Updated at 9:30am, Jan. 31, 2024
The rapidly growing all-news network owned by 5-Hour Energy creator Manoj Bhargava and led by CEO and Head of Media for Bridge Media Network Vince Bodiford is poised to grab an owned-and-operated property in the Capital District of New York State.
How is it doing it? By acquiring a low-power facility licensed to the town of Greenwich that uses a large AT&T tower located in New Scotland, N.Y., allowing it to cover market No. 59.
According to an asset purchase agreement filed late Friday (1/26) with the FCC, Bridge News LLC is agreeing to purchase WVBG-LD from Wireless Access LLC.
WVBG uses digital channel 17 and has a PSIP of 25, and can cover more than 1 million people, given its signal contour blanketing the Albany-Schenectady-Troy market. Given this, the “POP” figure associated with the purchase price is $0.37.
Bridge News is paying $450,000 for WVBG, with a 10% escrow payment being held by Dan J. Alpert.
There is no broker or finder associated with this transaction, which sees Glen Faulkner signing off on the sale as CEO of Wireless Access.
The station began life as Channel 83 in 1994 to a school district in the Catskill Mountains. This became Channel 25, which was sold to LPTV entrepreneur Dan Viles, who today is General Manager of WYBN-14 in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy DMA.
WYBN is an original NewsNet launch affiliate, and this relationship is not expected to change. Thus, Viles says WVBG will “duplicate distribution” of an offering that has long-served the Albany DMA. WYBN offers NewsNet on Channel 14.8.
