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Fort Myers Beasley selling 5 Fort Myers stations?

B

BoboKnight

According to the earnings release they issued this morning, they announced the sale of their 5 Fort Myers stations subsequent to the end of the 2nd Quarter.

What’s interesting is I can’t find any other news about it. This is their home market. Are they selling to a related party?

From the release:
  • Announced the pending sales of WPBB in Tampa, FL, and, subsequent to quarter end, five stations in Ft. Myers, FL
www.prnewswire.com

BEASLEY BROADCAST GROUP REPORTS SECOND QUARTER REVENUE OF $53.0 MILLION

/PRNewswire/ -- Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBGI) ("Beasley" or the "Company"), a multi-platform media company, today announced operating results...
www.prnewswire.com www.prnewswire.com
 
Beasley's Soft AC 106.3 WJPT is the #2 rated station in Fort Myers. (Interesting to note that #1 101.1 WAVV is also Soft AC.)

Beasley also owns Top 40 103.9 WXKB, Active Rock 96.1 WRXK, ESPN Sports 770+translators WBCN and Spanish Contemporary 99.3 WWCN.

The article in Radio Insight says the buyer is undisclosed.
 
Last edited:
There must be FCC filings that are unredacted.

Then again, the FCC enterprise filing website has been a trainwreck to use as of late.

Beasley has plenty of radio stations in battleground states. I wonder how much of the 11% same station year-on-year revenue decline, which on the surface appears deeply troublesome, was due to runoff of political ad dollars?

Their Detroit stations had surprisingly little political advertising a year ago. I am unsure if the same can be said for their PA, NC and NV stations.

With regard to Ft. Myers, they've done a terrible job programming WRXK recently.
 
Still no names of the buyers. Could Klove be buyers of the 2 stations selling for $9 million? One becomes K-Love the other becomes Air One?

From Radio Insight:
On its earning call, Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley said that the company will receive $18 million for the Fort Myers cluster, which will be split in two deals. Classic Rock “96 K-Rock” WRXK Bonita Springs and CHR “B103.9” WXKB Cape Coral will go to one buyer for $9 million. Spanish Tropical “Playa 99.3” WWCN Fort Myers Beach, Soft AC “Sunny 106.3” WJPT Fort Myers, and Sports “ESPN Southwest Florida” 770 WBCN North Fort Myers/98.1 W251AL Fort Myers/104.3 W282BY Fort Myers will go to another buyer for $9 million.

radioinsight.com

Sun Broadcasting & Fort Myers Broadcasting To Split Beasley Cluster

Beasley Media Group has filed its sales of its Fort Myers cluster with the FCC. The Jim Schwartzel led Sun
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 
MarkW said:
There must be FCC filings that are unredacted.
Click to expand...
No. The deals haven't been filed with the FCC yet. I'm strongly aware who the buyers are and the reasons they haven't been disclosed yet. Has to do with circumventing the ownership caps for now.
BoboKnight said:
Still no names of the buyers. Could Klove be buyers of the 2 stations selling for $9 million? One becomes K-Love the other becomes Air One?
Click to expand...
Its not. K-Live is already on 88.7 WDLV (and Fort Myers is one of the handful of markets where EMF previously divested a station as Sun purchased 98.5 from it when K-Love bought 88.7).
 
BoboKnight said:
Still no names of the buyers. Could Klove be buyers of the 2 stations selling for $9 million? One becomes K-Love the other becomes Air One?
Click to expand...

Not out of the question, by any means, but K-Love already has a full-power C1 station in Ft. Myers (and it says it has Air1 on a translator). Granted, WRXK and WXKB are better signals that what K-Love currently has. We also know K-Love rarely pays for AM's. So, that would seem to imply that the second set of WWCN, WJPT and WBCN will be going to a commercial operator. I also wouldn't expect K-Love to pay the same for two FM's at stick value that another operator is paying for the signals plus the programming.

At this point, only insiders seem likely to know the details. I would expect, since the two are going to separate buyers, at least one set will go to someone already in the market. Can Renda add two more stations?
 
MarkW said:
There must be FCC filings that are unredacted.

Then again, the FCC enterprise filing website has been a trainwreck to use as of late.

Beasley has plenty of radio stations in battleground states. I wonder how much of the 11% same station year-on-year revenue decline, which on the surface appears deeply troublesome, was due to runoff of political ad dollars?

Their Detroit stations had surprisingly little political advertising a year ago. I am unsure if the same can be said for their PA, NC and NV stations.

With regard to Ft. Myers, they've done a terrible job programming WRXK recently.
Click to expand...
Other than hearing Al Beck (from WRIF) on WRXK, I tend to agree with you.
 
So Sun, which owns four FM stations in the market, will get these two...

96.1 WRXK Bonita Springs -- Active Rock -- 100,000 watts/341 m/1120 ft

103.9 WXKB Cape Coral -- Top 40 -- 100,000 watts/341 m/1120 ft

Both are on the same tower in Corkscrew FL, halfway between Ft. Myers and Naples, but inland.

But that likely means Sun will have to spin off one of its FMs? You can't own 6 FMs in the same market? The president of Sun Broadcasting is also running for Congress as a Republican in a crowded primary. Likely to go are either WFFY or WHEL, neither of which is a full power B signal in a market with plenty of 100,000 watt C signals.
 
Gregg. said:
But that likely means Sun will have to spin off one of its FMs?
Click to expand...
I’ve said this on several other threads: Forget about current market caps. They are about to be loosened or eliminated.

I guess there were no national religious broadcasters that needed a signal in the market?
 
