Indianapolis – EMMIS Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: EMMS) and Radio One Inc. (Nasdaq: ROIAK and ROIA) today announced that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent for Radio One to purchase Indianapolis radio station WTLC-AM (1310) and the intellectual property of WTLC-FM (105.7) from EMMIS.
The companies also jointly announced that they would donate $1 million to promote educational opportunities for minority youth in the Indianapolis area.
“While it is personally painful to part with WTLC, we felt this decision was in the best interest of both companies,” EMMIS Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan said. “The financial donation is another way EMMIS can demonstrate our ongoing commitment to our hometown as well as our desire to create additional educational opportunities for minority youth.”
Smulyan said that one of the conditions of the sale was that the WTLC employees going to Radio One would, at a minimum, have a one year guaranteed contract.
Radio One will acquire WTLC-FM’s ‘intellectual property,’ including the station call letters, trademarks, service marks, symbols and logos as well as contracts relating to the operation of the station, and most of the station employees. EMMIS will continue to own and operate frequency 105.7 FM under a to-be-announced format.
The WTLC-AM transaction will be a more traditional radio station sale that requires FCC approval before closing. However, the transaction includes a local management agreement (LMA), common in the industry, that allows Radio One to manage the station on behalf of EMMIS starting in mid-February 2001 until the deal closes.
EMMIS purchased WTLC-FM and WTLC-AM in June 1997 from Panache Broadcasting.