It had been a low-power television station serving the Aurora, Ill., area, on the far western edge of the Chicago metropolitan area. Then came the FCC’s December 2025 decision to lift its freeze on major change applications for low-power broadcast television stations.
Now, the “first and best” of the facility moves from that major modification window has resulted in a significant upgrade for that Chicago DMA LPTV property — and the facility is for sale.
Media Services Group Managing Director Bob Heymann tells RBR+TVBR that WAUR-LD 29 will be relocated to the top of the Trump International Hotel & Tower in the heart of Chicago, just steps away from the Magnificent Mile and Tribune Tower.
The Construction Permit was granted to licensee Nelson Television Inc. on March 6, and Heymann has been engaged by the company to seek buyers for the forthcoming upgraded LPTV facility. The asking price is $1.5 million.
The new Construction Permit was issued as a result of the FCC lifting the historic freeze on LPTV “major change” applications on a first-come, first-served basis. That marked a win for the LPTV Broadcasters Association and its founder, “SuperFrank” Copsidas, who wanted the FCC to lift its freeze on major changes to low-power and Class A broadcast television facilities.
The shift of WAUR-LD is one of many LPTV and Class A stations given the green light to file to move their facilities up to 121km (or approximately 75 miles) through the filing of a major change application. Nelson Television learned of the opportunity to move WAUR-LD from Heymann, who suggested the company apply for the move to downtown Chicago.
Heymann served as the broker in a March 2010 transaction that saw Nelson TV sell WPVN-LD in Aurora, Ill., to Polnet Communications Ltd.
