After acquiring Radio Partners LLC’s three stations in Warren PA earlier this year, Lilly Broadcasting is expanding its radio holdings in Northwest Pennsylvania with the purchase of CHR “Happi 92.7” WEHP Lawrence Park/Erie PA from Rick Rambaldo’s Erie Radio Company for $1.33 million.
Lilly owns television stations WICU and WSEE which hold the CBS, NBC, and CW network affiliations in the Erie market. WEHP is one of two CHRs in the market along with iHeartMedia’s “Star 104” 103.7 WRTS. Excluded from the deal are the assets of the co-located R Brilliant Media agency and the trademark to the “Happi” brand, however Lilly will gain the rights to use the name on 92.7 royalty-free in perpetuity.
Rick Rambaldo, the principal behind the Erie Radio Company, previously owned the current iHeartMedia cluster in Erie prior to selling it to NextMedia in 1999. He stayed on as GM of the stations until the sale to Connoisseur in 2006. WEHP launched in 2012 as a brand new signal in the market, while a winning auction bid for a second station was dismissed after his bank failed to submit his down payment to the FCC in time.
