BANGOR, Maine — Cumulus radio stations in the Bangor, Augusta and Presque Isle markets are included in the sale of 55 radio stations to Townsquare Media in exchange for $116 million plus 10 radio stations in Illinois.
Cumulus said the deal is part of its plan to focus on radio stations in large markets.
WLBZ-TV says Connecticut-based Townsquare will acquire five stations in Bangor, three in Presque Isle and four in Augusta. Cumulus, which is keeping its Portland stations, also picks up 10 stations in Illinois under the deal.
Townsquare CEO Steven Price said the transaction represents the company’s continued investment in small and mid-sized markets across the country.
Townsquare Media will acquire Bangor stations WQCB-FM 106.5, WBZN-FM 107.3, WWMJ-FM 95.7, WEZQ-FM 92.9 and WDEA-AM 1370; Presque Isle stations WOZI-FM 101.9, WBPW-FM 96.9 and WQHR-FM 96.1; and Augusta stations WMME 92.3-FM, WEBB-FM 98.5, WJZN-AM 1490 and WTVL-AM 1400, according to WLBZ.
Cumulus will keep Portland stations WBLM-FM 102.9, WCYY-FM 94.3, WHOM-FM 94.9 and WJBQ-FM 97.9.
interesting
If Maine is such a great state than why are they selling these stations I bet it was cause by Lapage the way hes acting so they bailed
if that is the case, why are they not selling the Portland stations? let me answer that for you: maybe because “Cumulus said the deal is part of its plan to focus on radio stations in large markets.” and PI, Bangor, and Augusta are not large markets?
It’s all about the money. Not only is the population much larger in Southern Maine, but in addition- the customers for the advertiser’s prodcuts have way more income to spend.
nailed it.
Why is someone buying them, then?
Maine has the oldest population in the United States.They watch a ton of TV and listen to the radio. Many of these people do not have the internet or any access to itat work as they may be retired. They don’t have an I-pod and more than likely don’t want one. This will change eventually, but for now old media still works here.
ALEC told them to.
totally unrelated. The radio business is tough. and like I have said on here already. We have the internet. As I am typing this, I am listening to a radio station while tapped into my WiFi on my iPod. I thousands of stations at my fingertips. Why would I bore myself listing to one of the local stations that play the sam music over and over?
Lets hope they fire Sabrina on Z107.3 She calls in”sick” all the time and when she does come in she sounds like a whiney baby on the air. The Kid needs a new sidekick!!!!
Sabrina isn’t a DJ, she is a sales rep. When Cumulus had to let go of Meredith due to budget cuts, Sabrina stepped in to give Kid someone to banter with. I’d rather have Sabrina than Kid talking to himself all morning.
That’s what he does the rest of the day.
Thats a great idea…put a sales rep on the air…it shows. Id rather listen to Kid talk to himself.
I Agree they seem to have some good chemistry!
the Z really went downhill when they started playing more hip hop and rap stuff. They are trying too hard to be what B97 used to be.
I thought 107.3 was off the air! I hit 102.5, then my dial goes back to 92.9 (ich), and 94.5. Of course, no one can beat WKIT 100.3!!!
uck, worst station ever!
That would be anything that plays Montgomery Gentry, Rascall Flatts or SHeDaisy. :-)
KIT is one of my favorite stations, I just wish they would get rid of Drifty Twitchell. I switch to TOS everytime he comes on.
I think it’s pretty funny…for about a minute. After that, it’s to much. I think it wouldn’t really hurt my feelings, either, if they didn’t do the Bob Marley Show, I mean, interview, EVERY Wednesday morning…it’s like his own personal PR. *shrug* I find them both funny, but over-used. I do love the classic comedy bits they play in the afternoons (because it’s not the same person every time.) I like the variety. :-)
Wonders if they may transfer some of the licenses to other small markets? For example: Does Presque Isle really need three stations? They could easily transfer the license to a city in another area and probably not risk losing too much income out of the PI market. It’s done all the time all over the Country.
I mean transfer just one of the three that they have, leaving PI with two stations.
our three stations are country, pop, and rock and consists of the same songs over and over and over. as far as im concerned they can just all leave P.I I have Sirius. I do hope they still carry Bob and Sherri.
Sirius has Bob and Sherri?:)
not everyone can afford Sirius
if someone has the internet, then music stations are free.
sassy1956,
You better hope all three don’t leave. That would leave PI with an AM TALK radio station. Other options would be to listen to the station in Caribou,whose strength is local news, but other than that is a rather drab AC station, or the AC station in Houlton, whose only real strength is High School Basketball.The Houlton station has a new owner and is making some changes; but to be polite, their new morning guy is a major step BACKWARDS.
