In November 2016, RBR+TVBR reported on the resurrection of a Class C 1kw AM radio station that some 40 years ago was ranked No. 1 in the Fort Lauderdale Arbitron ratings.
By 1986, the station lingered in the mid 1-share range following the combination of Miami and Fort Lauderdale into a single market. By the mid-2000s, it took on a Caribbean format. It was then a short-lived ESPN Radio affiliate, and also aired Classic Country and Brazilian programming before going dark.
The station was brought back to life under broker Mark Jorgenson, and he’s now sold his heritage facility and its FM translator to a non-secular broadcaster.
The new owner of WFLL-AM 1400 in Fort Lauderdale, with a signal that covers all of Broward County, the city of Boca Raton, and the city of Aventura, is The International Church of the Grace of God. It is based in Somerville, Mass., but all five directors are located in Pompano Beach, Fla., just north of Fort Lauderdale.
Along with WFLL, the church is getting W296DK, at 107.1 MHz in Fort Lauderdale.
This is an amendment from the original plan for the former W223CB, which relocated from Sebring, Fla., to take the 100.3 MHz frequency once used by iHeartMedia to give Talk WIOD-AM 610 an FM signal. This was silenced after Jim Robinson complained about interference to his Class A Nostalgia station, WLML-FM in Lake Park, Fla., which serves the West Palm Beach market.
The purchase price will allow Jorgenson to turn quite a profit, minus the cost of getting WFLL and W296DK operational: His ACM JCE IV B INC. is pocketing $650,000 from the church for the facilities. ACM JCE IV B INC. bought WFLL and W223CB from Radio 74 Internationale for $45,000.
A $25,000 downpayment has been made to Jorgenson by the church. The remainder is due in cash at closing.
Getting WFLL back on the air was Jorgenson’s main task, after its tower was destroyed in a hurricane under a previous owner.
“WFLL has had a history of problems, and we have duplex construction going on right now with a shared tower – Multicultural Radio Broadcasting’s Class B WEXY-AM 1520,” Jorgenson adds.
A new transmitter allowed WFLL to return to the air in late 2017.
