Jeff Andrulonis’ Colonial Media + Entertainment has purchased three stations is purchasing Sports “ESPN Fayetteville” 1230 WFAY Fayetteville/1450 WFBX Spring Lake NC and Gospel “Rejoice 1200” WMIR Atlantic Beach/Myrtle Beach SC and four translators from subsidiaries of Astrakel International for an undisclosed price.
Colonial currently owns ten stations in New York and Pennsylvania including clusters in Olean NY and Bradford PA and a standalone AM (with pending translator) in Apollo PA. The four translators being acquired are being utilized in the AM Revitalization Waiver Period to be paired with the three AMs being purchased. Andrulonis previously owned 1230 WFAY in the early 2000s before selling it for $850,000.
Colonial Media and Entertainment is pleased to announce it has signed a definitive Option to acquire the assets of WFAY and WFBX in the Fayetteville, NC, market (Nielsen #129) and WMIR in the Myrtle Beach, SC, market (Nielsen #147).
In Fayetteville, Colonial will operate ESPN Fayetteville, which will be heard on AM1230 & 100.1FM in Fayetteville and on AM1450 and 92.5FM at nearby Fort Bragg, the home of America’s Special Forces and the famed 82nd Airborne Division. In Myrtle Beach, Colonial will operate gospel-formatted WMIR, heard on 6500watt AM1200 and coming soon to 95.5FM and 103.5FM all along the Grand Strand. All FM signals are pending FCC approval under the AM Revitalization Plan.
Colonial Media + Entertainment Chairman/CEO Jeff Andrulonis says he is thrilled to be adding these markets. “Myrtle Beach’s growth is just incredible—and we’re looking forward to working with Reggie Dyson, the Station Manager at WMIR, and his team to continue to serve the community. And I’m truly excited to be coming back to WFAY and Fayetteville to partner up with David Ross, the Station Manager for ESPN-Fayetteville, and his team. WFAY was WFAI when I purchased the station back in 1995. When I sold WFAY in 2006, I continued to stay in touch with many friends in the Fayetteville area.
Now I’m honored to be able to come back to a station with such a long and distinguished history of service to Fayetteville and Fort Bragg as WFAY.” WFAY first went on the air in 1947, right after World War II. Andrulonis says he is looking forward to working with the existing staffs in both Fayetteville and Myrtle Beach. “We don’t have to change a thing. Both of these formats are ideally suited to the markets they serve. And when we put these formats on FM—it gives us beachfront property in both markets.”
Colonial will begin operating the stations under a Local Marketing Agreement on March 1, 2016. A sales price has not been released. When all transactions are completed, Colonial will operate 18 stations (4 AM/14 FM) in five markets over four states.
