WEST PALM BEACH — With its Nielsen Audio ratings in both its home market of Miami-Fort Lauderdale and neighboring West Palm Beach, to the immediate north, its strongest ever in recent months, South Florida Public Media Group has taken a significant step in giving those between Lake Worth and Martin County better access to the NPR programming and locally produced Jazz and folk shows on its lineup.
An asset purchase agreement has been submitted with the FCC that seeks its approval of the purchase of WFLM-FM 104.7 in Palm Beach Shores, Fla. from JDD Radio LLC.
A $6.45 million sale price was agreed to by the parties. A 10% escrow deposit is being held with Hadden & Associates, the broker in this transaction, representing the buyer.
This marks a big change in direction for what had been a facility at 104.5 MHz serving the African-American community across the Treasure Coast, with a signal based in Fort Pierce, before relocating and taking its current Class C2 facility a notch up the dial. Today, WFLM’s city-grade signal coverage reaches all of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, and it has attempted to attract listeners as “The Flame” with programming largely similar to Cox Media Group’s WHQT “Hot 105” in Miami, at 105.1 MHz.
That appears to be coming to an end very soon, as WFLM will become a 24/7 simulcast partner of Class C1 WLRN-FM 91.3 in Miami. That facility’s city-grade coverage drops considerably when traveling north of Boynton Beach. To address that issue, WLRN has used an FM translator at 101.9 MHz, W270AD, which can be heard from Palm Beach Gardens to Lake Worth.
It is unclear if that FM translator will retain its current programming or take on the Classical programming heard on WLRN’s HD2 signal, a popular option across South Florida. WLRN has also been leasing WOLL-FM 105.5’s HD2 signal, and this serves as the originating signal for W270AD.
It was May 2011 when West Palm Beach last had its own NPR Member station, WXEL-FM. It was owned by Barry University, and sold to Minnesota Public Radio to serve as part of the now-defunct Classical South Florida before ending up in Educational Media Foundation hands, becoming K-LOVE Member station WFLV-FM.
For JDD, owner Dean Freeman is concluding a two-year tenure alongside local broadcaster and community activist Reggie Dee with WFLM’s sale.
JDD acquired WFLM, which had long-served Black consumers in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties, from Midway Broadcasting for $3.75 million. That licensee engineered the move of WFLM south to West Palm Beach, as part of an effort to maximize revenue opportunities. It was made possible by the relocation of WSFS-FM to Miramar from the West Palm Beach market, where it was the original home of WEAT-FM.
