Emmis Launches La Exitosa 98.7/NY

• After four and half months as a Hot AC station, branded as TJ 98.7, Emmis Corporation just flipped WEPN/New York and its Gospel sister WLIB-AM to a bilingual AC simulcast, rebranded as La Exitosa 98.7 FM/1190 AM, playing English and Spanish language hits from the ’80s through the ’00s from a tasteful variety of artists like Madonna, Ricardo Arjona, Prince, Shakira, Phil Collins, Chayanne and Bryan Adams, by way of example.

Veteran programmer/consultant Mike McVay, who worked with Emmis on the station development and launch, noted the station’s primary audience, commenting, “The strong Dominican, Puerto Rican, Columbian, Mexican, and Ecuadorian communities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are radio’s most passionate fans. Delivering the popular hit music these diverse communities grew up listening to, will provide a unifying listening experience New York has never heard before.”

It was also pointed out that recent launches of similar formats have resulted in significant audience reactions in Miami, Orlando, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Portland.

While Emmis has taken steps to sell its radio station portfolio, Emmis Chairman Jeff Smulyan called the launch of the station an easy decision. “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. We believe the opportunity was too good to pass up and have spent several months preparing for the launch.”