It’s ‘No Sale’ for Emmis as La Exitosa Debuts On New York Radio

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Emmis Corporation has ended the run of “pop-up station” TJ 98.7 with the debut of La Exitosa 98.7 FM/1190 AM (WEPN-FM/WLIB-AM). The bilingual Adult Contemporary station appears to be a more permanent addition to New York City radio.

Although Emmis has been working to sell its final two radio stations, Chairman Jeff Smulyan seems to have put that idea to rest – at least for now.

“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,” said Smulyan. “We believe the opportunity was too good to pass up and have spent several months preparing for the launch.”

Good Karma Brands chose not to renew the Local Marketing Agreement that had placed ESPN New York on WEPN for over a decade. Instead, they decided to lease Audacy’s AM signal, which previously carried iconic All-News station WCBS, starting in August.

Recent launches of similar formats in cities like Miami, Orlando, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Portland have seen strong audience engagement, and Emmis hopes to replicate that success in market #1.

Mike McVay, who collaborated with Emmis on the station’s development, emphasized its audience appeal: “The strong Dominican, Puerto Rican, Colombian, 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.”

Emmis sold its last cluster, Indianapolis, to Urban One in June 2022. In November, MediaCo – which purchased WBLS and Hot 97 from Emmis in 2019 – fully repaid the $7.3 million convertible promissory note included in the deal in cash, giving Standard General full control with Emmis representatives leaving the MediaCo Board.

3 COMMENTS

    • To be honest, except for the automated Spanish DJ it’s basically 106.7. Even the commercials are in English as are 80+% of the songs. I only know a little espanol and I’m not Latino but I kept it on my preset as I really barely notice it being any different than listening to other music radio stations.

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