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WVOX now up for sale?

R

RadioGuy1864

A listing on a station for sale website has a NYC AM for sale. It's behind a paywall so I can't be too specific, but it sounds a lot like it could be WVOX.
 
Sounds reasonable to me. What do you do with a soon-to-be standalone high on the dial AM station with a shoehorned directional translator and few (if any) listeners? If Townsquare was able to find a taker for WINE in Danbury, there will almost certainly someone who wants this gem. Maybe some of those Caribbean broadcasters who will be displaced when WVIP trades will be interested...
 
WVOX along with soon to be sold WVIP FM, owns a rather large building and a decent parcel of land in New Rochelle. So that should have considerable value, if they would go to the buyer.
 
Barry said:
WVOX along with soon to be sold WVIP FM, owns a rather large building and a decent parcel of land in New Rochelle. So that should have considerable value, if they would go to the buyer.
Click to expand...
The tower land and building are worth more than the station, assuming there are no deed restrictions on the land.
 
Word of advice from a broker: trying to read too much reality into one of those blind listings is almost always a waste of time.

Ask yourself: how often do you ever see an actual sale that you can trace back to one of those listings?
 
Apparently MMTC is a broker that tries to assist minority and female ownership. If I understand the FCC filing correctly, the station will ultimately go to Chang Broadcasting, a small outfit with a couple of stations in Western states.
I see from the filing that the (very weak) FM translator in Hartsdale NY is included in the donation.
MMTC
 
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Yes, MMTC is the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (Fmr Minority Media and Telecommunications Council)

Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council – Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council

www.mmtconline.org www.mmtconline.org

This was the last transaction they just completed:
www.radioworld.com

MMTC Brokerage Closes on Sale of Donated FM - Radio World

MMTC Broadcasting and Brokerage has closed on the sale of an FM station near Phoenix that it had received through donation.
www.radioworld.com www.radioworld.com

Jeff Chang, the buyer of KRPH is involved in the WVOX transaction as well, he is taking over the tower lease for the FM Translator the station once FCC approves.

2. Connsummation. The Closing shall take place at a time ("Closing date") and place agreeable to the parties within ten (10) business days following initial grant of the FCC Consent. The closing will occur simultaneously with, and be contingent upon, the simultaneous closing following grant of an FCC application by MMTC Broadcasting to assign the Station to Chang Media Group. On the Closing Date, HWR shall provide MMTC and Chang Media Access to the tower site and/or studio/equipment room to remove and assets included in the donated asset.
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I believe Chang’s KKZI AM broadcasts Regional Mexican music. Perhaps WVOX may do the same. There is a sizable Mexican population in New Rochelle NY, and the surrounding area.
 
Will The new owner be able to lease the existing tower, since the station’s land and buildings are not part of the deal?
 
My take is this will be the future of many similar low power AM facilities around the country. We've already seen Cumulus and iHeart donate AM stations in their trusts to MMTC. There are likely hundreds or even thousands of similar stations that are unsellable at this point. Perhaps WFAS might be the next to go this way.
 
Does MMTC generally sell the stations donated to them at an especially reasonable price?
After the FCC approves MMTC acquiring WVOX, will the person buying it from them have to file separately for authorization to make the purchase? Seems the station could end up being off the air for a while, especially if a different tower needs to be found.
 
TheBigA said:
There are likely hundreds or even thousands of similar stations that are unsellable at this point.
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I don't think it is "thousands" although considerable in number. So many AMs have translators that depend on the underlying AM for the license that those AMs are essential.

A few may close the AM and lease an HD channel to sustain the translator. Or the FCC may grant some form of permanence to translators. That is just guessing, though.

For the moment, we see heritage AMs dropping from higher power directional night signals to just a few hundred watts to save money while sustaining their translator. Some AMs have abandoned night directionals totally by becoming daytimers. The AM is just the gate pass for the FM translator.
 
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