The La Raza network has expanded in Greenville-Spartanburg as Norsan Media moves to close on its purchase of WSPA, formerly known as Magic 106.3. The station changed hands from Audacy at midnight on April 1 under a time brokerage agreement.
For now, the station carries a simulcast of Norsan’s other signal in the market, WOLI-AM, but future programming plans remain speculative as WOLI already had an existing FM band simulcast through an FM translator.
The deal could bring the Hispanic broadcaster’s “Latina” Spanish Contemporary format to Upstate South Carolina for the first time. Norsan Media, founded by Norberto Sanchez, is recognized for its Hispanic-focused broadcast media properties throughout the Southeast and is set to expand its presence in the Greenville-Spartanburg market with this acquisition.
Audacy previously operated seven stations in this market, including five FMs, surpassing the legal limit by one under special authority from the FCC. This came after Audacy’s acquisition of WSPA in 1999 from Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of Entercom’s purchase of 41 stations.
As a result of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructuring, Audacy lost its grandfathered status in the market. Norsan purchased the station for $700,000 from a divestiture trust with Kalil & Co., per documents filed with the FCC, with a 10% deposit managed by Putbrese, Hunsacker & Trent acting as the escrow agent.
