The six stations Alpha is selling off are in Peoria (WIRL-AM, WMBD-AM, WPBG-FM, WSWT-FM, WNGY-FM, and WXCL-FM). Ever since Larry Wilson was removed from day-to-day operations of running the company, Alpha has been looking to sell off stations. Duke Wright is the latest beneficiary.
Alpha has owned the stations since 2012 when it was part of the package of 32 stations it purchased from David Benjamin’s Triad Broadcasting when Alpha was in growth mode. Alpha paid $21 million for Triad. The price is sold Peoria for has not yet been revealed.
Alpha Media CEO/President Bob Proffitt said, “It’s been an honor to work with Mike Wild and the great team in Peoria. They have been an integral part of Alpha and will be missed. We are sad to see them go but know they are in great hands with Duke Wright and the Midwest Communications family.”
Midwest CEO Duke Wright said, “The first time my wife and I visited Peoria was to visit son Michael enrolled at Bradley University. We were most impressed with the city and its radio stations. My thought was that here was a market that would probably nicely fit into the Midwest Communications radio group. Many years later when we learned that an acquisition of the market-leading Alpha stations was possible, we did our due diligence and found that the Alpha stations fit our business plan perfectly. The stations represented a market-leading operation in terms of staff, winning programming, technical facilities, and balance sheet. We look forward to working together with the Peoria staff to continue to provide excellent radio service to Peoria and the surrounding area.
Midwest owns 75 radio stations throughout Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
