In this week’s issue… Equity sells in Atlantic City – Evanov shuts down Canadian AM – NYSBA Hall of Famers named – Remembering Maine’s Snyder, BZ’s Coop – Tower down in Philly
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*It’s a rare headline these days: iHeart Media entering a new radio market with the acquisition of an entire station cluster. But it happened this past week in Atlantic City, NEW JERSEY, where the company is paying just $2 million to enter the market with the purchase of Equity Communications’ FM stations.
Gary Fisher’s company has been in selling mode lately, spinning off two of its FM signals to the south in Cape May County in recent months even as rumors swirled of a bigger deal. But few of those rumors locked in on iHeart as the buyer, in part because the company has been so reluctant to add stations in recent years.
In this case, however, Equity’s stations appear to represent a bargain that iHeart couldn’t pass up. The Atlantic City market is tightly linked to nearby Philadelphia, where the company is a dominant player with formats that closely match what it’s buying in Atlantic City.
That’s top-40 WAYV (95.1) and classic rock WZXL (100.7 Wildwood), both class B signals, along with two class A signals, adult R&B “Touch” WTTH (96.1 Margate City) and rhythmic CHR “Buzz” WZBZ (99.3 Pleasantville). The deal comes with only a few air personalities on WAYV and WZXL, making it easy to import iHeart’s own voices in what has become the company’s small-market model.
As for Fisher and Equity, the company is left with two stations after the iHeart sale: oldies WMID (1340) in Atlantic City and WCMC (1230) in Wildwood. There’s no word yet on what will become of those stations.
The landmark 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar is in production, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition (including a cover reveal, coming later this week!), we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!
In this week’s issue… iHeart axes Boston, NYC morning shows and more - Cumulus cuts in central PA - Southern Tier combo saved from silence - Ottawa FM relaunches - K-Love buys in the Burgh - Scranton gets "Loud" -...
In this week’s issue… "Hot" cools down in Providence, CT studios closed - GBH to sell Cape studios - A HEBA in Hamden? - New HDs in New York - Another Canadian AM to close
In this week’s issue… GBH shuffles mornings, prepares new show launches - NYSBA inducts Hall of Famers - More news-talk in the Hudson Valley - Remembering Dan Sys
In this week’s issue… Beasley cuts claim veteran jock - FCC releases LPFM decisions - AM towers coming down - New voices at Indie 88
