River Radio Ministries buys Wooster stations
River Radio Ministries has entered into an agreement to purchase 104.5 WQKT-FM/960 WKVX-AM, located in Wooster, from WWST Corporation, owned by parent company Dix 1898 Inc., for just over $3 million. It was announced Nov. 13.
The stations were the final media assets of the former Dix Communications, now Dix 1898. The company sold its newspaper holdings in 2017 including The Daily Record and had owned both stations since they were built in 1947.
River Radio will add the Wooster station to the four it already owns in Gahanna, Chillicothe, Newark and Lancaster.
“We are excited to serve Wooster and the surrounding community the way we have served Central Ohio for the last 50 years,” River Radio Ministries President/CEO Bill Montgomery said. “We desire to continue building on a community-focused foundation that the listeners and advertisers can embrace.”
Montgomery said the large signal coverage (52,000 watts) and the new FM transmitter that will be able to broadcast an adjacent (second channel) high-definition signal that can rebroadcast the AM format in FM quality to a larger geographic audience is exciting.
“We also look forward to using two newly remodeled recording studios for community programming and advertisers,” he said.
The Wooster stations currently broadcast country (FM) and rock oldies (AM); an array of sports including high school, College of Wooster and Ohio State University; and all three Cleveland pro franchises.
“Wooster and the surrounding area have played a role in our business and family since 1898; it is a dynamic and thriving community,” said Charles Dix, president of WWST Corporation and Dix 1898 Inc. “It has been an honor to serve listeners with news, sports and music, as well as help and support our advertisers.”
Montgomery explained his company's desire to be part of the local community and its plans for a local staff to serve the community effectively.
“We will be a commercial station, and we will need the necessary local staff to run it properly,” he said. “We look forward to interviewing the existing staff, which has made the station so successful.
“We are a nonpolitical group and are excited to have what will be the equivalent of two stations with equal range and quality. It will take us some time just to evaluate what the stations are doing now. Our plans our not finalized, and we want to see what is working well and assess what is good for listeners, advertisers and the stations.”
River Radio plans to operate the stations commercially. River Radio is not owned by a church affiliation, but rather is independent.
The agreement has been filed with the FCC for approval, and River Radio Ministries will take possession of the stations, pending FCC approval, likely in the first quarter of 2024.