.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LOS40.

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