Gordon Ichikawa, who headed Tower Broadcasting, died unexpectedly on December 2, 2023 while snorkeling in Aruba. He was 71 years of age and maintained a second home there. With his passing in the Netherlands Antilles, Dawn Ichikawa was immediately appointed as the executor of her husband’s estate by a Steuben County, N.Y., court.
Now, Ms. Ichikawa has decided to continue Gordon’s legacy by acquiring an AM, an FM, and an FM translator in Hornell, N.Y.
An asset purchase agreement finalized on Tuesday (7/9) and submitted for regulatory approval sees GRI Telecom Inc., led by Ms. Ichikawa, agree to acquire WLEA-AM and W295CW along with WCKR-FM in Hornell from PMJ Communications.
PMJ is headed by VP Brendan Doran, and he’s earning $200,000 from the transaction.
Interestingly, Ichiwaka has already paid all but $1 to PMJ. Those one hundred pennies will be paid at closing.
There is no broker or finder in this deal, which sees David G. O’Neil of Rini O’Neil serve as Ichikawa’s legal counsel.
WCKR at 92.1 MHz is branded as “Fun 92.1” as WLEA is a News/Talk station boasting a lineup of syndicated fare, including This Morning with Gordon Deal, The Brian Kilmeade Show, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, Sean Hannity, Dave Ramsey, John Batchelor and Rich Valdes.
These stations will join WABH-AM & WVIN-FM in Bath, N.Y.; along with FM translators W293CE and W262CX in Bath. Those stations were acquired in 2015 after former owner Pembrook Pines went into receivership, with Richard A. Foreman and Associates serving as the seller. Tower is the former owner of WEHH-AM, WELM-AM, WLVY-FM & WOKN-FM in the Corning-Elmira market. WLVY ownership came to an end in October 2022; WELM and WOKN were sold in March 2023 by Tower.
