Radio and Television Transactions

From the top of a peak overlooking Charlotte Amalie, a Class B FM serving all of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the eastern areas of Puerto Rico has been delivering religious-themed programming since 1985. Now, this "word of God" is being spun. But, will the talk and teaching programming be changing?

Barry Manilow, Carole King, The Doobie Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Fleetwood Mac, and Abba fans rejoice: A radio station that feeds an FM translator offering soft Oldies to New York's Long Island is being acquired by its LMA partner.

Its past involves a run as "Súper Estrella" under Entravision Communications ownership some 18 years ago, and as a Spanish-language religious station under its current licensee. Today, this station is operated by a South Asian media company with a presence in the UAE, via an LMA with the current owner. That LMA will soon end; outright ownership is on the way.

From the heart of the Florida Everglades, a 50kw noncommercial FM has been pumping out Christian Rock programming. However, three years ago the operators said it would be evolving to an internet-only operation. That's now happening, as this facility is being spun.

From January 24, 2018 until October 1, 2020, a Class A FM serving a slice of Illinois between Champaign and Bloomington was a Classic Rocker under the WEXG-FM call letters. So much for saluting the late Eddie Van Halen with "Running with the Devil." This station has new call letters, and is heading to a new owner with a mission to spread the Word.

It's a station that maintains a post-spectrum auction repack channel sharing agreement with the market's Azteca América affiliate and a facility recently taken over by New York-based RNN. And, this San Francisco Bay Area facility has just been sold by NRJ TV, which scored a multi-million payday by giving up this facility's own spectrum.

Chapparal Broadcasting has decided to part ways with an AM with an FM translator in Bozeman, Mont., an asset purchase agreement dated Sept. 24 and filed with the Commission on Oct. 7 shows.

The second-oldest radio station in Pensacola, Fla., is changing hands. What does that mean for listeners of Christian Contemporary non-comm network "WOW Radio"?

In December 2016, Awaken Broadcasting agreed to acquire a Bristol, Va., radio station for $350,000. Less than four years later, this AM and its associated FM translator are heading to a new owner.

When it comes to independent radio broadcasters in major U.S. markets, Saul Levine is one of the last men standing. His Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters continues to own and operate properties in Los Angeles, and until now his station roster included a silent AM serving the Monterey Bay area. Levine is now donating the facility.

In Kalamazoo, Mich., there's a Class A FM licensed to the city's public school district. In recent years, it had been "The Beat of Kalamazoo," offering Rhythmic Hip-Hop titles to the city from student air personalities. All of that changed in January. Now, 10 months later, the long-expected sale of this station is transpiring. The buyer? A big institute of higher learning.

"Mile High Sports" has served as the market's home for Colorado State Rams athletics and for the recently launched Bet R Network. Soon, that wager-focused sports talk on its AM home will soon be replaced by Spanish-language voices, as part of "ESNE," the operator of a non-secular Hispanic network. The FM translator? Another buyer is paying a hefty price.

In June 2017, a 45-year radio industry veteran who serves as president of Mercury Capital Partners agreed to pay $2.3 million for a trio of AM radio stations serving some of the nation’s biggest markets. Now, he is selling one of them -- a Class B AM serving Nassau County, N.Y.; Southern Connecticut; and Monmouth County, N.J., thanks to its unique signal pattern.

With Black Information Network (BIN) quickly seeking to establish itself as a national voice for the African American community, iHeartMedia has swiftly moved forward to fill some key coverage holes in the top Black DMAs. On Sept. 24, it quietly moved forward with an arrangement made public Oct. 1 by the FCC that saw Kalil & Co. represent iHeart in a Miami deal.

A pocket of Northwest Wisconsin that's home to two major wood window and door manufacturing companies, and an Owens Corning millwork manufacturing plant has attracted the interest of Mike Oberg. The radio broadcasting company he has a 50/50 partnership in has opted to purchase an AM/FM combo dedicated to serving Rusk County.