Creditors wound up with the final 10 stations after the bulk of Nassau Broadcasting was auctioned off, and according to reports, expanding Connoisseur Media will take the stations off their hands at the same price they paid.
Goldman Sachs and P.E. Capital formed NB Broadcasting, put it under the care and feeding of Douglas Pluss, and picked up the stations in a transaction valued at $38.7M, which is what Connoisseur is said to be paying. Connoisseur is headed by Jeff Warshaw.
The group includes five stations in Allentown-Bethlehem PA, two in Wilkes Barre-Scranton PA and three in Trenton NJ.
The Goldman deal for the stations was filed with the FCC 5/23/12.
Here is the snapshot of the group we published at that time:
Allentown-Bethlehem PA
WODE-FM Easton PA: Class B on 99.9 MHz with 50 kW @ 49’
WTKZ-AM Allentown PA: Class B on 1320 kHz with 750 W-D, 195 W-N, DAN
WEEX-AM Easton PA: Class C on 1230 kHz with 840 W-D, 1 kW-N, DAD
WBYN-AM Lehighton PA: Class B on 1160 kHz with 4 kW-D, 1 kW-N, DA2
WWYY-FM Belvidere NJ: Class A on 107.1 MHz with 1.2 kW @ 719’
* WODE is the crown jewel of the entire package of stations being picked up. Known as Class Hits The Hawk, it gets into Wilkes Barre-Scranton in addition to being one of the top stations in the Allentown market.
* WEEX and WTKZ bring ESPN Sports into the Allentown market, with WTKZ centered on its Allentown city of license just as WEEX is centered in Easton, the market’s outpost to the east.
* WBYN-AM is oriented northwest of Allentown and uses a religious format.
* WWYY-FM has a contour that mirrors that of the two Stroudsburg PA stations below, but picks up listeners in both Allentown and Wilkes Barre-Scranton despite failing to hit either with a 60 dBu signal.
Wilkes Barre-Scranton PA
WVPO-AM Stroudsburg PA: Class D on 840 kHz with 250 W-D, ND
WSBG-FM Stroudsburg PA: Class A on 93.5 MHz with 550 W @ 764’
* Stroudsburg is between and to the east of Wilkes Barre-Scranton and Allentown-Bethlehem. The AM is a news-talker, the FM is an AC that says it plays The Pocono’s Best Variety. The FM has a presence in WB-Scranton.
Trenton NJ
WCHR-AM Trenton NJ: Class B on 920 kHz with 1.4 kW-D, 1 kW-N, DA2
WPST-FM Trenton NJ: Class B on 94.5 MHz with 50 kW @ 492’
WNJE-AM Flemington NJ: Class B on 1040 kHz with 15 kW-D, 1.5 kW-N, DA3
* WPST is a Top 40 outlet which beyond being a big player in the Trenton market has the added benefit of picking up ratings in Philadelphia. The two AMs would have to be considered long on potential and short on current results insofar as ratings are concerned.
