Reading Eagle Company announced it will accept bids for WEEU 830 AM's federal broadcasting license.
Parties interested in buying the FCC license will have until June 10 to make an offer, said Sara April of Dirks, Van Essen, Murray and April, the firm that is assisting Reading Eagle Company through its bankruptcy sale process.
When the sale of Reading Eagle Company assets to MediaNews Group, a Denver, Colo.-based newspaper chain, was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge last week, WEEU was part of the sale. But MediaNews Group purchased only the station's assets, such as its building, tower, equipment and other property. It declined the license, which is needed to legally operate a radio station.
Court documents outlining the details of the sale stated that the station could go off the air if there is no licensed operator when the sale closes. No closing date has been set, but the court set a deadline of July 31.
Those documents said MediaNews Group would be open to leasing its newly purchased radio equipment to someone who bought the license from Reading Eagle Company for up to five years or until they sold them.
Late last week, Dave Kline, WEEU president and general manager, said he had been inundated with calls and emails from people interested in keeping the station alive.
April said a sale of the license will have to be approved by the federal bankruptcy court and the FCC. And a new owner would have to work out a deal with MediaNews Group to use the current WEEU equipment, or build and buy their own.
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| WEEU 830 AM (20 Kw-D, 6 Kw-N) Daytime 2 mV/m contour |
Reading Eagle Company filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection March 20, citing an untenable financial situation. The company went up for sale, and a bidding process resulted in just one qualified bid from MediaNews Group for $5 million.
Anyone interested in bidding on WEEU's federal broadcasting license can contact Sara April at 505-820-2700 or sara@dirksvanessen.com.
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