Less than a year after acquiring 97.7 WOXY Mason/Cincinnati OH and making it a simulcast of Grant County Broadcasters’ “106.7 The Oasis” WNKR Williamstown KY, Randy Michaels is leading the purchase of another Oldies brand.
WAKYANA LLC will acquire Oldies “WAKY Radio” 620 WAKY/100.1 W261CO/106.3 W292FS Louisville, 104.9 W285ER Prospect and 103.5 WAKY-FM Radcliff KY from the Bill Walters led W&B Broadcasting for $1.3 million. Michaels noted that a few years ago he was asked to write about the greatest Top 40 stations of all time, “Putting WAKY on that list was an easy and obvious choice. At the time, it didn’t occur to me that someday I might have a chance to own the call letters once associated with Gordon McClendon, Johnny Randolph, Mike McVay and so many other radio legends. I have great reverence and respect for this amazing station and its heritage. I’m enormously proud to be part of it.”
The sellers including Walters, Rene Bell and Mike Baldwin, commented that it is “a dream come true to have had the opportunity to continue the WAKY Magic for nearly twenty years. They thank all the past and their current WAKY co-workers and advertisers. Most especially, they thank the WAKY listeners who not only listen but have taken ownership in WAKY since the beginning!”
Longtime Louisville area General Manager Bill Gentry will join WAKYANA as General Manager. Gentry served as VP/Market Manager for Clear Channel Louisville from 1998-2007 and Regional Market President for Louisville, Lexington, Somerset KY and Nashville TN from 2010-2015. He then led Alpha Media Louisville from 2016-18 and most recently was VP/Market Manager for Cumulus Media Birmingham AL. Michaels stated, “”Bill was our GM at the Jacor stations in Louisville. He did an amazing job stealing share from Clear Channel. Then we merged with Clear Channel and sold the Jacor stations in favor of Clear Channels bigger signals. We moved Bill across the street to Clear Channel, and he moved all of that business back with him. I’ve realized that at some point, Bill Gentry has run every station in Louisville but WAKY. That’s another good reason to buy WAKY, so that Bill can have a turn there too.”
WAKYANA President Jeff Ziesmann added, “W&B have done an exceptional job making
WAKY the top radio brand in Kentuckyana. WAKY and Bill Gentry are both legends in the
Louisville market. We are excited and humbled to be the next custodians of this legendary
station. We will get started as soon as somebody shows us where the coffee maker is.”
Kalil & Co. Inc. served as exclusive broker for the deal.
