Stephen King’s Zone Corporation will shutter his three stations in Bangor ME at the end of the month.
King, who first entered radio ownership in 1983, said that at 77 years old he feels the need to get his business affairs in better order. King says that the three stations have consistently lost money varying from year to year, but with King personally covering those losses.
In a press statement, King commented, “While radio across the country has been overtaken by giant corporate broadcasting groups, I’ve loved being a local, independent owner all these years. I’ve loved the people who’ve gone to these stations every day and entertained folks, kept the equipment running, and given local advertisers a way to connect with their customers. Tabby and I are proud to have been a part of that for more than four decades.”
King first acquired 620 WLBZ Bangor in 1983 renaming the station WZON after his book The Dead Zone and flipping it to Rock. After a stint as a non-comm, he sold it in 1990 and reaquired it in 1993 currently operating as Oldies “Z62“. He would later add Rock 100.3 WKIT Brewer in 1995 and AAA “103.1 The Zone” WZLO Dover-Foxcroft/98.3 W252CT Bangor in 2001.
General Manager Ken Wood added, “Independent, locally owned radio stations used to be the norm. There’re only a few left in Maine, and we’re lucky we had these three as long as we did.”
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com