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WEEU is reprieved as it enters the Twilight (Broadcasting) zone
- Thread starter ixnay
- Start date
Radio Ink reports the purchase price for the license:
https://radioink.com/2019/06/24/weeu-license-was-sold-for-88500/
As I recall, the owners of the Eagle offered a 5 year lease on the transmitter site as well.
https://radioink.com/2019/06/24/weeu-license-was-sold-for-88500/
As I recall, the owners of the Eagle offered a 5 year lease on the transmitter site as well.
I don't think most of these reports fully grasp what it is that Twilight is and isn't actually buying.
The $88,000 is for the license, and absolutely nothing else. EVERYTHING else that makes WEEU what it is stayed with the Reading Eagle Co. through the bankruptcy proceeding and was purchased by MediaNews Group. It's more than just "the transmitter site" - it's the studio facility downtown, all the equipment at both studio and transmitter sites, and (I assume) the entire business, including the advertising list, contracts, programming agreements, intellectual property, etc.
All of that will have to either be LMA'd by the Twilight folks, or they'll have to work out a separate deal to buy those assets from MediaNews. Or Twilight could decide to start fresh, in which case how much would it have to spend to build out new studios, hire new staff (even if it's just picking up the former WEEU staffers let go by MediaNews if there's no LMA), maybe even build a new transmitter site?
It's a rougher transition than, say, the WFLS stations - when they were sold, they were sold as an entire business unit.
Point is - it's not paying $88k for "a radio station." It's paying $88k for the piece of paper that allows you to have a radio station - and we simply don't know yet how the rest of the deal will play out.
The $88,000 is for the license, and absolutely nothing else. EVERYTHING else that makes WEEU what it is stayed with the Reading Eagle Co. through the bankruptcy proceeding and was purchased by MediaNews Group. It's more than just "the transmitter site" - it's the studio facility downtown, all the equipment at both studio and transmitter sites, and (I assume) the entire business, including the advertising list, contracts, programming agreements, intellectual property, etc.
All of that will have to either be LMA'd by the Twilight folks, or they'll have to work out a separate deal to buy those assets from MediaNews. Or Twilight could decide to start fresh, in which case how much would it have to spend to build out new studios, hire new staff (even if it's just picking up the former WEEU staffers let go by MediaNews if there's no LMA), maybe even build a new transmitter site?
It's a rougher transition than, say, the WFLS stations - when they were sold, they were sold as an entire business unit.
Point is - it's not paying $88k for "a radio station." It's paying $88k for the piece of paper that allows you to have a radio station - and we simply don't know yet how the rest of the deal will play out.
According to this article, the license is all that was available for purchase:
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/weeus-fcc-license-up-for-sale
The new owners of the paper wanted to retain everything else, including the real estate.
I *think* (but do not know for sure) that the bankruptcy trustees would have liked to have sold all of the company's assets at once, as you usually do in a BK, leaving it to the buyer to figure out which pieces of the business to part out. (MNG doesn't do broadcast, only newspapers/digital, so it probably had zero interest in owning any WEEU assets in the long term.)
The hitch, of course, was that a sale that included the FCC license would have required FCC approval, with all the usual delays inherent in that process. In order to speed the process along, the trustee separated out the one asset - the license - that couldn't be instantly transferred upon closing.
I still don't think MNG wants to continue to own any WEEU-related assets. And I still expect we'll see a deal in place once MNG has closed on the bankruptcy purchase, selling off at least the WEEU operational assets (IP, sales list, equipment) if not the underlying real estate.
I agree, although I read somewhere prior to the sale that MNG was offering 5 years rent free for the transmitter and antenna site.
Already some pretty major program changes. Limbaugh is gone. The morning show now goes an extra hour to 10 a.m.
"Feedback," the local morning talk show, now runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"Good Afternoon Berks Country," the local afternoon talk show, is extended from two to four hours and is now simply called "The Matt and Dan Show" from 1 to 5 p.m.
Local news from 5 to 6.
Brokered local talk programming from 6 to 7.
So basically, we have a Reading talk station that is doing 13 hours of live talk programming Monday through Friday. Pretty unheard of in this day and age for a market that size.
"Feedback," the local morning talk show, now runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"Good Afternoon Berks Country," the local afternoon talk show, is extended from two to four hours and is now simply called "The Matt and Dan Show" from 1 to 5 p.m.
Local news from 5 to 6.
Brokered local talk programming from 6 to 7.
So basically, we have a Reading talk station that is doing 13 hours of live talk programming Monday through Friday. Pretty unheard of in this day and age for a market that size.
So, who cuts the checks now for WEEU's employees? The Eagle (MNG), still, or Twilight? Or a third party?
There *must* be a reason news segments no longer have the "for more details pick up a copy of today's Reading Eagle or visit readingeagle.com" tag (even if it's Dave Langley doing it at 5:15 which is much too late for the print edition). Other than "you gotta change".
ixnay
There *must* be a reason news segments no longer have the "for more details pick up a copy of today's Reading Eagle or visit readingeagle.com" tag (even if it's Dave Langley doing it at 5:15 which is much too late for the print edition). Other than "you gotta change".
ixnay
My understanding is Twilight, although I don't believe the FCC has approved the sale yet. I read somewhere that they will be moving at some point.
WEEU (and WBYN 1160 Lehighton) broadcast a Carbon County HSFB game last Thursday night (9/19) (Panther Valley [located in Lansford] v. Lehighton). Also, one weekday at 4:59 recently on 830 I heard "Your news leader, 830 am WEEU Reading and 1190 am WBYN Jim Thorpe". Does Twilight own WBYN? Do WBYN and WEEU now simulcast each other?
ixnay
ixnay
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