Connoisseur Media is seeking a waiver of ownership rules to buy NRG Media’s competing radio group in Lincoln.
The purchase price is $5.75 million, according to an asset purchase agreement filed with the FCC on April 2.
The combination of the two groups would require a waiver of FCC rules, which normally limit one company to four FM stations in a market the size of Lincoln. Connoisseur already owns four FM stations while NRG has three; each company also owns one AM station and two FM translators in Lincoln. There is only one other commercial radio station in the one-county market.
In its 69-page waiver request, Connoisseur says Lincoln stations experience significant competition from Omaha stations and says the two cities “are functionally the same radio market for purposes of competition.” It specifically cites KFAB/1110 (Omaha) and “Star 104.5” (KSRZ Omaha) as having high ratings in Lincoln. Five Omaha-market stations appear in Lincoln 12+ ratings data included as part of the filing.
The request says the combination will allow Connoisseur to provide a “greater diversity of programming” but does not specifically state format plans. It also says a combination of the companies’ existing radio news efforts will allow them to better compete with KFAB.
NRG’s Lincoln group includes include Country-formatted “Froggy 98” (KFGE/98.1 Milford), Classic Rocker “105.3 The Bone” (KLNC Lincoln), Adult Contemporary outlet “B107.3” (KBBK Lincoln), News/Talker KLIN/1400 (Lincoln) and its FM translator K257GN/99.3, and Contemporary Hits station “Red 94|5” (KBBK-HD2 and K233AN/94.5).
Connoisseur’s existing stations include Classic Rocker “92.9 The Eagle” (KTGL Beatrice), Country station “96 Kicks” (KZKX/96.9 Seward), Hard Rocker “104.1 The Blaze” (KIBZ Crete), Contemporary Hits outlet KFRX/106.3 (Lincoln), News/Talker KFOR/1240 (Lincoln) and its FM translator K268DF/101.5, and Adult Contemporary-formatted “Mix 103.3” (KFRX-HD2 and K277CA/103.3).
In a news release, Connoisseur founder and CEO Jeff Warshaw said, “We are over the moon to be able to add these phenomenal properties and team to our company. This marriage will allow us to even better serve the community and our clients.”
NRG CEO Mary Quass said, “The Lincoln stations have been a very important part of our story, and we are pleased to pass them to Jeff and his team. Jeff is a broadcaster who shares our commitment to great local service, quality programming, and deep community connections!”
Kalil & Co. served as the broker for the transaction.
The proposed combination comes amid several other sales involving the two companies in several other Upper Midwest markets.
NRG is in the process of selling its groups in Omaha and the Tri-Cities. In Wisconsin, Midwest Communications is seeking a waiver of ownership rules to buy NRG’s stations in the Wausau-Stevens Point and Rhinelander areas.
NRG’s other radio stations are in Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, where it is based, and Ottawa, Ill.
Meanwhile, Connoisseur has sold two pairs of stations in Minnesota and South Dakota and is in the process of selling another South Dakota group. It’s also in the process of buying stations outside the Upper Midwest.
RELATED: Lincoln Radio Stations
This article was originally posted March 31 and was updated April 3 with details of the FCC filing.