An Ohio Class A television station that ran up a bill with the FCC related to a number of rules violations is headed for new ownership. The station is nominally part of the Columbus OH DMA.
However, the signal of Channel 28 WMNO-CD does not reach Ohio’s state capital.
The seller is Studio 51 Multi Media Productions Ltd., headed by President Ron Scheiderer.
The buyer is Positive News Network Inc., headed by President Michael F. Zucker, 51%, and VP Mark Hiner, 49%.
The price is $225,000 cash.
The parties have entered into a time brokerage agreement which will be in effect until closing. It carries a one-time, non-refundable fee of $31,000.
The buyers noted on application that they have no other media interests in Marion, OH, and further noted that they have no interest in any other television stations and will therefore be comfortably below the 35% threshold in terms of national TV households reached.
Regarding its FCC troubles, not only was the station late with its license renewal application, it had a pair of children’s television reporting infractions and had not uploaded public file information onto its online public file.
Its precarious financial situation spurred the FCC to reduce its initial NAL from $16K to $6K, and even that was proven to be beyond the licensee’s capacity to pay, so the NAL was finally amended to an admonishment.
Although the station was listed as part of Columbus by the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition on its auction value chart, its signal serves unrated territory north of Columbus and east of Lime.
WMNO-CD is not on the just-released FCC auction eligibility chart, and no mention of the spectrum auction was made on the sales contract.
