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WBFG-FM 96.5 (Lexington, TN) sold; bought by local talk radio personality

A

AMFMKYTN

Jackson talk radio personality Dan Reaves, along with primary business partner Larry Lowrance, have purchased WBFG-FM 96.5 in Lexington, the ESPN radio affiliate for West TN. The station was purchased from Lexington Broadcasting.

Reaves has been a local talk mainstay in the Jackson area for more than two decades, hosting multiple shows on WNWS-FM 101.5 before leaving for Grace Broadcasting and WTJS-FM 93.1 in 2020. That move sparked a lawsuit by WNWS’ ownership that resulted in Grace buying WNWS.

Reaves parted ways with Grace in 2021, and has had a daily show streaming since then and returned to the terrestrial airwaves earlier this month.
 
I hope they keep it mostly ESPN radio, except for possibly Reaves's talk show. Jackson doesn't need another full time FM News Talk station on top of all the others. There are already too many.
 
Wow. Not being in Jackson proper, I was unaware Reaves was no longer with Grace, since he's still listed on the WNWS website as part of the staff. I guess Charles and Lacy reached some sort of agreement to let Reaves out of the group. Can anyone fill me in? Just curious since WNWS was such a convoluted mess to begin with.
 
firepoint525 said:
Is this considered a Jackson "move-in" station, or is it already considered a Jackson station? It appears from Radio-Locator that their tower is near Parker's Crossroads.
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I think it's more of a 'rimshot' signal. It's listenable out on 40 by the ballpark, but I don't know how well it could be received indoors anywhere in Jackson around 45.
 
"The Dan Reaves Show" airs from 6-10 a.m. with "George B. in the Afternoon" from 3-6 p.m. The station will remain an affiliate for the Tennessee Volunteer Sports Network and Memphis Grizzlies broadcasts. ESPN Radio will fill in the other time slots.

I'm just glad Forever didn't buy it, and turn it into a simulcast of a simulcast of whatever.
 
AMFMKYTN said:
"The Dan Reaves Show" airs from 6-10 a.m. with "George B. in the Afternoon" from 3-6 p.m. The station will remain an affiliate for the Tennessee Volunteer Sports Network and Memphis Grizzlies broadcasts. ESPN Radio will fill in the other time slots.

I'm just glad Forever didn't buy it, and turn it into a simulcast of a simulcast of whatever.
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Reaves made a statement that they know there are gaps in the signal in Jackson, and that they are working on finding ways to remedy that. I doubt Grace would work with him, but does anyone think maybe Forever would look at an LMA of WTJF-AM? Short of finding a translator and moving it, the only other option would be a possible power increase, and I'm sure they're pretty well blocked in.
 
AMFMKYTN said:
I'm just glad Forever didn't buy it, and turn it into a simulcast of a simulcast of whatever.
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I don't necessarily mind if stations simulcast the off-hours (evenings, weekends, overnights, etc.), but during prime hours, they really should be originating programming, unless necessary to increase a station's coverage area. But on too many occasions, such simulcasting is unnecessary because station owners don't know what to do with certain stations.

I'm guessing that so many stations go with talk, because they pay far fewer royalty fees than they would for a music-intensive station.
 
Music licensing fees are based on how much music you play (ie: you're a music station or a talker), market size and income. Talk radio pays those fees too because of the bumper music. From my experience, music licensing fees are about what you might pay in sales tax (which is high here 7.75-8.25%). I've never heard of a station opting for talk because they couldn't afford the music licensing rates.
 
I saw a billboard in Jackson and 96.5 has now apparently gone all News/Talk.There may still be some sports, but it looks like they're pushing the N/T portion, like the area needs another one. (NOT!!!) That makes 6 FM frequencies in Jackson being wasted with N/T. But I guess it isn't as much of a loss as if it had been another music station being dropped.
 
anotherguyTN said:
I saw a billboard in Jackson and 96.5 has now apparently gone all News/Talk.There may still be some sports, but it looks like they're pushing the N/T portion, like the area needs another one. (NOT!!!) That makes 6 FM frequencies in Jackson being wasted with N/T. But I guess it isn't as much of a loss as if it had been another music station being dropped.
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That should have been 4 stations which is still too many.
 
Radio-Locator.com does list WBFG among the stations with a signal in Jackson. But it is 25 miles from Jackson and is only a Class A powered at 6,000 watts. So that's not great coverage of the city and suburbs.
 
Gregg. said:
Radio-Locator.com does list WBFG among the stations with a signal in Jackson. But it is 25 miles from Jackson and is only a Class A powered at 6,000 watts. So that's not great coverage of the city and suburbs.
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WBFG's 60 dbu just barely hits the NE corner of Madison County, It really has no usable / useful signal in Jackson itself.

The sale closed last month, with $50,000 cash and $450,000 in a note.
 
DavidEduardo said:
WBFG's 60 dbu just barely hits the NE corner of Madison County, It really has no usable / useful signal in Jackson itself.

The sale closed last month, with $50,000 cash and $450,000 in a note.
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Reaves is positioning it as a Jackson station, with an office on Highland in Jackson. Their CP will get them closer to Jackson, and with the stereo off, they'll get a couple of extra miles. This has to really be galling to Grace. After all, it was their hiring of Reaves that brought on the lawsuit with Wireless that resulted in them having to purchase WNWS-FM, and now Reaves is in direct competition with them.
 
I mentioned elsewhere that the WBFG modification coordinates are for a tower currently used for cellular, located about a mile from Cedar Grove.

"News Talk West Tennessee LLC" is paying a monthly fee of several thousand dollars that is being applied as a credit toward the down payment for the purchase price for the station’s assets at closing under a purchase agreement. (That was a mouthful!)
 
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