NorthEast Radio Watch 1/17/2022: PA’s Loud Gets Louder

In this week’s issue… Major Keystone closes Cumulus deal, then swaps and resells – Wahl stalls the FCC – WNYC leader departs – Albany TV seeks UHF move – What not to say on Maine radio

By SCOTT FYBUSH

Jump to: ME – NH – VT – MA – RI – CT – NY – NJ – PA – Canada

*It’s a big week for Pat “DJ Grooves” and Andrea Cerullo and their Major Keystone LLC, which has closed on the $179,000 purchase of four PENNSYLVANIA AM sports signals and two translators from Cumulus, with an immediate series of signal swaps and format changes taking place over the last few days.

Major Keystone’s signature “Loud” brand and hip-hop format gains one new signal out of the deal, as the Cerullos flip WIOV (1240 Reading) and translator W253CK (98.5) to simulcast the current “Loud” outlet in the Reading market, W257DI (99.3).

Three more of the signals Major Keystone acquired from Cumulus were immediately swapped off: WGLD (1440 Manchester Township)/W296EA (107.1) in the York market and WTKZ (1320 Allentown) go to VP Broadcasting in exchange for WHOL (1600 Allentown)/W295CR (106.9) and WEST (1400 Easton)/W258DV (99.5).

The York swap brings VP’s “Mega” Spanish AC format to that market, where the new “Mega 107.1” shares programming with VP’s “Mega 101.7” in Allentown. That translator, W269DY, had been fed from an HD subchannel of WLEV (100.7) along with another “Mega” in Reading, but will now use WTKZ as its primary. “Loud,” meanwhile, will now own its Lehigh Valley signals, WHOL and WEST, instead of leasing them from VP.

And that’s not all…