Update 6/25: The four buyers have been revealed for the stations auctioned off on behalf of Communicom bringing in a total of $2.15 million.
Gospel “Rejoice 1440” WDRJ Inkster/Detroit goes to TFG Holdings/Great Lakes Radio-Detroit for $375,000.
First Citizens Bank & Trust, the lender for Christian Preaching 1060 WLNO New Orleans receives that station for $725,000.
The two Phoenix stations were split to two separate owners. Buford Ortale gains 1280 KXEG Phoenix for $500,000, while Salem Communications adds Christian Preaching 1010 KXXT Tolleson for $575,000. Salem already owns Conservative Talk “960 The Patriot” KKNT and Christian Preaching “Faith Talk 1360” KPXQ in the market.
Robert J. Mancini of Media Services Group has been appointed as Chief Transition Officer to oversee the license transfers of the stations.
Original Report 5/15: The US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado has ordered the auction of the four stations owned by Communicom Corporation of America.
The stations to be auctioned off are Gospel “Rejoice 1440” WDRJ Inkster/Detroit, Christian Preaching 1060 WLNO New Orleans, Christian Preaching 1010 KXXT Tolleson/Phoenix, and 1280 KXEG Phoenix.
The court as retained Media Services Group to accept bids on the stations and are due by 11:00am on May 30.
Joseph_Gallant 
Charles Everett 
rickb 
Cyclonepedia 
Of the Communicom stations, based on Radio-Locatgor.com coverage area maps:
WDRJ-1440 has a signal that does cover Detroit, but misses many northern and southern suburbs.
WLNO-1060 has a large daytime signal area; the night signal is weak northeast and southwest of New Orleans..
KXXT-1010 covers most of Southern Arizona during the day, but has a much smaller nighttime signal (still covering most of metro Phoenix).
By day, KXEG-1480 covers metro Phoenix, but at night, it has a good signal only in Glendale and the western portions of Phoenix itself.
Were the four stations to be sold as a group, and certainly, someone might be able to make a bid for a “package deal”, Salem Communications might be a good fit. It would bring that company into New Orleans for the first time with a pretty good signal (especially during the day), and it could acquire the Detroit and Phoenix stations without going over FCC ownership caps.
I could see Salem as the buyer since Communicom ‘s stations run religious formats; most of Salem’s stations do, too.
Of course, if the stations were sold-off separately, then other companies could be interested. I could see Entercom interested in WLNO, with it’s big daytime signal, and perhaps move the company’s New Orleans sports programming from WWL-870 to WLNO. However, Entercom might have to flip one of it’s local FM’s to a simulcast to make up for the very directional AM night signal.
I wanted to note that if Entercom purchases WNLO-1060 and flips it to sports (moving it’s play-by-play sports coverage over from WWL-870), that one of the company’s local FM’s would have to be flipped to a simulcast of WLNO to make up for the AM’s very directional nighttime signal.
WWL carries the New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans and LSU football/men’s basketball. Not to mention that WWL has a full-market 100,000-watt FM as well as a 50,000-watt AM. There is no way that WWL will give up sports, especially the Saints and LSU.
Is this the same Communicom that owned WWDJ Hackensack/NYC and WZZD Philadelphia long ago?
Yes.
They bought the Phoenix stations at the height of the radio valuation bubble, so it’s no surprise to see Communicom’s fall. I don’t know if Salem wants these stations, because they’re not much of an improvement from what they already have in Phoenix.