Radio and Television Transactions

With 25 watts from a mountain top above Santa Rosa, Calif., an FM translator that once served as the local affiliate of one of the nation's leading Contemporary Christian noncomm networks has officially traded hands. The buyer has its own religious programming, and its perfectly "broken."

In 2016, a possible Houston market move-in was the subject of a RadioDiscussions.com thread. An owner with a testy history with the FCC, Roy Henderson, was mentioned. Now, this Class C3 facility far to the west of Katy and the nation's sixth-largest radio market is being sold to a non-secular entity serving Latinos. Also in TRANSACTIONS TODAY: The price for Kaua'i.

The post-Radio Show malaise is in full force, and there's but a trickle of deals to discuss in TRANSACTIONS TODAY as of late. In our Weekend Edition, we take you to beautiful Morris County, N.J., where an ethnic AM is being sold to a Hispanic religious entity that is gaining another signal in the New York Tri-State area.

An AM radio station in Coal Country that of late has offered listeners the Westwood One-syndicated Urban AC format The Touch is being sold nearly two years after local media noted that the facility was being put on the market in a "sacrifice sale." The assignee is a husband and wife team who are locally based.

All's quiet on the dealmaking front, which means that the deal under the TRANSACTIONS TODAY microscope is a donation in that state that’s known as the Land of Lincoln. We take you to Pontiac, Ill., where a progressive noncomm is being given away.

Many years ago, listeners to the morning show hosted by Larry Lujack on WLS-AM 890 were entertained by "Animal Stories." Well, here's one for you, and it involves the sale of a silent radio station with a transmitter atop Copper Mountain in a city that is home to Nike's global headquarters.

Some 65 miles to the north of Wenatchee, Washington, is a small town on the banks of the Columbia River and Lake Pateros known as a haven for golfers. It is the home of an FM translator that's just been sold by a Washington state non-profit to a for-profit operator. 

High Plains Radio Network has gained the attention of radio industry executives and media brokers for its steady -- and calculated -- growth efforts. Now, HPRN is growing again with the addition of a Class C1 facility licensed to a town in Texas very close to Clovis, N. Mexico.

In mid-February, Ed Levine-led Galaxy Communications agreed to part ways with a Class B Classic Rock station serving the Utica-Rome, N.Y., market. Now, the deal that saw Michael J. Bergner serve as the exclusive broker has closed.

In mid-April RBR+TVBR reported on the desire to sell -- or close down -- an AM-FM combo on the banks of the Mississippi River by Carolyn Becker's Riverfront Broadcasting. In June, office manager Leah Jones saved the properties by teaming up with a local businessman to buy the stations. Now, 70 miles to the northeast, another AM-FM combo has been sold. The buyer is also locally based.

In May 2005, iHeartRadio predecessor Clear Channel Communications sold a Class A FM in Alabama after owning it for some 4 1/2 years. Now, the Aventura, Fla.-based company that acquired this station has a memorandum of understanding with iHeart to obtain a new FM translator station serving this Alabama market successfully bid on during Auction 83.

Two hours to the east of downtown Dallas is a small town with the name of a big Steel Belt city. It's home to a 450-watt Class A noncomm known for its Spanish-language programming, branded as "La Campeona." The station has just been sold, and it's the deal of the day for TRANSACTIONS TODAY.

In June 2017, rumors hit RadioDiscussions.com surrounding the fate of a Class B facility that reaches the far-western suburbs of Chicago and Rockford, Ill., to the northwest of the Loop. Was Educational Media Foundation purchasing this station? It turns out the rumors were true.

A Kentucky 'Tiger' has been sold to a 'Ham' of an operator. A licensee led by Ted Tucker is parting ways with an Idaho FM, following this entity's  May 2017 Consent Decree with the FCC to resolve a matter involving the failure to operate stations in Arizona for more than a handful of days over a period of several years. These are the two deals described in detail in TRANSACTIONS TODAY.

Earlier this year, the Cesar Chávez Foundation — operator of the regional Mexican “La Campesina" network forked over a hefty check to the U.S. Treasury as part of a Consent Decree with the FCC. This resolved, without guilt, some serious underwriting violations at a Class C1 noncomm FM serving the Valley of the Sun. That property has now been sold, in a deal that saw Kalil & Co. serve as the broker.