Posted by The Mic Whisperer on December 23, 2009 at 12:23:09:
In Reply to: Re: NextMedia to sell all 11 Chicago area stations? posted by Jeremy Andrews on December 23, 2009 at 12:22:45:
: Who would buy?
Who would buy is very good question. If they are stupid enough to try and sell the stations as one whole package, they may end holding on to them. If they are willing to break up the stations (with a few exceptions like the ones you pointed out that share operations), then they should have no problem finding smaller operations looking to pick up one or two stations. I would expect a few of those bidders to be first time buyers who have been waiting for an opportunity like this. That may include everybody from some radio people looking to do a station right to some religious groups looking for a stronger signal to spread their word to buyers looking to do more ethnic & brokered programming. One thing is for sure, if/when this starts happening, there will certainly be format flips and a lot of buzz going around.
When I first read about NextMedia's bankruptcy, I thought it was no big deal and that they were just reshuffling their debt around. After what I heard today, it looks like it may be a bigger deal after all, at least for the Chicago area stations.