Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HMTV) announced that effective December 31, 2020, Javier Maynulet is stepping down as president and general manager of WAPA Televisión, Puerto Rico’s leading broadcast station, citing personal reasons. The company has named Jorge Hidalgo president and general manager.
Hidalgo is a seasoned, Emmy award-winning executive with 40 years of experience in the U.S. Hispanic television industry. Before joining Hemisphere, Hidalgo led the industry-leading sports division at Telemundo and the network news division where he held the title of EVP for 16 years.
Alan J. Sokol, Hemisphere’s president, and Chief Executive Officer said, “It has been a pleasure to work with Javier over the past three years, and I deeply value his leadership and commitment during a very challenging period. Javier guided WAPA with a steady hand through some of the most tumultuous times in Puerto Rico’s history. We have seen significant growth during his tenure, and WAPA continues shattering rating records and delivering strong sales results.”
“We are very fortunate to have Jorge leading the station going forward. Jorge is very familiar with WAPA, having worked closely with its news, operations, and production teams. His deep understanding of Hispanic media and his vast experience in the industry will enable WAPA’s continued growth and innovation, as well as the development of WAPA’s digital business and other new revenue streams, leveraging WAPA’s unique content and production capacity. I look forward to working with him in his new role,” added Sokol.