Radio and Television Transactions

Some four years ago, Jimmy Johnson’s Johnson Broadcast Ventures reached an agreement to sell a Class C radio station serving the city of Roanoke Rapids, Va. The deal cratered. Now, Johnson has tried again, and has a new asset sale agreement in place for this AM facility.

To the far northwest of Amarillo, Tex., is a Class C2 33kw FM that has mainly served the area's Hispanic audience in recent years. Now, that service is likely to continue, as the property has been sold to Viva Media.

The Holladay family has become well-known for their ownership of radio properties across the Deep South. Now, Bryan Holladay is signing of on an acquisition. Pending FCC approval, it will see the transfer of control of three FMs to his Meridian Media Group.

The town of Port Jervis, N.Y., lies at the heart of the "other" Tri-State Area within the vast New York City DMA — New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is situated along the bucolic Delaware River, and its proximity to fast-growing Sussex County, N.J., is likely why a low-powered TV station licensed to this municipality has just sold for nearly $2 million.

A settlement agreement has been signed by one hopeful licensee and the second-largest licensee of radio stations in the U.S. that paves away for the latter organization to build a station at that frequency. Once complete, Educational Media Foundation will have a Garden Isle outpost.

Two locales within the Tri-Cities DMA may have little in common, aside from the presence of FM stations owned by the same licensee. But, each town is home to first-generation Hispanic immigrants active in the viticultural and agricultural industries. This likely explains the desire of the rural properties, which are heading to a new owner.

The Asset Purchase Agreement was finalized on April 14. Now, it's been sent to the FCC for their approval.  If they say OK, a Buckeye State AM and its FM translator companion will be leaving the estate of James Natoli and Tuscawaras Broadcasting Co.

In March 2022, Cameron Maxwell closed on his company's purchase of two AM and three FM stations serving the Bozeman, Mont., market from court-appointed receiver Richard J. Samson. The properties were once licensed to Reier Broadcasting Company and effectively ceased operations in June 2018 due to license renewal fee delinquency concerns. Now, Maxwell's company is further expanding with its acquisition of a property in Butte, Mont.

Donald W. Curtis is widely known across the Carolinas for his Raleigh-based Curtis Media Group, a marketing company powered by some 62 AM and FM radio stations. Pending FCC approval, you can add an FM to that stable of signals.

In 2021, a deal was struck that saw University of Northwestern-St. Paul agree to acquire a 100kw Class C FM serving Rapid City, S.D., with Worship Music. However, that deal never transpired, with a non-consummation notice filed with the FCC. On November 7, another buyer stepped up. It's an entity Ed Stolz is very familiar with.

In New York State, the Schoharie County seat is the small city of Cobleskill, home to a university and within the vast Albany-Schenectady-Troy DMA. That's perhaps the biggest reason why Ron Bruno has just agreed to acquire a low-power TV station licensed to this burgh.

It’s a 250-watt FM translator that has city-grade coverage over a market dominated by News-Press & Gazette Co., with respect to print and television properties. Now, St. Joseph, Mo., is in the news again as this radio facility has officially been sold by Bott Radio Network.

As of today, Educational Media Foundation's KLOVE network reaches Kokomo, Ind., via WIKL-FM 101.7 in Elwood. Now, EMF is making move that will allow it to better serve a city with a name likely best known for a song from The Beach Boys.

Andres Bichara in April 2019 gained attention for pulling the plug on "The Mighty 1090," serving San Diego, as part of a dispute over unpaid LMA fees. A simulcast of a Rio Grande Valley FM suddenly replaced the Sports Talk. Now, that FM in Texas is being sold.

Thanks to a recent $1.2 million transaction, WJZR-FM in Rochester, N.Y., became WXXI-FM 105.9. That switch rendered the FM translator for simulcast partner WXXI-AM obsolete. As such, WXXI Public Media has found a buyer for the 250-watt facility serving Irondequoit and northeastern parts of the Western New York market.