Greater
Media and Nassau Broadcasting to Exchange Stations
in Boston and Philadelphia Markets; Classical
format to remain on Boston airwaves
Greater
Media and Charles River Broadcasting Sign
Definitive Agreement for WCRB-FM
Boston,
MA: Greater Media, Inc. and Nassau Broadcasting
Partners, L.P. announced today that they have signed
an exchange agreement by which Greater Media will acquire
Nassau’s 97.5 FM frequency licensed to Burlington, NJ,
and Nassau will acquire Greater Media’s 99.5 FM frequency
licensed to Lowell, MA. Nassau will also receive cash
and classical music assets including the format of WCRB
FM in Boston.
In a
separate transaction, Greater Media and Charles River Broadcasting
Company have signed a definitive agreement for Greater
Media to acquire Boston’s 102.5 WCRB-FM. All of the transactions
are subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC).
Greater
Media will incorporate 97.5 FM into its Philadelphia cluster,
which currently includes 93.3 WMMR-FM, 95.7 BEN FM, 102.9
WMGK-FM and Sports Talk 950/WPEN-AM. The call letters and
format of the new station have not yet been determined.
In Boston, Greater Media plans to move its WKLB country
music format to the 102.5 frequency.
Nassau
Broadcasting will incorporate 99.5 FM into its existing
New England holdings including its other Massachusetts
radio stations “Pixy 103” WPXC-FM in Hyannis and “Frank
FM” WFQR/WFRQ-FM in Harwich Port/Mashpee. Nassau plans
to continue to broadcast the WCRB classical music format
in Boston on the 99.5 FM frequency with the heritage WCRB
call letters. WCRB 99.5 FM will also add to Nassau’s existing
classical music network of radio stations, the WBACH network
that broadcasts in coastal Maine.
"We
worked very hard to identify a company that would protect
the classical music format in Boston,” said Peter Smyth,
Greater Media's President and CEO. “I am both happy and
proud that classical music will continue to have a home
on the Boston airwaves. This is a great deal for all three
companies, and for Boston's radio listeners and advertisers."
“Nassau
has spent the last three years building a network of 37
radio stations in New England and we are extremely pleased
to be able to add WCRB in Boston on its new home at 99.5
FM to our growing family of stations,” said Lou Mercatanti,
Nassau’s Chairman and President. “WCRB has a heritage of
broadcasting one of the premiere classical radio formats
in the US and we welcome WCRB as the new flagship of our
classical network of stations throughout New England.”
“We are
delighted that Greater Media and Nassau Broadcasting have
reached an agreement under which Nassau will continue to
broadcast classical music in Boston,” added Mary L. Marshall,
Chairman of the Board, Charles River Broadcasting. “We
wish both companies tremendous success and would like to
congratulate Peter Smyth and Lou Mercatanti for working
together to achieve a great result.”
Nassau’s
Mercatanti added, “This transaction is also bittersweet
for us as the 97.5 FM frequency was the first radio station
that Nassau acquired in 1986 from local radio pioneer Herb
Hobler. 97.5 FM was originally our station WPST and in
anticipation of the potential to move the 97.5 frequency
into Philadelphia, we migrated our heritage format of WPST
to 94.5 FM in early 2005. Having the ability to create
a full market Philadelphia radio station while preserving
WPST in New Jersey represented a truly unique opportunity
for the Company. WPST on 94.5 FM, which now has a superior
New Jersey based signal, continues to lead the market both
locally and regionally. We congratulate both Charles River
Broadcasting on their heritage of success and Greater Media
on the addition to their portfolio of 97.5 FM as a new
radio station for the Philadelphia market.”
Both
transactions are expected to close in the fall.
Greater
Media, a family-owned company based in Braintree, Massachusetts,
is the ultimate parent company of 19 AM and FM radio stations
in Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia and New Jersey. The company,
through its subsidiaries, also owns a modern printing plant
and a group of weekly newspapers in central New Jersey,
and several telecommunications towers throughout the United
States.
Nassau
Broadcasting, a privately held firm in Princeton, New Jersey,
currently owns and/or operates 53 radio stations in New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts and Maine. It is the 15th largest broadcaster
in the United States in terms of the number of radio stations
it owns. The Company's web site is www.nassaubroadcasting.com.
Charles
River Broadcasting Company owns WCRB in Boston, WFCC and
WKPE on Cape Cod, WCRI and WCNX in Rhode Island, along
with the World Classical Network and various real estate
holdings. WCRB has been broadcasting classical music in
Boston since 1950.
Media
Contacts:
Greater Media, Inc.
Heidi Raphael
Director of Corporate Communication
Phone: 248-591-6864
E-mail: hraphael@greatermediadetroit.com
Nassau
Broadcasting Partners, L.P.
Tristram E. Collins
Sr. Executive Vice President
Phone: 609-452-9696
E-mail: tcollins@nassaubroadcasting.com
Charles
River Broadcasting Company
Mary
L. Marshall
Chairman
of the Board
Phone
781-235-4855
