A little more than two years ago, the owner of an AM radio station with an all-important FM translator targeting Philadelphia’s Spanish-language listening audience filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Pittsburgh-based media broker Roger Rafson of CMS Station Brokerage was hired to “explore sale opportunities,” but that did not guarantee a divestment was coming.
Today, those properties remain the anchors of Mega Philadelphia LLC, which has successfully come out of bankruptcy.
As first reported on Friday morning by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, Mega Philadelphia CEO Michael Sciore has announced that the company he leads has fulfilled all creditor payments associated with WEMG-AM 1310 & W289AZ in Camden, N.J., each of which primarily serve Center City Philadelphia, the Latino enclave of Northeast Philadelphia, and the city of Camden. Mega-Philadelphia also owns Millville, N.J.-based FM translator W277BA.
Sciore filed his Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a federal district court in Fort Myers, Fla. in 2022. It was business as usual for the stations, however — even as it faced stiff competition against iHeartMedia’s WUMR “Rumba 106.1.”
There were no unsecured creditors listed in the 2022 filing. However, three “Critical Vendors” were noted and will be paid “prepetition obligations.” Thus, the FCC will receive up to the amount of $10,935.07; Intertech Media will be paid up to $300; and Nielsen Audio will be paid up to $9,978. Mega-Philadelphia’s primary secured creditor was Centric Bank, and it successfully negotiated consensual solutions to a plan of reorganization.
Anthony T. Lepore, Esq. and Radiotvlaw Associates LLC served as Special Counsel. Rafson was paid $4,200 to explore potential sale opportunities.
With the June 18 order confirming the Chapter 11 plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida in Fort Myers, a certificate of service was issued on June 25, cementing Mega Philadelphia’s exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Still, Mega has a long road ahead to establish firm profit growth. Its April 2024 monthly operating report filed with the court on May 21 shows total cash on hand of just $110.96. The TD Bank accounts tied to Mega Philadelphia are under the name “MS Acquisitions and Holdings” of Naples, Fla. The address reflects a residential home in Naples Reserve, on the far eastern end of the Southwest Florida metropolitan region.
WEMG came to life in Philadelphia at its current home on December 15, 1998 as “Mega 1310” replaced WSSJ-AM with its move from 900 kHz, today the home of WURD-AM in Philadelphia. This was engineered by then-owner Alfredo Alonso‘s Mega Broadcasting. He sold WEMG-AM to Davidson Media Group in October 2005 for $8.75 million. The company, once run by Chris McMurray, by 2016 was selling off its assets due to financial strain. This saw the spin of WEMG-AM to Sciore’s group for $975,000 — a considerable loss compared to DMG’s purchase price some 11 years earlier.
In a statement provided to Radio Ink, Sciore commented, “Today’s significant accomplishment is the first of many as we continue to provide first-class entertainment. We are a better more efficient business now, and we are looking forward to continued successful long-term growth as we reconnect with our fans.”
Edelboim Lieberman PLLC’s Brett Lieberman added, “Mega showed considerable flexibility as it managed to restructure its financial affairs and delivered award-winning sound.”
