Despite a deal in the works to sell six of the county's eight commercial radio stations, it's business as usual for now, according to The Berkshire Eagle.
The transaction to sell the stations to Reed Miami Holdings, LLC, for an undisclosed price remains pending, according to Peter Barry, vice president and marketing manager for Gamma Broadcasting, a corporation spun off one year ago by the Vox Berkshire Radio Group.
A revised application to transfer ownership to Greg Reed, owner of Reed Miami Holdings, was filed with the Federal Communications Commission on Sept. 24.
The original proposed agreement, filed Aug. 23, involves three Pittsfield stations, Hot AC WBEC-FM "Live 95.9", Sports WBEC 1420 AM, and Oldies WUHN 1110AM 1110 / WUPE 100.1 FM based in North Adams. Also to be sold are WNAW 1230 AM 1230 in North Adams and WSBS 860 AM 860 in Great Barrington , which emphasize local information and play adult contemporary music.
"The stations are currently involved in a pending sale transaction with a buyer," Barry said in a brief statement. He added that current management and staffers are being retained and that there's no timetable yet for a closing date on the ownership transfer.
Only WBRK's 1340 AM (AC) and 101.7 FM (Hot AC) signals in Pittsfield remain locally owned by the Hodgkins family. Willard C. "Chip" Hodgkins III is president of WBRK, which first went on the air in 1938. Willard "Huck" Hodgkins, Chip's father, acquired it in 1984 for $625,000.
WBRK, through its Washington , D.C.
According to the document, a purchase price has been agreed upon and "the parties are in the process of formalizing the agreement."
"We have no problem with the transaction going through," Chip Hodgkins said, but as a station owner, it's information he would like to know and it is required by the FCC.
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