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For Sale Sign Up At WELE-AM 1380

cflradio

cflradio

At www.cflradio we are reporting station WELE-AM 1380 is for sale. Doug Wilhite announced Monday during the program that replaced the "Premier Travel Show" that the station is for sale and the reasons why. The asking price: $2.5 million.

Bob
www.cflradio.net
 
No way in h-e-double toothpicks that place will fetch anywhere near $2.5 million dollars.

Cash flow issues aside, the directional pattern of WELE is also a negative. There is a null to the SW, giving required protection to 1380/St. Petersburg.

The growth in Volusia County is in the Deltona area. Right in the null. Not good.
 
$2.5 million for a 5kw/2.5kw AM? Seems quite high to me - quite high. Their signal coverage patter is very limited. Hardly worth anywhere near that kind of money unless there is a LOT of property conveying with the station. Why did they say they are looking to sell?
 
Radio Potato said:
$2.5 million for a 5kw/2.5kw AM? Seems quite high to me - quite high. Their signal coverage patter is very limited. Hardly worth anywhere near that kind of money unless there is a LOT of property conveying with the station. Why did they say they are looking to sell?
Click to expand...

1300 in Cocoa has an even better signal because of it's directional pattern, comes with ALOT of land and it isnt even worth $2 million!
 
The value of any station is only worth the maximum price any entity is willing to pay for it. That is a valid axiom with anything. However, although I may be totally incorrect, somehow I don't see anyone, at least anytime soon, paying more than a few hundred thousand for WELE, including the land.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]
 
Especially since the station's been a non-entity of brokered junk for the last 15-20 years. If it had a market presence like WNDB had (past tense) that would be one thing, but apparently it's fallen pray to scammers and snake-oil salesmen, as has much of the aM band.
 
Parttimer said:
Especially since the station's been a non-entity of brokered junk for the last 15-20 years. If it had a market presence like WNDB had (past tense) that would be one thing, but apparently it's fallen pray to scammers and snake-oil salesmen, as has much of the aM band.
Click to expand...

Part Timer,

You state that WELE might do much better in the market if it had the market presence that WNDB once had? Would you care to elaborate on that statement? I'm wondering what your opinion is of WNDB's past market presence and how it is different (positive or negative) today? And when would you say any such change began to take place? Right now WNDB is Daytona's only local news-talk outlet with WELE programming primarily talk and very little news content.

I agree that Daytona Beach has room for one more very good news-talk outlet, possibly on FM, regardless of WNDB's status. I am, however, curious what your assessment is of WNDB's past and present market presence and, if given the opportunity, what would you do differently to improve upon its image?

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]
 
Haven't lived on that side of the state for a while, so I wasn't assuming that it was still the force it was in the 90's. Seems to have very low ratings now, but I was just trying to err on the side of caution. And didn't the Roots sell it to Black Crow or something along those lines?

WELE never approached that level of credibility.
 
We have posted the full story on www.cflradio. net on our "A Closer Look" page. We have the links to the original "Hometown News" articles as well as the News-Journal reports and audio from three TV stations. Of course to be fair, we also have the audio from Doug Wilhite on Monday, Nov. 3. Check it out for the complete story, from both sides.

Bob
www.cflradio.net
 
Thanks Bob,

I saw and read the story you posted on cflradio.net. It's very well presented and unbiased in my opinion. As always you do an outstanding job keeping us informed.

Mark Tillery,
Ocala, Florida
[email protected]
 
Anyone who contemplates buying this radio station better get a good attorney who checks out liens against this property and realize these must be paid.
 
O.K.,Let's look at the two most recent stations in the market to be sold...1340 WROD (without a doubt the BEST AM Signal in the market) $775,000.On the LOW end 1230 WSBB sold for $125,000. Perhaps the BEST Plan I ever heard was the late E.T. McMahon who was the reciever for WELE when I worked there back in 1987-1989...McMahon said he'd ask the FCC to power down to 1kw...go non-d and put the stick in the Halifax. The station needs to be moved away from the Trailer Park-that's a no brainer...Tom Hale could've taken WELE to 10,000 watts with a CP back in the Early 80's under some Cuban Interference Statute but as I hear it,Tom would've had to put up the cash and then gotten a refund from Uncle Sam...in that day (1983ish) you could'nt get a loan for a loaf of bread so that never came to pass. Whoever said Programming and compared the station to WNDB...the programming is not significant...no more than WNDB's heritage makes it any more or less valuable.There are easily any number of formats that could work on WELE from All-Sports to Music of your life to News/Talk or Religion and given the right circumstances anyone could make a go of it...but the expense of moving and investing in new equiptment & relocating...the buyer is going to need to get Doug to go really really LOW Possibly in the area Skip paid for WSBB.Let's keep in mind...Doug bought WELE for about $70,000.
 
Great history/info on WELE Radio Circus!

The Central Florida Radio site has WELE listed as being sold for $175,000 in 1990.

http://www.cflradio.net/1380_WELE_AM.htm

I noticed while searching the FCC database that Wings Communications was listed as part of WELE on documentation in 1987...error at the FCC site or was Wilhite and company involved in the 80s?

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=99324

Is 1990 the correct date Wilhite bought WELE? Just curious. I met Wilhite at the station May of 2008 and he made the claim that WELE would have a year end billing of over three mill. I have no idea if he was exaggerating the billing...this was at a time period when he was looking to expand the "Travel Show" on to other stations...I believe he mentioned he was trying to get on in the Space Coast and this was before the "investigation" revolving around that program. With today's tight economy and the negative publicity revolving around the "travel program" in 2008 and the latest "incident", what is the place billing? Are they able to cover the power costs to run at 5kw?

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/wele-radio-station-c72946.html

http://www.wftv.com/news/17822614/detail.html
 
I did the last airshift on WELE on Auction Day...we were Country at the time and I was Music Director-my memory is not what it once was but I am sure it was when Garth Brooks had (I believe his third hit out" "Not Counting You" (which would've been 1989) and we were playing it. WGNE (98.1) had come on the air about the time WELE was sold to Wilhite & Co. (WGNE came on Late August or Sept 1989?).I am almost positive he did'nt pay nearly $175,000...as I recall it seems the $75,000 ballpark was about what Wilhite paid. Tom Hale's Family had paid nearly $380,000 (or about that figure) back in 1982(?) So about 5 years he defaults on his S.B.A. Backed Loan,the station goes black and then it was put back on the air while in recievership after Hale....so Wilhite did purchase the station at AUCTION while in recievership.
 
usradioguy said:
Received a post card today from a WELE employee no one is getting paid things are really bad The ship is taking on water fast
Click to expand...
FPL do trade outs????
 
Wilhite owned 1570 am WSSA in Morrow, GA (Atlanta Suburb). He bought WELE while owning WSSA. He always wanted to get to Florida, so he tried to manage both stations. Eventually, he let WSSA also go down hill and eventually did not pay his staff. He tried to pay them with barter. Also, I believe he got in trouble with ASCAP and BMI for not paying the music fees. Anyway, a guy named Tony St. Cyr bought WSSA for pennies on the dollar which allowed Wilhite to move and focus on WELE.

Lastly, Wings Communications is Wilhite's DBA company for any station he has owned. If you check other FCC websites, you will see that his has been trouble with them concerning tower lights and minor infractions.
 
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