Radio and Television Transactions

With the second of two big weekends of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival set to begin Friday (4/20), it may seem a bit of surprise to know that Mike Novak may be celebrating about something involving the Coachella Valley. While we suspect he's not attending the huge live music event, he's likely rejoicing over his entity's latest acquisition -- a Class A right in the heart of this part of Southern California.

Is it the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Are brokers golfing following a busy 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas? Whatever it may be, the number of asset purchase agreements filed in the last several days with the FCC may rival the number of fans actually in attendance on April 1 at Comerica Park: There aren't many to talk about. In TRANSACTIONS TODAY, the focus is on Special Temporary Authority (STA) requests.

On March 1 TRANSACTIONS TODAY told you about the purchase of a Class A FM between Ardmore, Okla., and Oklahoma City for $125,000. Now, the entity that acquired that station is buying another FM in Oklahoma. This deal is filled with "love," and will see the commercial-band FM go into the hands of a religious non-profit organization. Also in TRANSACTIONS TODAY: The price is revealed in Tuesday's purchase of a Philadelphia AM.

Is the 2018 NAB Show hangover still in progress? Are dealmakers talking but not filing Form 314s with the FCC? Whatever it is, it sure is quiet at the Commission with respect to new Asset Purchase Agreement approval requests. There have been no new filings so far this week, with a closing and an STA application the lone items up for discussion in TRANSACTIONS TODAY from RBR+TVBR.

A religious broadcaster active in the "Michiana" region of the Midwest comprised of some friends of Christian radio has become a new friend of Gerard Media. That's because this small-market broadcaster has just made a deal that gives its two AM talk stations some AM revitalization.

In the Colorado ski resorts of Aspen and Snowmass is an entity doing business as "Aspen 82."  In the lone item up for discussion in TRANSACTIONS TODAY presented by RBR+TVBR, it has just acquired a dormant LPTV in one of those slope-filled cities.

Blame it on the red eye? Many of the top communications lawyers and most of the industry's leading brokers arrived home from the 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas on Thursday. This could explain why two translator deals are the lone subject of conversation in TRANSACTIONS TODAY from RBR+TVBR for April 12.

It must be cold in the Traverse City, Mich., area. Or, it's a colloquially endearing term for how Michigan looks when stenciled on a piece of paper. "The Mitten" is the moniker given to a Class A facility licensed to Thompsonville, Mich., that is being sold from a buyer and seller with similar names. In the end, this station will be 100% controlled by John Yob.

Between Mason City, Iowa and Rochester, Minn. is a town that's home to "Classic Country Legends," airing on a Class B AM owned and operated by a local broadcast company. That's about to change: A North Dakota-based nonprofit entity is acquiring the facility. It's our top transaction in TRANSACTIONS TODAY from RBR+TVBR.

In an age where institutions of higher learning are opting to sell their FM radio stations, there's one school that is actually adding another facility to its stable. And, it's getting an AM sibling as part of the just-announced deal that saw Kalil & Co. serve as the exclusive broker. Meanwhile, TRANSACTIONS TODAY now knows how much Ingstad Radio Washington is pocketing from its Stephens Media Group deal in Washington announced April 3.

Score another one for Philip Falcone's HC2 Station Group. In an asset purchase agreement filed with the Commission on Friday, HC2 is acquiring yet another low-power TV station. This time, it is snagging a Class A facility that just happens to be in one of the nation's biggest revenue markets. Also in TRANSACTIONS TODAY: CNZ Communications completes a Texas TV buy involving both Kalil & Co. and Patrick Communications.

To the south of Chicago in the village of Bourbonnais, Ill., is a group of four FM radio stations and a FM translator that's tied to a family-run broadcasting company. Now, an asset purchase agreement has been filed with the FCC that reflects a shift in ownership of these stations. For staff and vendors, there should be few if any differences in the operation of this cluster. For a Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif.-based investor with a name familiar to radio industry veterans, there could be more flights to O'Hare or Midway in the near future. Also involved: The man who made KGO a legend.

In Hollywood, Fla., sits a little-known broadcast TV station owner that, until now, has owned 20 LPTV facilities across Washington, South Dakota, Oregon, North Dakota, and Colorado, and in the city of Marquette, Mich. The company that has just purchased these stations is very widely known: It's the Philip Falcone-led HC2 Station Group.

A Class D facility with a complex signal that covers the Atlanta market during daylight hours but barely reaches the northwest corner of the metro after dark is trading hands. At present, this station is branded as "The Talk of the Town." That's going to change, and its 14-year PD — along with 15 part-time and full-time staffers — will soon be out of jobs.

In late January, a Chicago-based operator agreed to purchase a Class B AM with 4 towers serving a large portion of Michigan from a religious broadcaster. The deal has now closed, and it's the start of what this company hopes will be a series of transactions that will allow it become a player in markets No. 100-200.