Radio and Television Transactions

John Dowdy’s Gumbo 94.9 brings its country format to people in the New Orleans area. It now has a deal to add a small station well to the southwest of the metropolitan area.

Westcliffe, Colorado is southwest of Colorado Springs, but the signal of KXCL-FM isn’t nearly potent enough to get even close to the market. However, it holds a CP that will both cut the distance and improve the signal, to the benefit of a new noncommercial owner.

WJTP-AM is the opposite of a vampire (the old-fashioned kind of vampire anyway) in that it operates during the day and takes a hiatus at night. The Lithia Springs GA outlet in the Atlanta market is headed to new owners.

Wall Street umpire Moody’s Investor Service believes that Hubbard Radio is working with a quality group of stations in quality media markets, and even though its leverage is a bit higher than Moody’s likes, it believes financial moves to acquire two Sandusky radio clusters will not substantially change the overall picture.

This Birmingham AL deal is one for the books. It involves a swap of AM stations plus cash consideration, the formation of an AM duopoly, two time brokerage agreements and one of the most unusual other consideration clauses we’ve seen in quite some time.

Chris M. Spears will be the principal among a trio of buyers who are picking up a pair of AM stations bringing sports programming to the somewhat sprawling Gainesville-Ocala market. The stations are WMOP-AM and WGGG-AM.

This time the noncommercial religious group is buying in the Fort Collins CO market. The seller, according to brokerage Kalil and Company, is Ted Tucker’s Cochise Broadcasting, which will earn cash for the station and may realize a tax benefit as well.

Dan Halyburton is not lacking for impressive resume material, with a career that includes stops at Susquehanna, Emmis and most recently, CBS’s Texas State...