Bruce Mittman and Jim Leven’s Community Broadcasters Inc. has announced the acquisition of Backyard Broadcasting’s seven stations in Elmira-Corning and Olean, NY.
Terms for the acquisition have yet to be disclosed. The seven stations will join Community’s existing eight stations in Watertown and Ogdensburg, NY.
The stations involved in the deal are:
Elmira: Talk 820 WWLZ Horseheads, Country “100.9 Big Pig” WPGI Horseheads, Classic Rock “Wingz 104.9” WNGZ Montour Falls/1490 WRCE Watkins Glen, and CHR “Wink 106.1” WNKI Corning/93.5 W228AT Elmira. The Press Release also claims that the company acquired Classic Rock 880 WNGZ, however there is no such station existing.
Olean: Oldies 1450 WHDL and Country “95.7 The Pig” WPIG
Backyard Broadcasting will retain its clusters in Muncie, IN and Williamsport, PA.
The Press Release announcing the sale follows:
Founded by radio industry veterans Jim Leven and Bruce Mittman, Community Broadcasters LLC, a broadcast company backed by Northwood Ventures LLC, is proud to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire seven additional radio stations spanning two new markets, bringing the total number of stations to 15 across four markets.
The stations will be purchased from Backyard Broadcasting. Terms of the acquisition agreement, which was filed with the FCC today, were not disclosed. Five stations are added to Community Broadcasters family of stations in Elmira-Corning, NY and two stations are added in Olean, NY.
Kalil & Co., Inc. is the exclusive broker of this acquisition.
The new stations that will join Community Broadcasters are as follows:
Elmira-Corning, NY
• WNKI-FM-106.1-#1 Hit Music Station
• WNGZ-FM-104.9-Classic Rock
• WPGI-FM-100.9-Country
• WWLZ-AM-820-News/Talk/Sports
• WRCE-AM-1490-Simulcast WNGZ-880-Classic Rock
Olean, NY
• WPIG-FM-95.7-Country
• WHDL-AM-1450-Oldies
“We are looking forward to working with the teams in Elmira-Corning and Olean to integrate the seven additional stations into the Community Broadcasters’ family of stations,” said Jim Leven, president & CEO, Community Broadcasters. “These new markets add to our cluster in upstate NY, further strengthening our position as a premiere broadcast entity in the region.”
“Knowing Community Broadcasters’ dedication to creating strong local radio I am pleased to see these leading stations add to their footprint in New York,” added Barry Drake, president & CEO, Backyard Broadcasting.
In the Watertown and Ogdensburg markets, Community Broadcasters currently owns the following stations:
Watertown, NY
• WBDR-FM-106.7-The Border-#1 Hit Music Station
• WOTT-FM-94.1-Rock
• WANT-FM-104.1/AM-1240-News Talk
• WTOJ-FM-103.1-The Best Variety of Yesterday and Today
• WEFX-FM-100.7-The Eagle-New Country
Ogdensburg, NY
• WLFK-FM-95.3-The Wolf-Country Hits Back to Back
• WQTK-FM-92.7-The North Country’s News and Talk Authority
• WSLB-AM-1400-ESPN-Sports
Bruce Mittman, president & CEO of Mittcom, a Boston area advertising agency, and Jim Leven formed Community Broadcasters seven years ago with a goal of creating a small- to medium-sized market radio portfolio. Together, Mittman and Leven have owned and operated over 70 radio stations and this acquisition will further strengthen Community Broadcasters’ position as a radio leader in upstate New York.
About Community Broadcasters LLC
Founded by radio industry veterans Bruce Mittman and Jim Leven, Community Broadcasters will own 15 radio stations serving the upstate NY region, following the completion of the acquisition.
About Northwood Ventures LLC
Northwood Ventures partners exclusively with successful management teams to make equity investments in privately held companies. Northwood invests in venture capital and management buyout opportunities in a broad range of industries, with a particular interest in the communications, retail/consumer, manufacturing, and financial services sectors. Northwood’s flexible and long-term philosophy allows us to creatively evaluate and structure our investments. Since our establishment in 1983, Northwood has invested in approximately 160 companies.
