What a blast this thread is about WIXX/WAXY/WEXY . . . the "WAXY WAGON!" Good days. Good times. Stations like WIXX or WBSS 980, and 790 as “WFUN” are all gone, huh.
Anyway. Was reading on Radio Online that Crawford Broadcasting purchased the 0.55kw Spanish KNSN-AM 1240 San Diego from Multicultural Broadcasting for $1.5 million, this was back this year, on July 2014.
Which got me thinking about ‘ol WEXY (back in the country station day as WIXX as the “Top Gun of Broward”). Looks like WEXY 1520 was most recently co-located with WJCC 1700 and 1210 WMNA on 58th Street off the Palmetto in the Multicultural Miami complex.
These days, looks like all are LMA’d. JCC 1700 flipped from Spanish to Haitian as “Radio Mega” and the studios are in North Miami on 167th. WMNA studios flipped from Spanish talk and music, and now piping in ESPN Desportes off the ‘bird, with its studios back, co-located with the transmitter and tower in its old digs on 71st outside Little Haiti. WEXY seems to be hanging onto block format-time buys from preachers and various ethnics.
I remember when WJCC 1700 first went on air and tried to run Imus with an English sports format and was “the Fan.” I can’t remember what 1210 was way back when.
To me, anytime a company starts LMA’ing stations, that is, turning over operations and programming to someone else, and giving up on creating their own original programming -- that’s a sure sign of being fed up with the station (s), giving up and throwing in the towel. They probably want to sell, but no one wants the stations. And who would want them? Ethnic groups, churches surely. But very few religious groups can afford to make that large of a purchase. Religious non-profits can barely swing an LPFM, let alone full power stations.
If WAXY, WMNA or WJCC were put on the block, wonder what they’re worth individually. What would the owners ask, what would someone offer for them?
When you look at Seaview 960 netting $850,000 (and that’s with two translators tossed in), and 900 Sugar selling (in package deal with 93.5 Lobo to sweeten the pot) for $555,000 . . . I just can’t see WEXY or WJCC or WMNA (or any AM outside of guys like Beasley, Cox, or iHeart) going for that much, not even half of the Sugar/Radio Lobo deal.
Yeah, station prices are based on multiplier against the station’s sales for the year, but how good can the “sales” be, really.
But still, who wants an AM these days? With a FM translator in the package, they have an appeal. But stand alone AMs? Nada. Expect for facilities like Seaview 960 that have actually programming, sales, airstaff, spots, great on-air product and listeners . . . unlike most of the AM’s who audience is comprised of the friends and relatives of the clients doing the block time buys.
At this point in the game, if you own a little AM like the three mentioned, I think you’re pretty much stuck with them; with no choice but to pass off the headache on someone else, and LMA the hassles to someone else.
