Radio and Television Transactions

Over the years, what is now "WAMC Northeast Public Radio" grew with the addition of stations in Kingston, Middletown, Canajoharie, and Stamford. Today, the WAMC network is comprised of 11 FMs, stretching from Northern Westchester County to the Canadian border, as well as WAMC-AM in Albany, N.Y. Soon, a 28th FM signal will be added to the mix.

It's a Class A FM covering a rural portion of Arkansas, just south of the Ozarks resort town of Branson, Mo. Until now, it's been a part of the "Here's Help Network," tied to stations offering the religious-themed programming to towns in Missouri. That's about to change thanks to the second-largest licensee of FM radio stations in the U.S.

At the start of 2021, it became known that Iliana Communications had agreed to divest its stations in one Illinois town. Now, Iliana has agreed to sell an AM, along with its FM translator, in another municipality in the Land of Lincoln.

On July 30, RBR+TVBR first reported on agreement signed by the children of the late Ray Moran that involves the sale of a full-power TV station in Albuquerque and its associated full-power and low-power repeater stations in a transaction brokered by Kalil & Co. The buyer has now closed on the transaction.

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.

The eastern Sierra Nevada town of Bishop, Calif., is, believe it or not, within the Los Angeles DMA. That's exactly why a TV station licensed to this little town has just been purchased by the owner of the MeTV Network and related Oldies radio brand.

The Holladay family has become well-known for their ownership of radio properties across the Deep South. Now, Bryan Holladay is signing of on an acquisition. Pending FCC approval, it will see the transfer of control of three FMs to his Meridian Media Group.

On June 3, Sinclair Broadcast Group revealed that it was selling its lone radio broadcasting stations — a pair of AM spoken-word stations, a heritage Hot Adult Contemporary FM, and an FM that simulcasts one of those big AM properties. The transaction closed on Sept. 28, shifting ownership to a family-run broadcasting company based in Los Angeles.

It's code-name is "Project Guesthouse," as documents filed with the FCC late last week indicate. And, it involves the sale — rather than the surrendering of licenses to the Commission — of AM radio stations Cumulus Media no longer desires.

It's no secret that available broadcast TV stations are few and far between for aspiring buyers. As such, there could be some considerable interest in a low-power TV station being marketed by one veteran media broker that serves one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the Southeast U.S.

A Class B FM serving the capital city of Ohio with rock 'n' roll programming, along with its "Jack FM" Class A sibling and "Easy" AM with a FM translator, are getting a little bit of an ownership twist. Not to worry, listeners: North American Broadcasting Company isn't making any changes to the station's programming.

Travel to the northwest of San Antonio and you'll reach beautiful Hill Country, an outdoors enthusiast's Lone Star paradise that even includes a vineyard or two. En route to this area is the city of Boerne. Here, a daytime-only AM and its FM translator are trading hands.

In early July, a special group of low-power television station permits were put up for sale by a Texas-based company that didn’t wish to build them by their rather unique deadline of 2023. Several buyers stepped forward. Now, the seller has found a buyer for two Construction Permits in the Monterey Bay region of California.

Kagan's Volker Moerbitz's assessment of the transactions landscape through June 30 is a striking one: the first half of 2021 registered a total deal volume that was less than the average monthly deal volume in any of the years between 2011 and 2019. If it weren't for the presence of brokers, how much worse would things have been?

In August 2017 the sale of a Class A FM serving a portion of Southwestern Virginia was sold. But, the entity that agreed to purchase it ran out of funds, so the deal was scrapped in 2019. Now, a new buyer has been found.