Emmis launches a new bilingual AC station in New York City. “La Exitosa 98.7 FM/1190 AM” debuted at 6pm on Friday, Jan. 10, on a pair of signals the company has been trying to divest, WEPN-FM (98.7) and WLIB (1190).
The new station is playing English and Spanish language hits from the 80s through the 2000s, as Madonna, Ricardo Arjona, Prince, Shakira, Phil Collins, Chayanne, and Bryan Adams share a new radio home in the No. 1 market in the country.
“We’ve been trying to sell our last two stations in New York, but when ESPN/Good Karma moved to AM after the LMA, we thoroughly reviewed the New York market and saw a significant opportunity for a Spanish AC format playing English and Spanish hits from the 1980s to 2000s,” Emmis Chairman Jeff Smulyan said in a release. “We believe the opportunity was too good to pass up and have spent several months preparing for the launch.”
After “ESPN New York” moved to the former home of longtime news outlet WCBS under an LMA with Audacy, “TJ98.7: A Pop-Up Station” was placed on the signal. The station was using programming powered by Radio.Cloud and featuring United Stations Radio Networks (USRN) syndicated “The TJ Show,” hosted by TJ Taormina, who started his radio career on the “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show” on crosstown CHR “Z100” WHTZ. WLIB was broadcasting inspirational gospel before Emmis decided to place the stations on the market.
Consultant Mike McVay oversaw the pop-up station and has been working with Emmis on the launch of “La Exitosa.”
“The strong Dominican, Puerto Rican, Columbian, Mexican, and Ecuadorian communities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are radio’s most passionate fans,” McVay explained. “Delivering the popular hit music these diverse communities grew up listening to will provide a unifying listening experience New York has never heard before.”
The bilingual format has had success on iHeartMedia stations in Miami, San Antonio, Tucson, Ft. Myers, and Orlando. Similarly formatted stations have also been launched in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Portland.
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