I hope all three stay, but if they moved one, I could understand how it might make sense for a new owner. That is what sucks when a station is sold to a conglomorate. Say what you will about Caribou and Houlton; but they are locally owned and operated and there is a lot to be said about that.
those 3 station in Presque Isle aren’t going anywhere. They might change formats but theyt aren’t going to “transfer” anywhere. FCC rules pretty much make it damn near impossible to move a station out of a market.
They want to keep their stations in larger markets, and they’re keeping them in Portland? Maybe they meant the other Portland?
Hopes their ad rates drop now too.
Radio ad rates are as low as they’ve been in 20 years.
Good
Almost w/o exception, new owners bring changes. Usually to programming/talent. Maybe not huge changes, but still…
Here’s hoping my old friends at Cumulus keep their jobs.
I do hope they keep all three stations in P.I. Satellite radio cuts out 15 minutes from my house :)
please please add some new decent formats. a station that plays music from the last couple decades maybe, doesnt hit the repeat button after 12 songs, and well, isnt country.
gave up listening to them years ago. with the internet, there is no need to listen to the same songs over and over and over and over and over and over. Annoyed with the overs? Yes? that’s what listening to those stations in PI is like.
LOL…i know what you mean. If anyone from here wants to join a singing show, they are well prepared. You get to listen to the same songs 15 times a day.
Miss the big hair bands of the 80’s and where the Retro Drive true music originated on Eastern Maine’s All Hit Fox 104.7…WWFX…! Z107 needs to play more of that…not just 1 hour out of the day.
I would listen! back in the day is the best hour of radio!
From one large radio conglomerate to another. Would be nice if these radio stations started playing music you can hear in other states. It is irritating to travel to Virginia, for instance, and hear a song you like, but don’t hear it again until 3 months after you return to the state. That was why I invested in SiriusXM, but I don’t enjoy the expense. I have thought my entire life that if any one of these stations could variate from the candy coated pop and country that is constantly played here, they would open themselves to an entirely new audience. We need a station that broadcasts more urban genres of music as well. Very, very few Black or Latino artists are ever heard this far north, yet I know many people that enjoy their music. Kind of sad. So much diversity in music, but we only hear a fraction of it through our local radio stations.
I’ve only listened to FM radio for a total of about 2 hours in the past 5 years. SiriusXM is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for, I agree about the song selection not getting here for 3 month post wherever you hear it first. If I want rock, comedy, blues or sports talk, it’s all there.
The stations play the music that people want to hear . If there is a song you want to hear you can call them to play it or you can email your request. Station have a no repeat day were songs are only played with in say 24 hr. apart
I have actually called and emailed requests to several of these stations, for music that isn’t profanity laced and is somewhat related to what they already play, but every time I have received the same ‘we don’t play that type of music’ response, if any response at all. I have spoke to several people that had the same experience, but most ended up turning to satellite radio or music through an mp3 player or smart phone. I do appreciate ‘no repeat’ days, but no repeat days wouldn’t be necessary if their regular playlists included a larger selection of songs. Seems like Clear Channel didn’t allow for any other music than what they deemed appropriate for the region. I’m sure there are probably other contributing factors, but it would be nice to hear a little more variety or diversity from our local stations.
The problem is the station owners/managers have a certain FORMAT to play or perform. This is controlled by contract oftentimes. There is nothing the public can do, but turn the radio off or onto another station.
I agree. Seems like that would be the real problem. As yours and another post suggested, community or independent radio stations don’t have to follow a format set by a larger corporation, and likely controlled through a contract. I’ve also noticed that, in other states, college radio stations have sort of filled the gap, and are actually competing in their local markets. Otherwise yeah, just turn the radio off or onto another station.
This is why community radio is so important, they play stuff and air viewpoints you won’t hear on national conglomerates. Around here we have WERU, in Portland they have WMPG and down in Rockland they have WRFR.
Like them or not, they are community owned and operated, and YOU can have direct input on what is broadcast.
You don’t like how the stations are run in the county than buy them are you can run them the way you want an to heck with what the public wants .
Townsquare’s network division just fired 30 people, some of whom had been with the company for decades. Meet the new boss…
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/105421/dial-global-adjusts-staffing-of-24-hour-formats?ref=mail_arbs
Here in NYC, we receive anything your need or want in line of radio stations, whatever fits your mood at the time; and it is mostly on FM wavebands. We even receive broadband networks, and my husband loves to listen to Howie Stern. Why, I will never know but I think he has lost his elevator motor. I guess this is why we often put the radio programs we like on LP-CD’s and carry them in a CB carrier when we travel to areas which are out of the range of the stations here.