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Citadel Sell I-100, WKRT to Saga

A

audio4tv

From All Access:

Saga Buys Two In Ithaca From Citadel, Will Spin Off AM

CITADEL is selling Talk WKRT-A and Classic Rock WIII (I-100)/CORTLAND, NY to SAGA COMMUNICATIONS for $4 million. SAGA will comply with ownership limits in the ITHACA market by spinning off WKRT to BIBLE BROADCASTING NETWORK, which will leave SAGA with three FMs and two AMs in the market.
 
How many (if any) non-saga commercial signals remain in the market? Excluding carry-over from Syracuse, Elmira, and Binghamton, WVBR is the only one that comes to mind... I know that market is very non-commercially centered, and in terms of for-profit radio outlets, they've got to be very close to having a monopoly...
 
The New Guy said:
How many (if any) non-saga commercial signals remain in the market? Excluding carry-over from Syracuse, Elmira, and Binghamton, WVBR is the only one that comes to mind... I know that market is very non-commercially centered, and in terms of for-profit radio outlets, they've got to be very close to having a monopoly...
Click to expand...

Non-Sagas left in Ithaca:

90.9- WSQG- Ithaca
91.7- WICB- Ithaca
93.5- WBVR- Ithaca

1160- WPIE- Trumansburg.

Go a little further outside the market for the bleed-ins:

88.5- WCII- Spencer
105.1- WWDG- Deruyter
106.1- WNKI- Corning
106.9- WPHR- Auburn

I haven't been in Ithaca in over a year... but I remember WWDG coming in pretty clear in cars in most areas. WNKI was hit or miss.

A fuss was raised when Eagle sold the cluster to Saga... saying it broke ownership rules then. It IS hard to pull in non-market stations because of the hills. Syracuse stations have a LITTLE bleed in... and Binghamton stations are virtually unlistenable, but the FCC said all was cool.

::shrug::
 
Wow! Take a look at this...
From All Access:

The previously disclosed spinoff by SAGA of its newly-acquired Talk WKRT-A/CORTLAND, NY to BIBLE BROADCASTING NETWORK has a price, according to an FCC filing, and it's... zero.

SAGA is donating the station, being acquired from CITADEL in a two-station, $4 million deal, to CHARLOTTE-based BIBLE, in order to comply with ownership limits in the ITHACA market. SAGA is keeping its other acquisition from CITADEL, Classic Rock WIII (I-100).
 
They gave WKRT to a Bible-thumper!?

I guess that's one way to make sure that it won't be competition.
 
Yes, donating to a religious broadcaster seems to be the thing to do these days when you have an extra station you have to get rid of.

God forbid they consider donating it to say, a LOCAL non-profit community group, or some other local entity that could put it to good use, and still not pose a threat to commercial radio.

If they weren't so concerned with "competition", they could have sold WKRT to WXHC (101.5). Surely they could have done more with the signal than Bible Broadcasting ever will. If I were WXHC, I would approach BBN and offer to take the station off their hands. For the right price, I doubt they would say "No thanks. We want to keep it. A lot of souls need saving in Ithaca."
 
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