So who's the likely buyer?
Won't be Citadel, they're having their own problems digesting the ABC Radio merger and could yet wind up being re-digested by the Mouse when all is said and done. And they've already got close to their limit in the Buffalo market and won't find Regent's other markets all that enticing.
Won't be Clear Channel, their future is unclear and while they are nowhere to be found in Buffalo right now, even if the privatization is resolved they're years away from getting back into acquisition mode. And they're more likely to be selling than buying in the meantime.
Won't be Entercom, they've bagged their limit in Buffalo and have the "for sale" sign on some key properties in Rochester.
Probably won't be Cumulus, because they're busy with a going-private move of their own and they, too, might be more likely sellers than buyers of stations despite their current absence from the Buffalo market.
Emmis, like Clear Channel, is getting out of the TV business and downsizing in the radio business.
And forget about CBS making a comeback in Buffalo, even if they could re-acquire the properties at a discount now. They know where they want to be, and it isn't Upstate NY.
That wipes six of radio's most prominent group owners...so who's going to step forward to buy?
It would be great to see people with dedication to public service, ready cash, and radio expertise, like Larry Levite, step up to the plate. He would be welcomed back to the business enthusiastically--but Larry's been happily retired from broadcasting for over a decade, and in the broadcast realm, was last seen accepting his richly deserved induction into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame a few years ago. Sometime down the road Dick Greene, who's making his first steps into the Buffalo market proper, might have the resources to do it--but he's still in his early stages of growth. So who's a likely candidate? Someone regional who cares about what's going over the air--or yet another anonymous out-of-town group aiming simply to turn the cluster into a cash flow machine at the expense of the listeners?
