The passing of celebrated radio veteran Carl Hirsch was untimely in and of itself, but in an incredible twist of fate, it occurred just as he was about to take part in the announcement of the purchase of WRMF-FM in West Palm Beach with partner Dean Goodman.
Broker Peter Handy of Star Media Group told RBR-TVBR that the duo had been working on the deal since September 2010. Goodman has decided to proceed with the deal on his own, and Handy pegged the value of the deal at $16.5M.
Handy said it is a great station – it boasts a 100 kW Class C signal on 97.9 MHz, which beams its 60 dBu contour of “The Best Variety of the 80s, 90s and Today” programming almost all the way to Fort Pierce to the north and almost all the way to Miami to the south.
In yet another sign of the times, the station is coming at a steep discount compared to the price it commanded last time it was sold. Current owner Palm Beach Broadcasting got the station from James Hilliard’s James Crystal Broadcasting in the spring of 2002 for $70M.
According to an article in the Palm Beach Post, the Hirsch-Goodman duo was not the only ones attempting to buy the station. Former US Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) was also in the hunt for the station. Foley has been pulling radio airshifts since exiting Congress under the cloud of a scandal involving the House contingent of pages.
