James Crystal--WFTL,WFLL

[DDV49]

Does anyone know if there has been a license renewal has been filed for these two stations? Radiolocator still states that the license expired in Feb of 2012 ...

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Good question! The FCC doesn't show any renewal data on WFLL. On WFTL it shows a STA (special temporary authority) that looks like it has something to do with altered transmission facilities. The STA expires December 7, 2012. Verrrry interesting!

 

[DDV49]

Yes it is vey interesting. I had a friend that called Crystals headquarters in Pompano inquiring info on the Brazilian group that is brokering WFLL for a possible job. She was told they had no information and that WFLL had been sold.

 

[FLjack2]

Knowing that group, someone probably forgot to renew the licenses!

I know they sold 1040 WLVJ, but I thought they still owned 1400 WFLL and were brokering it out

 

[Schuyler]

I came across a 2008 story from the Miami Herald the other day about this outfit. At that time, Hilliard was being sued by CBS for "stealing" one of their personalities a few years earlier (not specified; possibly Jennifer Ross?). And a company that had bought WRMF was suing him for allegedly overvaluing the station prior to the sale. At the time, it seemed Hilliard was making himself very difficult for lawyers or anyone else to find.

Did either of these cases ever make it to court? What happened next?

 

[RadioGuy2004]

I came across a 2008 story from the Miami Herald the other day about this outfit. At that time, Hilliard was being sued by CBS for "stealing" one of their personalities a few years earlier (not specified; possibly Jennifer Ross?). And a company that had bought WRMF was suing him for allegedly overvaluing the station prior to the sale. At the time, it seemed Hilliard was making himself very difficult for lawyers or anyone else to find.

Did either of these cases ever make it to court? What happened next?

Jennifer Ross bolted (back) to 'RMF the day after her contract with CBS Radio/WEAT-FM expired - late 2000 if I recall. CBS got an injunction and Crystal took her off the air.

http://web.archive.org/web/20010418150523/http://www.wrmf.com/jennifer_court.htm - WRMF's archived page on the issue.

It went to court the first time in Ross' favor and then was subsequently overturned on appeal, and reports were that she was on the hook for the tab, not Crystal.

As for the WRMF sale in 2002, it was in the trades, here on RI, All-Access, etc. that Palm Beach Broadcasting (Not the same PBC that owns it now as well as WEAT/WIRK/WMBX) bought the station for $70 million.

Is my information here correct, folks?

 

[davideduardo]

[
As for the WRMF sale in 2002, it was in the trades, here on RI, All-Access, etc. that Palm Beach Broadcasting (Not the same PBC that owns it now as well as WEAT/WIRK/WMBX) bought the station for $70 million.

Is my information here correct, folks?

Hilliard sold by Hilliard to PBB Licences, LLC, for $70 million in February of 1998, and then sold in March of 2011 to WRMF-FM LLC for an aggregate of $16.5 million.

 

[SportsDotCom]

[
As for the WRMF sale in 2002, it was in the trades, here on RI, All-Access, etc. that Palm Beach Broadcasting (Not the same PBC that owns it now as well as WEAT/WIRK/WMBX) bought the station for $70 million.

Is my information here correct, folks?

Hilliard sold by Hilliard to PBB Licences, LLC, for $70 million in February of 1998, and then sold in March of 2011 to WRMF-FM LLC for an aggregate of $16.5 million.

David,

What were those stations sold for as far as cash flow is concerned at those times? 5 times cash flow?

 

[davideduardo]

What were those stations sold for as far as cash flow is concerned at those times? 5 times cash flow?

I'm guessing that the $70 million sale was highly inflated... maybe 16 to 18 x BCF. The station billed around $10 million in 2002, and I'd guess they had a cash flow in that market of around $4.5 million.

And the $16 million sale was likely on a mix of stick value and the fact that billings were off around 40%. Thus cash flow might have been more like $1.5 million and the multiple was in the 8 to 10 x range.

 

[FLjack2]

Someone also took Hilliard to court over the price of the station. I think it was Palm Beach Broadcasting. Not sure how that one came out but the contention was that they lied about how much money was actually coming into WRMF when they sold. I think PBB won the lawsuit too.

 

[Schuyler]

The link for this story has expired and it is probably only in the paper's archives. It's from the Miami Herald business section, June 18, 2008. It says he had to sell 'RMF in 2002 due to a huge bank loan coming due and had to clear more than $60 million to break even on the loan and taxes. Patrick Danner writes:

"West Palm Beach-based Cobalt Operating bought WRMF for $70 million, or 14 times the station's $5 million annual cash flow......

"Cobalt found out that James Crystal had inflated its cash flow by about $1 million by not airing all of the ads advertisers had paid for.....So Cobalt sued James Crystal seeking a $12 million refund."

The story notes other problems in 2008 with the IRS and the Fort Lauderdale studio landlord. In addition, the Herald says, "Hilliard last year [2007] told the Palm Beach Post he couldn't get a loan.....[and] had to sell his Highland Beach home and three stations. He conceded to the Post that he'd been traveling the world to dodge process servers....."

Well, it's four years and a month later, and apparently he's still a free man and still in business. Maybe he does magic on the side.

 

[560QAMFAN]

Don't forget James crystal has WMEN as well but identified as WFTL Sports

 

[DDV49]

Its rather weird...WMEN.s license was renewed but nothing on WFTL or WFLL