1550 sale goes through
Pittsburgh, Johnstown-Altoona-State College: The sale of Braddock-licensed WLFP (1550) has finally gone through, reports Scott Fybush's NorthEast Radio Watch.
According to Fybush, Business TalkRadio Network of Greenwich, Conn., has completed its purchase of the station for $225,000 from New York's Inner City Broadcasting Corp.
ICBC acquired the station when it purchased WHAT (1340) in Philadelphia, but didn't seem to know "what" to do with Braddock's former ex-WCXJ (formerly WLOA), a one-time sister station to 96.9 FM. After simulcasting the Philly station's urban talk format for a few years, ICBC (founded by New York political power-broker Percy Sutton) leased the signal of the renamed "WURP" to other operators.
Day-to-day management has recently been handled by Ed DeHart of Pittsburgh-based Internet service provider Nidhog.
Though WLFP's 1 kW daytime signal (from a tower in Braddock Hills Borough) is adequate, it's hardly exceptional. And its 4-watt (that's not a typo) signal after sunset is a mystery in most of the region. (A pending construction permit would boost the power to 2 kW daytime, 12 watts nighttime, from a site near Millvale.)
Business TalkRadio is currently running its "Lifestyle TalkRadio Network" on 1550. Lifestyle TalkRadio includes a mix of syndicated talk shows (like those of Doug Stephan and Bruce Williams) along with paid programs and self-help shows.
During DeHart's management, 1550 was running marquee hosts like Don Imus, G. Gordon Liddy and Don & Mike, along with local content on the weekends; the current lineup looks considerably weaker.
Frankly, it seems unlikely that the new program schedule will pull an audience, but Business TalkRadio must think the station has potential ... especially since they paid almost a quarter-million dollars for it. Stay tuned!
In other news, Fybush notes that State College has a new TV station. Channel Communications has signed on its new WHVL-LP (29), operating with 11.7 kW from a tower northwest of the borough. The station is carrying a mix of syndicated shows along with programs from MyNetworkTV, the sister network to Fox that was formed after the 2006 merger of WB and UPN.