Mediafrog+ said:
I’ve said this on several other threads: Forget about current market caps. They are about to be loosened or eliminated.
Click to expand...

It may not be FORCED to sell a sixth FM signal. But maybe if Fox Broadcasting just bought two 100,000 watt stations, it can ditch 93.7 WHEL, at 43,000 watts, one of three Country stations in the market? (It calls itself "Trump Country." Really.)

>>>I guess there were no national religious broadcasters that needed a signal in the market?<<<

Well, K-Love is represented. So is WAY-FM at 89.5 and Moody Bible at 90.9. There are also independent low power religion stations at 91.9 and 91.5 in Fort Myers. (I guess in the non-commercial band, the FCC allows two stations to be that close?) There's even a 9000-watt Haitian Creole religious station at 88.3.
 
BoboKnight said:
Still no names of the buyers. Could Klove be buyers of the 2 stations selling for $9 million? One becomes K-Love the other becomes Air One?

From Radio Insight:
On its earning call, Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley said that the company will receive $18 million for the Fort Myers cluster, which will be split in two deals. Classic Rock “96 K-Rock” WRXK Bonita Springs and CHR “B103.9” WXKB Cape Coral will go to one buyer for $9 million. Spanish Tropical “Playa 99.3” WWCN Fort Myers Beach, Soft AC “Sunny 106.3” WJPT Fort Myers, and Sports “ESPN Southwest Florida” 770 WBCN North Fort Myers/98.1 W251AL Fort Myers/104.3 W282BY Fort Myers will go to another buyer for $9 million.

radioinsight.com

Sun Broadcasting & Fort Myers Broadcasting To Split Beasley Cluster

Beasley Media Group has filed its sales of its Fort Myers cluster with the FCC. The Jim Schwartzel led Sun
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
Click to expand...
K-Love is already in the market on a full power Class C. WDLV.
 
Gregg. said:
So Sun, which owns four FM stations in the market, will get these two...

96.1 WRXK Bonita Springs -- Active Rock -- 100,000 watts/341 m/1120 ft

103.9 WXKB Cape Coral -- Top 40 -- 100,000 watts/341 m/1120 ft

Both are on the same tower in Corkscrew FL, halfway between Ft. Myers and Naples, but inland.

But that likely means Sun will have to spin off one of its FMs? You can't own 6 FMs in the same market? The president of Sun Broadcasting is also running for Congress as a Republican in a crowded primary. Likely to go are either WFFY or WHEL, neither of which is a full power B signal in a market with plenty of 100,000 watt C signals.
Click to expand...
Jim Schwartzel, president of Sun Broadcasting is running for Congress.

His father, Joe Schwartzel was up until last year the GM of of Fort Myers Broadcasting.

The 2 companies share office/studio space. When Joe stepped down, he addressed his farewell note to the FMBC (Fort Myers Broadcast Company), Sun, and GSL (Gulf Shore Life Magazine) teams.
I don’t know all the relationships that exist between the 2 companies but I wonder if someone will challenge the relationships and argue they should be considered one for ownership purposes.


 
Kent said:
Not out of the question, by any means, but K-Love already has a full-power C1 station in Ft. Myers (and it says it has Air1 on a translator). Granted, WRXK and WXKB are better signals that what K-Love currently has. We also know K-Love rarely pays for AM's. So, that would seem to imply that the second set of WWCN, WJPT and WBCN will be going to a commercial operator. I also wouldn't expect K-Love to pay the same for two FM's at stick value that another operator is paying for the signals plus the programming.

At this point, only insiders seem likely to know the details. I would expect, since the two are going to separate buyers, at least one set will go to someone already in the market. Can Renda add two more stations?
Click to expand...
Yes, Renda could add a couple of stations, I believe Clear Channel could also add.
 
Gregg. said:
So Sun, which owns four FM stations in the market, will get these two...

96.1 WRXK Bonita Springs -- Active Rock -- 100,000 watts/341 m/1120 ft

103.9 WXKB Cape Coral -- Top 40 -- 100,000 watts/341 m/1120 ft

Both are on the same tower in Corkscrew FL, halfway between Ft. Myers and Naples, but inland.

But that likely means Sun will have to spin off one of its FMs? You can't own 6 FMs in the same market? The president of Sun Broadcasting is also running for Congress as a Republican in a crowded primary. Likely to go are either WFFY or WHEL, neither of which is a full power B signal in a market with plenty of 100,000 watt C signals.
Click to expand...

WRXK hasn't been active rock for a few years now. Multiple industry sites keep using that inaccurate format description for the station despite the fact it is a very straight laced classic rock outlet aside from 1 or 2 songs an hour.

I'm not terribly surprised Sun is one of the buyers.
 
BoboKnight said:
Jim Schwartzel, president of Sun Broadcasting is running for Congress.

His father, Joe Schwartzel was up until last year the GM of of Fort Myers Broadcasting.

The 2 companies share office/studio space. When Joe stepped down, he addressed his farewell note to the FMBC (Fort Myers Broadcast Company), Sun, and GSL (Gulf Shore Life Magazine) teams.
I don’t know all the relationships that exist between the 2 companies but I wonder if someone will challenge the relationships and argue they should be considered one for ownership purposes.


Click to expand...
Found the article I was looking for….

Beasley (& Renda) previously argued that Sun had control of Fort Myers Broadcasting’s stations for ownership cap purposes. The sale they were objecting to ultimately went through.

radioinsight.com

Beasley & Renda Pair Up To Take On Fort Myers Purchase & Sun Broadcasting Operations

Sun Broadcasting's acquisition of 98.5 WLVO Fort Myers FL has been held up by Petitions To Deny by the unlikely
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 


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