• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WVOX now up for sale?

As of this morning, other shoe has dropped. WVOX is not on the air, on 1460 or streaming. An email sent by Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner yesterday, who had a weekly one-hour show on WVOX, stated that the station has “discontinued programming-effective September 7.” His show aired Fridays from 10-11.
The WVOX website is still up as if everything is normal. Don’t know if the translator on 98.3 is still on or not. W252DX.
 
This was apparently done abruptly, without any advance indication to the listeners. I wonder why they were in such a rush to shut the station down.
 
Barry said:
This was apparently done abruptly, without any advance indication to the listeners. I wonder why they were in such a rush to shut the station down.
Click to expand...
I’d have to guess you’re right, Barry. Feiner’s show usually aired Friday mornings for an hour, and perhaps he was given the courtesy of some advance, albeit short, notice. I heard one of the local hosts proclaim at the top of the hour one afternoon earlier this week, “WVOX continues, at least for the next three weeks”, just before the ToH ID. I was thinking things could get interesting on the air, but apparently so did management, and perhaps this action was to circumvent that.
 
Ex-RadioTV said:
I was thinking things could get interesting on the air, but apparently so did management, and perhaps this action was to circumvent that.
Click to expand...
It seems highly unlikely that the people who had shows on WVOX would say something wildly inappropriate on the air prior to the sale of the station.
BTW, WVOX is still transmitting an open carrier. News 12 Westchester states programming is “Canceled through next week.”

News 12 Report
 
Last edited:
Barry said:
I wonder why they were in such a rush to shut the station down.
Click to expand...

My take on this is the station has been sold. The new owner is not likely to continue the old format or keep the old shows. So the estate or current licensee sees no purpose in continuing the expense of programming the station. I think they can run it this way for up to 30 days. Perhaps at some point in those 30 days, the new owner will begin operations awaiting FCC approval.
 
TheBigA said:
My take on this is the station has been sold. The new owner is not likely to continue the old format or keep the old shows. So the estate or current licensee sees no purpose in continuing the expense of programming the station. I think they can run it this way for up to 30 days. Perhaps at some point in those 30 days, the new owner will begin operations awaiting FCC approval.
Click to expand...
Sounds right. Why bother at this point. There couldn't have been more than about 7 listeners anyway. Save a few bucks!
 
TheBigA said:
My take on this is the station has been sold. The new owner is not likely to continue the old format or keep the old shows. So the estate or current licensee sees no purpose in continuing the expense of programming the station. I think they can run it this way for up to 30 days. Perhaps at some point in those 30 days, the new owner will begin operations awaiting FCC approval.
Click to expand...
This assumes that WVOX was being run at a loss. That seems unlikely, as management owned the tower and the studios, thus keeping expenses low. The station was partially brokered, so revenue must have still been coming in.
WVOX may not have been a huge source of revenue, but I doubt shutting it down abruptly would save a significant sum.
Given that WVOX presented itself as a community station, they could have given listeners and the hosts a few days to say their goodbyes.
 
Barry said:
This assumes that WVOX was being run at a loss.
Click to expand...

Not really. When you manage an estate, any expense is money that is being diverted from the estate. They're not in the radio business, they're in estate management. The station was donated to MMTC, and MMTC will get the $20,000, not the estate. Any expenses are being deducted from that $20,000. When the station was sold, that should have been the day to say goodbye. This is just a waiting period for FCC approval.
 
WVOX is back with programming, simulcasting former sister station, 93.5 WNVU for now
 
Barry said:
I am not hearing anything on the WVOX 1460 AM frequency.
Click to expand...

Just saw a post from a former WVOX employee on fb who said this
 
The FCC is running at about 90 days to approve sales/transfers, so someone will need to file an STA if the station is going silent. Fairly routine.
 
I realize this sale was inevitable, but it has an end of an era feel to it. WVOX was the last station in Westchester County that had local content, other than WHUD 100.7 FM. And WHUD, though licensed to Peekskill, is actually located to the north.
WFAS 1230 AM carries network talk shows (in a digital format most radios can't receive), and the others retransmit religious networks.
 
TheBigA said:
Coverage of this story:

radioinsight.com

Ahead Of Sale WVOX Signs Off

Ahead of its license donation to MMTC Broadcasting and subsequent sale to Jeff Chang, the estate of William O’Shaughnessy’s Hudson-Westchester
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
Click to expand...
Well according to the article, Chang has to find a new studio space and tower for WVOX. He could run it from his other station in CA, so the studio is not an issue. But the AM tower is going to cost some money, unless there's something set up we are not aware of.
 
RadioGuy1864 said:
Well according to the article, Chang has to find a new studio space and tower for WVOX. He could run it from his other station in CA, so the studio is not an issue. But the AM tower is going to cost some money, unless there's something set up we are not aware of.
Click to expand...
I believe the sales agreement filed with the F.C.C. indicates the buyer may be able to lease the existing WVOX tower.
 
Barry said:
I believe the sales agreement filed with the F.C.C. indicates the buyer may be able to lease the existing WVOX tower.
Click to expand...

It includes a tower lease for the FM translator, but Chang needs to get a new lease for the AM.

Items excluded from this transaction are: a. Lease for the WVOX-AM transmitter site. Chang will obtain its own tower site or negotiate a new lease at the existing site. b. Tower(s) for WVOX-AM
Click to expand...
 
TheBigA said:
It includes a tower lease for the FM translator, but Chang needs to get a new lease for the AM.
Click to expand...
The section of the sales agreement quoted in the previous post seems to confirm what I previously posted- The buyer may be able to lease the existing AM tower. It is subject to negotiation (of course).
 
Barry said:
The section of the sales agreement quoted in the previous post seems to confirm what I previously posted- The buyer may be able to lease the existing AM tower. It is subject to negotiation (of course).
Click to expand...

But it also says the tower itself is excluded. So they have to get a new lease on both the site and the tower.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom