iHeartMedia and the Aloha Trust announced today a strategic station exchange with Connoisseur Media across two U.S. markets. Under the agreement, iHeartMedia will acquire six radio stations from Connoisseur Media in Erie, Pennsylvania and one in Mina, New York and Connoisseur Media will acquire two stations from the Aloha Trust in Frederick, Maryland. The agreement is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019, subject to FCC consent and other customary closing conditions.
Under the agreement, WRTS-FM, WRKT-FM, WXBB-FM, WTWF-FM, WJET-AM and WFNN-AM in Erie and WLTM-FM in Mina will join iHeartMedia. These seven stations will also be available on iHeartRadio, the all-in-one digital music, on demand, podcasting and live streaming radio service. Connoisseur Media will acquire WFRE-FM and WFMD-AM in Frederick from the Aloha Trust.
“iHeart is getting a remarkable team and an amazing array of brands. We have owned the stations for 13 years and have tremendous gratitude for the people of Erie. We are excited to enter the Frederick market with these legendary properties,” said Jeffrey Warshaw, CEO of Connoisseur Media.
“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to expand our reach and establish a presence in the Erie and Mina markets,” said Dan Lankford, Region President of Allentown/Harrisburg for iHeartMedia. “We can’t wait to add these seven amazing brands to our family of platforms, and we know that Connoisseur Media is looking forward to adding WFRE-FM and WFMD-AM to their company.”
