License companies owned by Donald W. Curtis already have four radio stations in Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville, and four more in the immediate area. Now he’s picking up two more.
The geographically-expansive market is very difficult to cover with a single radio station, so despite the presence of an AM and five FMs in the market once Curtis’s deal for WELS AM-FM Kinston NC closes, it will not have six stations with overlapping contours.
Curtis is buying the Gospel outlets under the licensee name Eastern Airwaves LLC.
The seller is Joseph C. Lindsey, who is acting as Executor for the Estate of Levi E. Willis Sr.
The price will be $225K cash.
Both of the stations are low-wattage outlets on the inland edge of the market, local to Kinston. They also reach another Curtis outpost, Goldsboro, which is even further inland.
Here’s what Curtis will have once the deal closes.
* WELS-AM, a Class D on 1010 kHz with 1 kW-D, 78 W-N, ND
* WELS-FM, a Class A on 102.9 MHz with 3 kW @ 295′
Also in Greenville market:
* WNBU-FM Oriental NC, a Class C3 on 94.1 MHz with 11 kW @ 486’, serving New Bern and Morehead City
* WRHT-FM Morehead City NC, a Class C1 on 96.3 MHz with 100 kW @ 492’, also serving the New Bern area as well as its city of license
* WRHD-FM Farmville NC, a Class A on 94.3 MHz with 3.9 kW @ 407’, serving the Greenville area.
* WTIB-FM Williamston NC, a Class C1 on 103.7 MHz with 100 kW @ 987’, serving Greenville and points north and lacking any contour overlap with the two incoming Kinston stations.
On the Goldsboro side:
* WEQR-FM Walnut Grove NC, a Class A on 97.7 MHz with 3.65 kW @ 501’.
* WFMC-AM Goldsboro, a Class D on 730 kHz with 1 kW-D, 97 W-N, ND
* WGBR-AM Goldsboro, a Class B on 1150 kHz with 5 kW-D, 800 W-N, DA2
* WYMY-FM Goldsboro, a Class C0 on 96.9 MHz with 100 kW @ 984’ and a coverage area that reaches as far as Greenville.
