It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Cristina Radio since its launch on Sirius XM 11 months ago. National Latino Broadcasting (NLB), which programs and produces shows for the Cristina Radio and En Vivo channels on Sirius XM, this week has had to cut almost half of its staff.
Five employees were laid off out of the 11-member staff. NLB has stopped production of some shows. They’re now airing a mix of reruns, taking advantage that they have a back catalog of shows, and producing few new ones.
An inside source tells me Cristina Saralegui is still going to the NLB studios to tape her weekly show. NLB is also airing new shows of its political and current affairs program “From Washington al Mundo.”
The source says executives see this as “a temporary setback, not total annihilation” and foresee rehiring the laid off staffers in the next couple of months.
Apparently, syndication efforts of the radio shows, which would provide the revenues to sustain production, has not been as fruitful as expected. So far, NLB has only secured syndication of Cristina Radio shows in 5 smaller markets.
According to my source, Eventus, NLB’s holding company, is “reevaluating the business model” and how to move the company forward.
The shortest path towards improvement is to finally cancel her show. She’s been dead for a long time. It’s time to stop pushing her!