After acquiring Rock 100.3 WKIT Bangor ME from author Stephen King’s Zone Corporation last December for $500,000, Jeff Solari and Greg Hawes’ Rock Lobster Radio have agreed to sell the station to Jay Hanson’s Mix Maine Media.
Mix Maine Media will pay $900,000 to acquire WKIT with $25,000 paid as a deposit, another $25,000 at closing, $50,000 on January 1, 2027, and $50,000 on January 1, 2029 plus monthly payments at 6% interest starting six months after closing. A Time Brokerage Agreement took effect on October 30.
Original Report 10/31: Mix Maine Media, which had acquired King’s other two stations in February, will begin operating WKIT via LMA on Saturday, November 1. The company, which also owns three stations in the Augusta market, first entered Bangor in November 2024 with a Time Brokerage Agreement with an option to purchase Port Broadcasting’s 1340 WBAN Veazie/94.1 W231CH Bangor/95.1 W236DP Bald Mountain and 1230 WGUY Veazie/96.1 W241CP Bangor. It then added 620 WZON Bangor, 103.1 WZLO Dover-Foxcroft, and 98.3 W252CT Bangor from King in February for $125,000.
WBAN/W231CH/W236DP and WZLO currently simulcast Hot AC “107.9 The Mix” WFMX Skowhegan/Augusta. WGUY/W241CP simulcasts Classic Country “True Country 93.5” WCTB Fairfield. WZON and W252CT are silent, although the company intends to relaunch the signals before the end of the year. Mix Maine Media also owns Sports “1160 The Score” WSKW Skowhegan.
Hanson commented, “When an opportunity arises to enhance your position in a market you love, you move quickly. We couldn’t hesitate on a heritage station featuring legendary talent, on and off the air, as well as owners who are emotionally invested in the station’s future success. While Mix Maine Media Bangor. Our passion for local radio, shared by WKIT’s present team, will continue to win for its listeners and advertisers.”
Rock Lobster’s Jeff Solari stated, “When Greg and I heard that WKIT was going off the air we knew we had to do something to save the station. This past year has been amazing and we are pleased to say that we were able to save the station from going off the air and position it to be successful for years to come. We’re proud of what we have done for WKIT in our short amount of time with the station. We have moved the station to a beautiful new facility downtown with state of the art equipment upgrades. We retained the employees, kept the on air programming and the same including popular local contests all while racking up some of the highest ratings the station has seen.”
Co-owner Greg Hawes added, “We are honored and humbled by the support we received from the community after purchasing the station. While we are pleased to have been a part of WKIT’s storybook history, it was clear the best way to support the station was to step aside and hand the reigns over to an experienced local broadcaster owner who believes in the same live and local radio principles Stephen King had and we kept.”
