Radio and Television Transactions

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. 

It's known for the Ave Maria Grotto and for being the halfway point between Birmingham and Decatur, Ala. Now, this town of some 18,500 people is in the news as a low-power television station licensed to this municipality is heading to a new owner.

A settlement agreement has been signed by one hopeful licensee and the second-largest licensee of radio stations in the U.S. that paves away for the latter organization to build a station at that frequency. Once complete, Educational Media Foundation will have a Garden Isle outpost.

Eric Wotila has gained notice across the U.S. for his role as President of digital multicast network NewsNet. Now, he's in the news as Wotila has agreed to an asset purchase agreement that will adjust the ownership in the station branded as "NewsNet Michigan."

With 5,000 watts at 590 on your AM dial, it cranked out the hits from 1959 through 1971. By 2011, it had become a Cumulus Media property. The next decade wasn't kind, with a 2014 transmitter failure and power cut that continues to today. Cumulus spun the AM in September 2021. Now, it is poised to change hands again.

A 99-watt FM translator at 93.1 MHz that serves the southeastern portion of the Birmingham, Ala., metropolitan area is being spun. The buyer? The company that has control of the originating station, WAYE-AM 1220 in Birmingham.

Until August 2021, he served as the Market President for iHeartMedia in Huntsville, Ala. That's when he departed to form his own broadcast media company. Now, the new entity has filed paperwork with the Commission for its first two properties. 

An AM and its FM translator licensed to the city of Santa Fe, N. Mex., are seeking the Commission's approval for a pro forma transfer. It is being done without consideration, and for estate planning purposes.

Gray is adding to its properties in the Panama City Beach, Fla., market with the addition of another low-power TV property in the former Spring Break hub popular with Atlanta and Birmingham-area retirees and beachgoers.

Universal Media Access is agreeing to sell KSJO-FM in San Jose and its Pleasanton, Calif., booster — key to GeoBroadcast Solutions' ZoneCasting technology. But, the sale is actually an employee-led acquisition that sees Sanjiv Gupta partnering with UMA's COO and the company's digital and programming leader.

It's a Class A FM covering a small swath of the Edmond, Wash., area to the north of Seattle, and it uses a 9-watt FM translator to help with coverage of such communities as Bellevue and Issaquah. Now, these homes of Christian Rock noncommercial network RadioU are being spun. The buyer is known for stations "Where God's Word Is Heard.

In mid-December, the leaders of Spanish Independent Broadcast Network opted to part ways with its low-power television station serving the Valley of the Sun. Who's the buyer? It's the same entity that two years ago snagged a LPTV facility serving the Verde Valley, home to towns such as Jerome and Sedona, Ariz.

A pair of licensees tied to North Carolina-based Curtis Media Group have agreed to spin a pair of AM radio stations, and one FM translator, to another media company operating in the state.

No, we're not talking about stations tied in some way to Bobby Vinton but, rather, the town of Vinton, Va. Here, an AM radio station with an FM translator are heading to a new owner, pending FCC approval.

Until March 2017, Hector Villalobos owned and operated three FMs and an AM serving agricultural areas tied to the Monterey-Salinas market. At the time, one of those FMs was sold. Then, Villalobos in September 2020 sold the two other FM stations. Now, the AM has been spun, marking his exit from ownership of stations serving the picturesque region of Northern California.