Radio and Television Transactions

Northwest Arkansas is a growing Hispanic hub: the Latino population in the Nielsen Audio-defined metro is 14.3%. As such, having a radio station serving Spanish-speakers here may be of value. That's the case for Edward and Leticia Vega. They've just swapped an AM with an FM translator in Tulsa for a similar operation in the heart of this fast-growing Arkansas region.

As much of Washington, D.C., was quiet ahead of a somewhat unusual Labor Day holiday weekend due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the FCC on Friday posted no new transactions. That said, there were several STA requests -- including a station profiled this week in a RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast.

Ravi Kapur has gained notice as the owner of a television broadcasting company that began with a low-power digital facility atop Chicago's Willis Tower and in January 2015 officially took control of KRDK-4, the former KXJB, in Fargo, N.D. Now, Kapur's Major Market Broadcasting is growing again. The seller? A 93-year-old L.A. radio station owner.

Travel down U.S. 30 from the Cherry Hill, N.J., area just east of central Philadelphia, and you'll happen across some smaller Southern New Jersey communities as Clementon and Berlin. Here, an FM translator has been used to rebroadcast a religious noncommercial FM. Soon, that will change -- along with the language of what's heard on the air.

Aside from former FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, there may be few people outside of Kansas familiar with the town of Ulysses. It's a 300-mile drive from construction-cluttered Denver International Airport, and home to a group of eight radio stations are heading to a new licensee. Why? The current operator defaulted on payments owed to the entity getting the octet.

Was it a result of a failed geography lesson? Until now, Florida Public Radio has been the licensee of a 500-watt Class A poised to get a huge upgrade to 100kw Class C1 status. It's not in the Sunshine State. Rather, it's in an area of rural Iowa to the southwest of Des Moines. And, it's now being sold.

He's the President of Carroll County Broadcasting and of related entity Bunyard Northwest Properties. Now, Jay Bunyard is adding an additional Arkansas radio property to his stable of stations.

It's a unique Class A facility offering co-channel protection to Class B giant KBIG-FM in Los Angeles, some 90 minutes to the west. And, until July 31, it was offering the "Valley's Greatest Hits" to listeners from Palm Springs to Twentynine Palms and Cathedral City. Now, this FM is speaking Spanish, and serving evangelical Hispanics in the Coachella Valley.

Tom Troland has gained attention in recent years for his partnership with Michael Mallace and for his role as the head of RedRock Media Group, the entity that sold an Oldies FM in Grand Junction, Colo., to the owner of a local daily newspaper. Today, Troland is in the news for his decision to shed an FM translator serving Moab, Utah.

It positions itself as the TV channel "in constant evolution that brings the best of Latin America." Now, this unique offering is poised to welcome viewers in the Coachella Valley of California, thanks to a just-filed transaction awaiting FCC approval.

An asset exchange agreement has been reached that will see the licensee of two Pennsylvania AM radio stations and an FM translator trade the properties in exchange of two different AMs and a pair of associated translators. 

With ATSC 3.0 bringing Broadcast Internet and NEXTGEN TV opportunities, the company led in tandem by Hilton Howell Jr. and Pat LaPlatney has actively been seeking to secure full-DMA over-the-air coverage of its stations through these LPTV deals. The FCC has two more transactions it will need to approve.

A lay apostolate with broadcast signals in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming, has agreed to part ways with a radio station serving Bismarck and its FM translator licensed to Williston, N.D.

Gerry Schlegel has just signed off on the acquisition of a pair of radio stations led by William Wachter and his Chisolm Trail Communications. How much is LKCM Radio Group paying for the Lone Star State duo?

It offers what it calls "schizoelectic radio" and claims to have a national streaming audio audience. Alas, that appears to be not enough to save "Jive Radio" on a broadcast facility using a Class C3 signal to cover a portion of the Columbia River Gorge due east of Portland, Ore.