Two months after Beasley Media Group placed three Charlotte stations in a trust in order to complete its Greater Media merger, it’s regaining an FM signal in the market.
Meanwhile, Wasatch Public Media is selling a translator covering Salt Lake City to the operator of a regional Mexican format found across the Mountain States.
These are the deals discussed in RBR + TVBR’s TRANSACTIONS TODAY for Monday, Oct. 17.
In August, Beasley agreed to place Hot AC WLNK-FM 107.9 and News/Talk combo WBT-AM 1110 & WBT-FM 99.3 in Charlotte into a trust, as ownership of the stations following the company’s proposed merger with Greater Media would have resulted in surpassing the FCC’s limitations on ownership in the market. WBT-FM’s city of license is Chester, S.C., within the Charlotte market.
Now, it’s gaining an FM signal that will be used to bring a HD multicast’s programming to a greater potential audience.
In a transaction valued at $150,000, Beasley is acquiring W273DA, a class D translator at 102.5 MHz in Charlotte.
Educational Media Foundation is the seller.
Beasley has made an escrow deposit of $7,500 to EMF; there is no broker in this transaction.
W273DA uses the same tower as WROQ-FM, and its signal covers all of Charlotte but not Gaston
ia, N.C. or Rock Hill, S.C., which are also part of the greater metro area as measured by Nielsen.
Beasley is using the translator as the FM home of WFNZ-AM 610, a Sports Talk station in Charlotte. To accomplish this, W273DA is rebroadcasting’s WFNZ’s programming via WSOC-FM 103.7 HD3.
In today’s other transactions:
- Wasatch Public Media is selling K288GY, presently licensed to Holliday, Utah, to Montana-based Radio Rancho LLC for $50,000. An escrow payment of $25,000 has already been paid by Radio Rancho directly to the seller. The deal includes a “post-closing obligation” stating that if Radio Rancho sells the translator within three years of the closing date, it must split all proceeds with Wasatch Public Media – minus expenses. At present, K288GY enjoys coverage of Salt Lake City proper from a tower just east of Nelson Peak. The translator will be used to rebroadcast the HD2 signal of KUDD-FM, which airs a regional Mexican format operated by Radio Rancho.
- Kent State University is divesting W225BZ in Ashland, Ohio, presently licensed for 92.9 MHz, to Radio License Holding CBC LLC for $40,000. A $4,000 escrow deposit has been made by the buyer, which is moving the yet-to-be-built facility from Ashland — some 50 miles west of Canton, Ohio — to Erie, Pa. Once in Erie, some 160 miles to the northeast, it will be used to bring Sports Talk WRIE-AM 1260 “The Score” to the FM dial, at 96.3 MHz. Class B WRIE has a directional two-pattern 5kw signal using two daytime and two nighttime towers.
