Univision cancels Eddie Sotelo’s ‘Piolin por la Manana’ radio show
Univision Radio Network has dropped “Piolín por la Manana,” the wildly popular, nationally syndicated Spanish-language morning radio talk show hosted by Southern California-based Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo, a Univision spokesperson confirmed.
No reason has been given for the reported dropping of the show, which airs on dozens of radio stations in more than 20 U.S. states. Piolín has not posted to his Twitter account in two days.
Lately, his program, broadcast in Los Angeles on KSCA-FM (101.9), had begun to be eclipsed in the increasingly competitive world of Spanish-language morning radio. For example, Ricardo “El Mandril” Sanchez’s program of regional Mexican music on radio station KLAX-FM (97.9) last month leap-frogged into the No. 1 spot in the L.A.-Orange County market, according to Arbitron, attracting 5.3% of the available audience weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m.
Piolín, whose nickname means “Tweety Bird,” is one of the best-known Spanish-language personalities in the country, and his program made its reputation with a madhouse blend of satirical sketches, irreverent commentary, double-entendre wordplay and interjections by wacky characters.
“The program is boisterous, irreverent and chaotic, more squawk show than talk show. The host is a mash-up of Oprah, Jerry Springer and Cantinflas,” The Times wrote in a 2007 profile.
Piolín, a native of the Mexican state of Jalisco who arrived in the United States as a teenager without working papers, closely identifies with his core audience of Mexicans and Mexican Americans. He is widely credited with using his program as a bully pulpit to urge his listeners to turn out for the massive pro-immigration-reform marches that took place in Los Angeles and other cities in the mid-2000s.
In recent years, Piolín had begun branching out into other entertainment platforms, such as doing voice acting for Disney’s “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” films.
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