He has served as Director of Sales for Audacy Corp.‘s Denver radio stations; VP/Sales for Hip-Hop WWPR “Power 105.1” and BIN: Black Information Network O&O WWRL-AM 1600 in New York for iHeartMedia; and Director of Sales at the stations presently licensed to MediaCo, formerly Emmis Communications properties.
Now, this sales leader is returning to Emmis — this time to lead “La Exitosa.”
Emmis has named Victor Giacomelli as its New York Market Manager. Giacomelli, who previously served as Emmis’ Sr. VP of Revenue, will focus on leading WLIB-AM and WEPN-FM, which airs a bilingual Adult Contemporary format modeled after WMIA-FM in Miami.
Emmis assumed control of WEPN’s programming anew while it continues to seek a buyer willing to pay the valuation it seeks for the property, which in the past was home to “ESPN New York,” hip-hop pioneer WRKS “98.7 Kiss FM,” Top 40 WXLO “99X,” and Drake-Chenault consulted WOR-FM (after a year as New York’s first progressive rock station). Until January, WEPN was a “pop-up” station centered on The TJ Show, a syndicated morning program. That was put in place after Good Karma Brands’ opted to discontinue an LMA agreement with WEPN inherited from ABC Radio Networks, instead shifting “ESPN New York” to the 1050 kHz signal that, ironically, served as the very first home for Sports Talk rival WFAN.
The first owner of WFAN? Emmis.
While Emmis has sold all of its radio stations but WEPN and WLIB, the appointment of Giacomelli suggests the two stations remain on the block, but will be fully operated by the company founded by Jeff Smulyan until such time as the right suitor surfaces.
“I’m excited to be back with Emmis and to build La Exitosa 98.7,” Giacomelli said. “This station resonates with listeners, and there is so much potential and opportunity ahead.”
Emmis President/COO Patrick Walsh believes ‘La Exitosa’ has legs, with veteran programming consultants Rick Cummings and Mike McVay engineering its on-air sound as hosts including George Mier and “Gino Latino” have joined Gloria B on the air personality roster.
Giacomelli’s other recent experience includes serving as Managing Director for Advertising and Research for SoCast, in Toronto; and as General Sales Manager for Bell Media in Hamilton, Ontario. From September 2002-February 2007, Giacomelli was GSM for Corus-owned Alternative CFNY-FM “102.1 The Edge” in Toronto. He later rose to VP/Sales for Radio at Corus, after serving as Director of Sales for Ontario from 2010-2011.
