Neuhoff Media is preparing to exit the radio business.
Neuhoff has agreed to sell its Danville and Decatur IL clusters to Champaign Multimedia Group for an undisclosed price and intends to sell its properties in Bloomington and Springfield IL and Lafayette IN in the coming months.
Champaign Multimedia Group will acquire Talk 1480 WDAN/104.7 W284DD, Classic Rock “94.9 K-Rock” WRHK, AC “D102” WDNL and their VermillionCountyFirst.com platform in Danville, and Country “95Q” WDZQ, CHR “Y103” WSOY-FM, Hip Hop “Hot 105.5” WCZQ, “Fox Sports 1050” WDZ, News/Talk 1340 WSOY/103.3 W277DB, and NowDecatur.com in the Decatur market.
Champaign Multimedia Group owns multiple newspapers and magazines in the Champaign-Urbana market along with News/Talk 1400 WDWS/93.9 W230CW, AC “Lite Rock 97.5” WHMS, and Classic Hits 107.9 WKIO.
Upon the sales of the other three markets, it will end the ownership tenure of the Neuhoff family after nearly 70 years since its founding in 1955 by Roger Neuhoff. The sale comes as company CEO Mike Hulvey prepares to exit on April 1 to lead the Radio Advertising Bureau.
Neuhoff Family Limited Partnership, the parent company of Neuhoff Media-Decatur, LLC and Neuhoff Media-Danville, LLC has announced it has entered into an agreement to sell the assets of WSOY-AM/WSOY-FM, WCZQ-FM, WDZ-AM, WDZQ-FM and NowDecatur.com in Decatur, IL and WDAN-AM, WDNL-FM, WRHK-FM and VermilionCountyFirst.com in Danville, IL to Champaign Multimedia Group.
This transaction is part of an overall strategic decision on behalf of the Neuhoff family to depart the broadcast industry after nearly 70 years, according to Julian Hickman and Makena Neuhoff, trustees of the Neuhoff family.
Hickman commented, “We are proud of what broadcast ownership has meant to our family, our employees, and the markets we serve. Our grandfather, Roger Neuhoff, began his ownership in the business during the mid-1950s. He loved the broadcast industry and was proud of the way our radio and television stations served their local communities.”
“We would like to thank the incredible teams of local broadcasters in Decatur and Danville. We are proud of their daily dedication to their listeners, clients, and communities,” said Makena Neuhoff.
“We are pleased to see the iconic local media brands of Neuhoff Media’s Danville and Decatur markets all brought together through this historic transaction with the Champaign Multimedia Group,” said Neuhoff Media President Mike Hulvey. “The next chapter for the Danville and Decatur radio stations and digital platforms will create something very special for each community,” added Hulvey.
The timing of this announcement aligns with the formal filing of an ownership change application with the Federal Communications Commission.
The company expects to make additional announcements regarding future agreements as the Neuhoff divestiture process moves forward.
Neuhoff Family Limited Partnership and its local companies own and operate 24 broadcast signals, along with multiple digital platforms, in five radio markets across central Illinois and west central Indiana.
Kalil & Co., Inc. acted as the exclusive broker for this transaction.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com