KINGSTON, N.Y. — The University of Northwestern-St. Paul has in the last several years been a buyer, rather than a seller, of radio stations. Now, it is ready to enter four distinct regions of New York, thanks to a deal that involves the charitable donation of 9 FMs and three FM translators.
A donation agreement was finalized on March 2 and submitted on Wednesday for FCC approval that sees the school’s Northwestern Media unit obtain the broadcast stations of Sound of Life Inc.
The transaction marks the end of a local Christian Contemporary Music operation that dates to 1985, and saw its expansion beyond the Mid-Hudson Valley to the Catskills, lower Adirondack region and the Albany-Schenectady-Troy market.
With no cash consideration, Northwestern Media will be obtaining the following properties from Sound of Life:
WLJH-FM 90.7 in Glens Falls, New York- WSSK-FM 89.7 in Saratoga Springs, New York
- Tiny 27-watt WPGL-FM 90.7 in Pattersonville, N.Y., serving Schenectady, and FM translator W235AY at 94.9 MHz in Albany
- WHVP-FM 91.1 in Hudson, New York
- WGKR-FM 105.3 in Grand Gorge, New York
- WFGB-FM 89.7 in Kingston, New York, which feeds W206AW at 89.1 MHz in Pawling and W229BH at 93.7 MHz in Newburgh
- WLJP-FM 89.3 in Monroe, New York
- WRPJ-FM 88.9 in Port Jervis, New York
- WGWR-FM 88.1 in Liberty, New York
Sound of Life CEO Connie VanKleeck signed off on the donation agreement. Chris Imlay of Booth, Freret & Imlay LLC served as Sound of Life’s legal counsel. For Northwestern Media, the legal counsel working on this transaction is Joe Chautin III of Hardy, Carey, Chautin & Balkin.
WFGB serves as the originating station for Sound of Life, and so far has not shared with listeners the Northwestern Media deal.
“We’re excited to become part of the Northwestern Media family as our next step in continuing to bring excellent Christian radio programming to the Northeast and beyond.” said VanKleeck. “Our mission aligns with Northwestern’s – ‘…to lead people to Christ and nurture believers in their spiritual growth through Christ-centered media.’ Our team looks forward to the support and community that will give us an even greater reach to the people of the Northeast.”
Northwestern Media SVP for Media Jason Sharp commented, “We are honored to work with Connie VanKleeck and the Sound of Life Radio team. We look forward to continuing the work they’ve started and impacting this area with the good news.”
