Radio and Television Transactions

On Sept. 15, one of the most active buyers of radio stations across the U.S. announced that it was adding to its empire by acquiring a Class C2 facility with 32kw in Mississippi. The sale has now closed, with Bill Cate of Media Services Group serving as the exclusive broker in this transaction.

With Washington's full attention on Thursday's FCC Open Meeting, which saw the adoption of "Blue Alerts" over the EAS and Wireless Emergency Alert system in the event of a serious threat to local law enforcement -- and the end of "net neutrality" -- it was a quiet day for deals and scant Form 314 or Form 315 filings. The lone transaction involves a donation in Washington State, and Moody Bible Institute is the recipient.

Here's a deal that has a value that's likely less than your lunch bill. A 3kw Class A FM serving a rural community of Alaska south of Juneau is heading to a new owner. The total value of the transaction is a mere $10.

A Class C3 FM "changing the rules of Christian radio" in the city that is home to the University of Georgia is about to see a few more changes in the coming months. That's because Radio Training Network is buying the 20kw station, and it is likely to install one of its existing Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) non-commerical networks on the station, ending a locally programmed operation.

To the far northeast of Tucson, in a largely rural area where the Gila River flows, is a three-station station group serving a population that can tune to five commercially licensed FM stations and three local AMs. The three stations are heading to a new owner, thanks to an asset purchase agreement signed on Dec. 8 and filed with the Commission on Tuesday.

A Class D AM radio station surrounded by Florida's sugar cane fields near Lake Okeechobee has a long history of broadcasting. It's seen several owners, and identities, and was most recently branded as "The Talk of the Palm Beaches" in attempt to draw listening from Palm Beach County instead of the small towns surrounding this facility's tower. Now, this Belle Glade, Fla., AM in existence since October 1947 is trading hands.

As RBR+TVBR has reported, Ted Morgan's Saranac Lake Radio is selling off all of its broadcast interests and is exiting the business following a succession of financial difficulties tied to the AMs and FMs located in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York. Now, Saranac Lake is divesting a translator to a regional operator who plans to use it to give a bit of "AM revitalization" to a Class B Sports Talker in the Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y. market.

A Class B AM radio station with a soon-to-be-completed broadcast tower located in the heart of the newly hip Uptown neighborhood of the Magic City is set to say adios to its Spanish-language Christian Talk format. Coming soon: Programming in patois targeting the region's large Haitian community.

There's an Oregon radio signal that not only covers much of Eugene and Springfield, but also Corvallis and Albany, and the state capital of Salem. This station even reaches the coastal communities of Newport and Lincoln City, and on good days comes in just fine from the top of the OHSU Tram in Southwest Portland. It could be yours, for the right price.

A silent noncommercial FM station serving the northern portion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area is trading hands. But, it's going to a different owner than who was announced in August 2017. That's the top headline on a soft day for deals in for RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY.

A Class A FM facility to the northeast of Indianapolis has been selected for divestment by a Christian liberal arts university affiliated with the Church of God. Meanwhile, a noncommercial network of regional Mexican stations targeting first-generation farmworkers has closed on its acquisition of a translator serving a portion of the Phoenix market. Kalil & Co. served as the broker in this transaction. Those are the biggest headlines in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Dec. 6, 2017.

A Class C0 facility serving the St. George, Utah area and nearby Zion National Park has officially changed hands. Kalil & Co. Inc. was the exclusive broker for this transaction, which was consummated in March 2015 and has finally gotten Commission approval.

RBR+TVBR late Monday reported the sale of 13 TV stations in 10 markets by ZGS Communications to the NBCUniversal arm that includes the Telemundo Spanish-language network's owned-and-operated stations. The deal involves one full-power station, nine Class A stations, and low power stations serving Springfield, Mass., and Richmond. We now know that channel-sharing agreements forged by ZGS, a participant in the FCC's incentive auction, are also involved in its deal with Telemundo. We've also confirmed the purchase price for the 13 stations.

The first television station to serve a wide swath of coastal California between Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, jokingly known here as “behind the Redwood Curtain,” is now owned by the company that controls the crosstown CBS affiliate —a facility once owned by iHeartMedia predecessor Clear Channel. The closing of the sale of NBC affiliate KIEM-3, which saw Kalil & Co. serve as the exclusive broker in this transaction, is our top topic of discussion in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Dec. 4, 2017.

Here's a station that has officially gone from a little Spanish-language "Amor" in 2001 to an embrace of "Air1" and Christian Pop music, effective Friday (12/1). Educational Media Foundation has formally closed on its purchase of a 6kw facility nestled in a fast-growing area between Arizona's two major metropolitan areas. Kalil & Co. served as the exclusive broker in the transaction.