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WSPQ Requests STA

W

WJPYFM

Letters went out to local advertisers this month to notify them that beginning Jan 1st the station will be going silent due to financial reasons. Anyone want to own 1330 am in Springville? I think a translator or 2 would have helped them but time has all but run out. The last window is a few weeks away. They could have been like CJ Country and put translators in the area like Springville, Ellicotville, and Arcade to gain advertisers/listeners. Many people did not even know there was a station in Springville, of course it was AM only with no streaming and very little public promotions or interaction.
 
The way I see it, there is very little value in this small market, low powered AM station. It would not even be smart for someone looking for a hobby to buy, unless they had lots of money to put in. The antennas alone will need work and that is not cheap. The property is not in an area where it’s gonna be worth anything, and to top it off, the market is Springville, not exactly a growing metro. The going price is 110k. Anyone planning to purchase this would need to have about 300k cash to buy and fix up. A bank would not touch this. The antennas are not even rentable by cell companies because they look for metro population areas. Although I hate the thought of any station going dark, that is what this is going to be unless the owners literally give it away. Honestly, I would not pay 50k for it. You would just be spinning your wheels and not making any money. Someone with time on their hands could LMA and pay the owners a couple grand a month, but I think the owners just want out because of the expense to run it.
 
The only way it would be worth an LMA is if they agreed to use the monthly payment to bring the facilities back up to snuff.

There could be an opportunity for tower leasing. Microsoft in particular is pushing onward with using 802.22 Wireless Regional Area Networking technology to bring high-speed internet to people in rural areas who aren't served by cable or other high-speed internet access. Springville could be a prime area for that type of service. That is some out-of-the-box thinking, which could be implemented either with Microsoft, or other service providers being pressed to bring high-speed internet to rural customers.

https://blandinonbroadband.org/2017...oadband-to-rural-areas-i-have-some-questions/
 
This station and its inherent problems have been previously discussed at length here, and most readers and posters are not surprised by the station's condition. Spring isle is an insular community. If you weren't born there, you "ain't from these here parts." Ham operators might be interested in the transmitter. The towers and ground radials can be sold for scrap. The land can be returned to harvest hay, beets, potatoes, carrots, corn and the like. What's more, If 1330 disappears, the AM on 1340 in Jamestown will get a little more sideband breathing room.
 
OK, the station has been purchased by Chris Lash and his Wife. According to the Springville Journal, they should be back on the air sometime in March 2018 and the FM translator is still a a few months down the road. Chris has been in radio over 30years and plans to keep an oldies format.
 
Let's hope that there are enough local businesses in Springville to keep the station alive. The Walmartization of that area really put a dent in local business, and Walmart simply doesn't support local media. Super-serving the community is likely the only viable option. Lots of local news and sports, and oldies is a format that will appeal to people who haven't already tuned to Buffalo FMs. The technical side is likely to be the bigger issue. I hope he's got a technical bent. It's going to take a lot of sweat equity to keep it on the air.
 
FYI Chris Lash is not from New York State...but nearby western PA. He & his wife have been buying and selling small AM radio stations around the country for the last 10-12 years.
 
The way I heard about him is through this board...he posts on some local pages from time to time, and he may show up here at some point.
 
The sale of WSPQ seems to be on again and off again with each passing day. Reportedly a whole lot of equipment got stolen while they were off the air. A check with the FCC data base yields no application for transfer of control. Supposedly Lash has plans for an FM translator to be placed on the same channel as a Toronto station that transmits from the CN Tower. I'm told that the Toronto station has a listenable signal in metro Buffalo. What's next?
 
According to the WSPQ Facebook page the new owner is walking away from the deal. Saying that it will cost too much to restore the transmitter site to working order. Not sure if current Hawk Communications still has plans for a translator or if all is dead. Does not look good for this station unless some deep pockets show up.
 
Apparently someone had stolen some equipment while the station was off the air. The replacement cost was too much for Lash, so he's walking away. The owner has until the end of the year to find a new buyer. We know from this thread that Buddy Shula already has said no to this station. Not sure what other options are available.
 
Being that they never filed final paperwork for 100.7fm translator I would say they are now part of history. Not sure who owns the land but I guess selling the 1kw transmitter/studio equipment and scrap the towers is the only option. Put a fork in another AM they and finally done.
 
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