Radio and Television Transactions

The TV station airing the Spanish-language Azteca América broadcast network in the nation's No. 1 Hispanic DMA — Los Angeles — is trading hands. How is this possible, as the station participated in the FCC's Spectrum Auction? The party that holds its Channel-Sharing Agreement just sold the CSA to a Wisconsin-based player, making this a "zombie" deal that sees the transfer of programming rights, and not an actual broadcast TV facility.

A noncommercial TV station operated by a community college district in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA could have earned millions of dollars from participating in the FCC's Spectrum Auction. That didn't happen, and now the facility is being sold for a fraction of what it could have fetched — allegedly due to one person's error. Who's the buyer? It's a player north of the Golden Gate Bridge that's now salivating at an opportunity to challenge PBS giant KQED.

Humboldt State University has come to the rescue as the dashing prince here to save a distressed young maiden. The maiden in this case is a Class C3 FM station that fell silent just after midnight on July 1. Thanks to HSU, this now-silent facility is set to come back to life. It's the lone deal in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Thursday, Sept. 7.

A new era for Saga Communications has officially begun. As of today, it's a radio industry pure-play. And, that seems to be good news for investors, based on its Wednesday activity on Wall Street.

A member with an ownership interest in a group of radio stations in the state of Georgia is buying out his partners. That's the top deal of the day for RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY, which also sees the sale of a religious FM in the Deep South to an individual with ownership interest in Larry Fuss' Delta Radio.

In the early 2000s, Dick Broadcasting Co. was among the many owners of AM and FM stations that decided to pare down their assets amidst a great wave of consolidation triggered by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Now, following a year of discussions, this radio broadcaster has decided to grow again. It just acquired three station groups in the Carolinas from Alpha Media.

New Mexico is known as the "Land of Enchantment," and American General Media is certainly enchanted over its acquisition of four FM stations in the state's main DMA. That deal just closed, with Kalil & Co. as the exclusive broker in the transaction, and it's the lone news to report ahead of the 2017 Radio Show in RBR + TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY.

Between Memphis and Jackson, Miss., is the city of Greenwood, Miss. Some 17 AM and FM stations serve this city, and among them are an AM-FM combo that's just been sold. It's the first deal of September to be featured in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY.

The Queen City's ESPN Radio affiliate is exchanging hands. That's the lone deal in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Aug. 31, 2017, wrapping up a tepid month for deals as Congress nears the end of its summer recess.

In Tuesday's RBR + TVBR TRANSACTIONS TODAY we shared details about a change in command at a group of radio stations in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Today, our Transactions Trawler's port of call is the Bahía de Guayanilla, just west of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It's where an AM station has just been sold. Meanwhile, a Form 314 filing with the FCC reveals the price Educational Media Foundation is paying for WBRU-FM 95.5 in Providence.

Gordon P. Ackley is widely known across the U.S. Virgin Islands for an unsuccessful 2016 write-in campaign as the Republican candidate for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He's also known as the owner of four stations in the three-island territory. On Sept. 1, he'll no longer hold any ownership interest in two of those FMs, and an FM translator. It's the lone deal in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Tuesday, Aug. 29.

An FM licensed for broadcast with 89kw from Humpy Peak on the eastern edge of the Salt Lake City market has been sold. With the deal, the station is exiting a divestiture trust led by Jim Burgoyne for $400,000 less than the asking price solicited in February by Media Services Group, which served as the trust's broker. It's the top deal in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Monday, Aug. 28, which also sees the second deal in a week to involve the small city of Lima, Ohio.

A digital LPTV station serving a small city halfway between Dayton and Toledo has just been sold. This results in a religious broadcaster's exit from the tiny market, and the emergence of a different Christian-focused owner. It's the lone deal featured in RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Friday, Aug. 25, which also sees a radio deal brokered by Michael J. Bergner close in Florida.

It's awfully quiet out there in Deal City and Transactions Town. What gives? According to one key industry observer, everybody's waiting ... and eyeing the radio business' three biggies. This insider also sheds some light on the overall atmosphere for buyers and sellers, and if any talk about Townsquare Media selling stations is just folly.

On Wednesday, RBR+TVBR's TRANSACTIONS TODAY detailed the sale of NBC affiliated KIEM-3 in Eureka-Arcata, Calif., to an entity tied to Northwest Broadcasting. To make the deal happen, it had to spin the other station it owned in this small Northern California market. That transaction has just been finalized, and a Form 314 has been submitted to the FCC.