Thirty years ago this summer, a Class D AM licensed to Cambridge, Mass., was acquired by an individual who converted what had been a Gospel station to a blend of what is perhaps best-described as “light Adult Contemporary Oldies and instrumentals.”
Over time, the owner added an FM translator, and signals in Maine.
Now, an expansion to Cape Cod is in play, thanks to Langer Broadcasting.
Langer, a Framingham-based operation led by Alexander Langer, is agreeing to sell Class C WBAS-AM 1240 in West Yarmouth, Mass., along with FM translator W268CP, which holds a Construction Permit for broadcasts at 106.5 MHz.
The buyer is Bob Bittner Broadcasting, and he’s paying $100,000 for the facilities.
The transaction includes the transfer of a tower lease agreement with Crown Castle from Langer to Bittner.
Bittner, who is in his early 70s, is based in Bath, Me., and was featured by The Boston Globe in August 2015 for “spinning songs in the key of nostalgia.”
In 1991, he paid $277,115 for WJIB-AM 740 in Cambridge, serving the immediate Boston area. At night, travelers as close to The Hub as Framingham receive Sam Zniber’s CFZM-AM “Zoomer Radio” from Toronto, as WJIB’s nighttime coverage is very tiny.
What drives Bittner is his passion for the music played across his stations, he told Broadcasting & Cable in 2000.
Now, that music will help resuscitate an ailing property on Cape Cod.
As RBR+TVBR reported in July 2020, Langer Broadcasting filed a Silent STA with the Commission for WBAS in addition to two other AMs.
Alexander Langer explained at the time via FCC filings that he is “reorganizing its financing and considering its options with respect to the station(s) returning to the air.”
Silent authority for six months was sought “so as to be able to find new investors, modify its operation, etc.,” he says.
Now, one will look to see if WSRO-AM 650 in Ashland, Mass. and FM translator W271CU at 102.1 MHz in Framingham, Mass., due west of central Boston; and WZBR-AM 1410 in Dedham, Mass. and FM translator W251CR at 98.1 MHz in Needham, Mass., covering towns such as Malden and Medford to the north of central Boston; will be sold soon.
Those are the other two stations under a silent STA.
