Most radio stations pick a name and keep it for decades. XHLY-FM in Morelia has changed its on-air name every January 1st for years running, turning the calendar itself into a branding gimmick that quietly tracks the station's own history in real time.
Six Decades in One Family's Hands
The station's original AM incarnation, XELY, received its broadcast concession on June 16, 1961, under owner Francisco Laris Iturbide, and it has stayed in the same family ever since, according to the station's Wikipedia entry. It ran on AM for half a century, moving frequency once in the 1960s, before finally clearing to move to the FM band in 2012.
A Franchise Format, Then a Break From It
After its FM move, the station carried Los 40, the Spanish pop franchise licensed from Radiópolis, until it dropped that branding entirely on January 1, 2021, per AllRadio's station history. In its place came something unusual, a station that simply named itself after the current year, becoming "2021 FM" for the whole of that year.
A Name That Rolls Over Every January
When 2022 arrived, the station's name changed right along with it, becoming "2022 FM," and the pattern continued year after year, with the on-air identity updating like an odometer every New Year's Day. It is a rare case of a station's branding literally being tied to the date, meaning the station's name has doubled as an unofficial timestamp of exactly which year a given broadcast aired.
A Blend of Classic Rock and Adult Hits
Through all of its year-by-year renaming, the station has kept a consistent format underneath the shifting name, running classic rock, adult hits and timeless music alongside a daily show hosted by Moi Merino that mixes music, news and entertainment for Morelia listeners. The programming identity stayed stable even as the branding above it kept changing on schedule.
From a Calendar Gimmick to a Permanent Name
The yearly renaming eventually gave way to a settled identity, with the station now operating as Infinito rather than continuing to increment forever. What started as a one-year experiment in ditching a franchise format turned into a multi-year running joke with the calendar, before the station picked a name built to actually last.