It boasts a motto of “Teach. Talk. Jesus!” and at present can be heard on stations serving Evansville, Ind.; Louisville, Ky.; and both Huntington and Charleston, W. Va. Soon, this broadcast ministry’s programming will be heard just west of the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York, as it is purchasing an FM in the small Western New York market.
The buyer is “WCJW, LLC,” and that’s tied to Pure Radio, a religious broadcast ministry.
On Friday, finalization came to an asset purchase agreement immediately submitted to the FCC for its regulatory approval. And, it sees the Pure Radio licensee agree to a $126,600 purchase price for Class A WVIN-FM 98.3 in Bath, N.Y. from Tower Broadcasting.
Tower is led by Dawn Ichikawa, who assumed control of the company following the unexpected passing of Gordon Ichikawa in December 2023, after suffering a snorkeling incident while vacationing in Aruba. Rather than sell, Dawn decided to continue her father’s legacy. In July 2024, she even signed off on a purchase of an AM, FM and FM translator in nearby Hornell, N.Y.
Now, WVIN — with a signal contour scraping Corning, to the southeast, and Canandaigua, to the north — is poised to shed its Classic Hits programming and embrace a Christian Talk and Teaching format.
A $6,000 cash deposit has been made to Ichikawa and Tower. The remaining $120,600 will be honored by a Promissory Note bearing 6% interest. It is a 10-year payment schedule, with monthly payments of $1,338.91 agreed upon.
The buyer’s legal counsel is Davina Sashkin of Wilkinson Barker Knauer.
Tower acquired WVIN-FM and sibling WABH-AM in December 2015 in a transaction that came following an April 2015 LMA agreement forged with bankrupt seller Pembrook Pines Mass Media N.A. Serving as the broker of that deal was Pembrook Pines reciever Dick Foreman of Rafamedia.
