Univision Buying WLIR
By Monty Phan
Staff Writer
October 1, 2003, 6:03 PM EDT
The Morey Organization has sold the rights to the 92.7 FM frequency, home to the WLIR radio station, to Spanish-language media giant Univision for $60 million in cash, the companies said today.
Under terms of the deal, Morey will retain the WLIR call letters, the station's staff and its modern rock format, and it plans to transfer everything to a new frequency by January, said company spokeswoman Gina DeGregorio. Although the company owns three other stations -- WXXP/105.3 FM, WDRE/98.5 FM and the 107.1 FM frequency, which it had been using to simulcast WLIR to East End listeners -- it's looking for a new frequency to house WLIR, DeGregorio said. 'Our die-hard listeners on Long Island are still going to have their heritage radio station,' she said.
Meanwhile, Univision will likely convert the frequency to a Spanish-language format, although a company spokeswoman said she was unsure what it would do. Long Island has no FM Spanish-language stations.
The deal is scheduled to be completed early next year and is probably not subject to the Federal Communications Commission's media ownership rules because Univision's presence in the New York market is minimal.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
Staff Writer
October 1, 2003, 6:03 PM EDT
The Morey Organization has sold the rights to the 92.7 FM frequency, home to the WLIR radio station, to Spanish-language media giant Univision for $60 million in cash, the companies said today.
Under terms of the deal, Morey will retain the WLIR call letters, the station's staff and its modern rock format, and it plans to transfer everything to a new frequency by January, said company spokeswoman Gina DeGregorio. Although the company owns three other stations -- WXXP/105.3 FM, WDRE/98.5 FM and the 107.1 FM frequency, which it had been using to simulcast WLIR to East End listeners -- it's looking for a new frequency to house WLIR, DeGregorio said. 'Our die-hard listeners on Long Island are still going to have their heritage radio station,' she said.
Meanwhile, Univision will likely convert the frequency to a Spanish-language format, although a company spokeswoman said she was unsure what it would do. Long Island has no FM Spanish-language stations.
The deal is scheduled to be completed early next year and is probably not subject to the Federal Communications Commission's media ownership rules because Univision's presence in the New York market is minimal.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
