Burnstein finds camping spot in the Forest near Columbia
Cliff Burnstein's Exosphere Broadcasting has won the right to build a new FM station on the outskirts of Columbia SC. And despite only being a Class A (3.3 kW @ 443' on 94.3 mHz), it ain't exactly a rimshotter, and its rustic sounding city of license, Forest Acres, should not be mistaken for Green Acres or Hooterville or Mayberry or Dogpatch or any other such legendary small town.
The 7,000 citizens of Forest Acres reside at the intersection of Routes 12 and 16 just outside the Columbia city limits. In fact, the town is much closer to the center of South Carolina's state capital than many other locations that are colored yellow on the map.
This marks new territory for Exosphere. In the last few years it sold most of its stations. It is listed in the upcoming RBR Source Guide Group Directory under the name Mondosphere, and still holds stations in two markets, Jacksonville and Fresno. This will be its first station in the Columbia market.
This FM allocation has been kicking around since September 1996. Exosphere took advantage of the settlement window that the FCC opened up in an effort to clear out competing applications in the post-comparative hearing era.
RBR observation:
We have no idea what kind of deal Exosphere cut to win the CP, but it had to be a doozy. Here is the list of applicants which had to be appeased in order for Exosphere to win the license: Radio South Carolina, Inc., Atlantic Broadcasting Co. Inc., Whole Hog Enterprises LLC, Carolina Radio Fellowship, Cornerstone Community Radio Inc., George S. Flinn Jr. (who has interests in a Memphis-based radio group), D&S Partnership, Forest Acres Communications Inc., Forest Acres Broadcasting, Paul W. Robinson (ex of the Emerald radio group), L.M. Communications Inc. (which we believe has interests on the coast in Charleston SC, in Charleston WV and in Lexington KY), Benchmark Radio Acquisition Fund V LP, South Link Broadcasting, Ogeechee Broadcasting Co. Inc., Midlands Radio Co., and the team of William K. Durst & Olin M. Randolph.
What we can learn from this, ladies and gentlemen, is that when the FCC decides to hold a square dance just a few short miles from a top-100 market, a lot of people feel compelled to get out on the dance floor.
