Radio News

It's no secret that Univision Communications is looking for a buyer, and a report in the Dec. 19, 2019 edition of The Wall Street Journal suggests the Alan Sokol-led Hemisphere Media Group is one of three bidders for the company led by CEO Vince Sadusky. Who knew that a home builder would emerge as a confirmed acquisition party of Univision assets?

In a major shift after decades of providing Washingtonians hourly news reports and bulletins from CBS, WTOP on Jan. 1, 2018 made a big programming change. The Hubbard Radio all-News giant opted to provide listeners content from ABC News Radio. Two years later, WTOP has reversed course.

On October 22, RBR+TVBR was first to report the sale of a Class C1 100kw Adult Contemporary station known as “Sky FM,” and its 1kw Classic Country AM sibling. The "Flood"-fueled deal has now closed, bringing the combo to a new owner with a large presence across Nebraska.

On June 30, 2017, Continental Broadcasting Corp. sold a Class B AM in Phoenix to an entity controlled by Vic Michael Jr. Now, he's asked the FCC for a Construction Permit that will allow him to "diplex" the AM with another station under his auspices.

Some Michigan radio industry observers -- and listeners -- have wondered for a week if Northern Radio would retain a Petoskey property that's served as a simulcast partner of a station that was just sold to Ross Biederman's Northwestern Broadcasting. The mystery is up, as of today: WKLT is being sold. The buyer? The No. 2 licensee of radio stations in the U.S.

For many years, Radio Disney-branded stations across Mexico were among the top-rated FMs serving teens and young adults, offering a blend of Spanish-language and international pop hits. However, increased competition from other networks -- and Spotify -- put increased pressure on the network, a partnership between Disney and Grupo ACIR. Now, that pact is ending -- another sign of trouble for Radio as a teen magnet.

Since November 2007, following a 26-month silence due to Hurricane Katrina flood damage, WBOK-AM in New Orleans has remained a voice for African Americans. Now, its owners -- locals who also own the Los Angeles Sentinel African-American publication in Los Angeles -- are selling the venerable station.

Five months ago, a Class A FM in Michigan found itself in a tussle over its future ownership. A family trust filed an objection with the FCC against the station's transfer from its licensee to a new 50/50 partnership driven by the station's manager. "Misrepresentations" were noted by the trust. A Court Order has negated the deal proposed in August, handing this FM to a receiver.

Since 1997, Jamie McKibbin has been an ubiquitous presence in the Jackson, Mich., community thanks to his weekly outdoors show on the ESPN Radio affiliate and as GM of a group of stations he just purchased from the Goldsens. Now, McKibbin's newly formed station group is growing again.

It's hardly a surprise that auto insurance specialists dominate the latest Media Monitors Spot Ten Radio report. But, the brand that sits atop the latest report isn't necessarily the one that is one of the top spenders of 2019 on broadcast and cable media.

It's not often that Educational Media Foundation, the noncomm giant that operates sibling networks Christian Pop KLOVE and Worship Music Air1, sells a station. But, that happened in October, and the deal just closed. As a result, something also rare has occurred: an institution of higher learning is buying an FM, rather than saying goodbye to it.

The last full trading week of 2019 is underway. For those tracking radio industry stocks, two companies stick out for their strong performance as the clock winds down to 2020. For a third company, its shaky health in the second half of the year -- punctuated by a sharp drop on Monday -- is attracting the attention of industry observers and investors.

On September 9, Entercom Communications suffered what EVP/CFO Rich Schmaeling described during the media company's Q3 earnings call as a "cyberattack" that cost the company $400,000 in lost revenue. It now appears Entercom's IT services have been hit again, albeit on a much smaller scale.

The Mitten State is what some affectionately call Michigan, and in the northern part of the state is a collection of nine radio stations owned by a company led by President Ross Biederman. Now, Biederman's company is adding a 10th property to its holdings. At the same time, the seller is spinning another property to a regional institution of higher learning.

An AM/FM combo, along with an FM translator, serving a small Illinois city to the southwest of Peoria is being spun. For the buyer, it adds to an AM radio station with an FM translator with a Farm and Agricultural format serving Danville, Ill., in the eastern part of the state.