Sage Weil’s Civic Media is expanding into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with the purchase of J&J Broadcasting’s five stations for $1.55 million.
The purchase will come through the formation of a new group Michigan Civic Media Alliance led by Civic Media with additional support and investment from the Michigan Independent Media Group. The stations included in the deal are Hot AC “Mix 93.5” WKMJ-FM Hancock, Classic Rock “The Storm” 99.7 WIMI Ironwood, Country “Y101” 101.1 WUPY Ontonagon, Classic Country “US 59” 590 WJMS/92.1 W221EH Ironwood, and Conservative Talk/Sports 920 WMPL/107.3 W297CD Hancock. Michigan Civic Media Alliance will also purchase WIMI rebroadcaster 102.3 W272AY Park Falls WI from Tea-Visz Inc. for $1.
Cvic Media VP/Operations Kory Hartmann said, “These heritage radio stations have served their local communities for years and are strong partners with local businesses and organizations. We intend to continue that legacy of service and add a wider array of products to keep people in touch with their community.”
Civic CEO Sage Weil commented, “At Civic Media we believe in the importance of local media, and investing in rural areas where quality news and information is too often hard to come by. We are excited by this opportunity to expand our network into the upper peninsula.”
MIMG General Partner Jason Franklin said, “MIMG’s launch was inspired in part by Civic Media’s leadership in sustaining independent media in Wisconsin. We’re excited to be formally partnering with them for their first expansion into the great state of Michigan and to work with them to preserve and expand vibrant local media across our state.”
J&J Broadcasting President Jerry Hackman added, “We are very pleased to announce the sale of the stations, and we could not be more pleased with the buyer. We are very comfortable turning over the customer and employee relationships over to Civic Media as they have made great strides in just a short time and they continue to stress the importance of local and small town radio. I’d like to sincerely thank everyone that has supported us in various ways over the last 42 years.”
J&J Broadcasting had agreed to sell their stations Cliff Dumas’ BTC USA Holdings in November 2022 for $1.3 million but the deal failed to close.
Upon closing, Civic Media will operate 23 stations in Wisconsin, two in Ely MN, and five in Michigan.
