Community Broadcasters acquires seven radio stations in the Southern Tier

WATERTOWN — Watertown–based Community Broadcasters, LLC announced this week the acquisition of seven radio stations in the Elmira–Corning and Olean markets.

Community Broadcasters is acquiring the stations from Jacksonville, Fla.–based Backyard Broadcasting Holdings, LLC. Neither company disclosed terms of the deal.

Kalil & Co., Inc., a media-brokerage firm based in Tucson, Ariz., helped broker the acquisition, according to a news release from Community Broadcasters.

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The transaction includes five radio stations in the Elmira–Corning market and two stations in the Olean market.

In the Elmira–Corning market, the stations include WNKI-FM (hit music format), WNGZ-FM (classic rock), WPGI-FM (country-100.9 Big Pig), WWLZ-AM (news/talk/sports), and WRCE-AM (simulcast of WNGZ).

In the Olean market, the stations include WPIG-FM (country) and WHDL-AM (oldies).

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The acquisition brings the total number of radio stations that Community Broadcasters operates to 15 across four markets, which also includes stations in Watertown as well as in Odgensburg in St. Lawrence County.

 “These new markets add to our cluster in upstate New York, further strengthening our position as a premiere broadcast entity in the region,” Jim Leven, president & CEO of Community Broadcasters, said in the news release.

Leven and his business partner, Bruce Mittman, are the founders of Community Broadcasters, LLC., a broadcast company backed by Syosset, N.Y–based Northwood Ventures, LLC.

Northwood Ventures invests in venture capital and management-buyout opportunities in a broad range of industries, including the communications, retail/consumer, manufacturing, and financial-services sectors, according to the news release.

Bruce Mittman is president & CEO of Mittcom, a Boston–area advertising agency. Mittman and 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-station operator in upstate New York, the news release said.

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Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Eric Reinhardt

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