The two-station, three-licensee station transfer involving the New York Times, Univision and non-profit WNYC Radio is officially on the books. The WQXR-FM frequency goes to Univision, and the WCAA-FM frequency to WNYC; Univision keeps the WCAA calls while WNYC gets WQXR rights.
The move allows the New York Times to completely exit the broadcasting business while assuring that its Classical format will live on after its exit. WQXR-FM will move from 96.3 MHz to 105.9 MHz, and its format will be adjusted to accommodate elements of the new owner’s own Classical offerings.
Meanwhile, WCAA-FM moves from 105.9 MHz to 96.3 MHz, giving broader market coverage for Univision’s Hispanic format.
The terms are these: Univision will swap the 105.9 frequency to NYT for 96.3 and send along an additional $33.5M; NYT will then sell 105.9 to WNYC for $11.5M. That puts with ultimate cost of 96.3 at $45M.
RBR-TVBR observation: It sure has been a bad year for Classical. Commercial stations here and in Boston have abandoned the format, and a big noncom in St. Louis is being sold out of the format. We hate to see this once highly successful format fall on such bad times.
