Reading Radio: Twilight Broadcasting To Acquire WEEU-AM

WEEU 830 AM Reading, PA has a buyer.

According to The Reading Eagle, Twilight Broadcasting, which operates two radio stations in Oil City, Venango County, has separate agreements in place to purchase WEEU's federal broadcasting license and to lease its broadcasting facility and towers, said Twilight's general manager Todd Adkins.

"We're very excited," Adkins said Thursday afternoon. "It was a strenuous process to get to this point today. A lot of back and forth, attorneys, brokers. To be honest with you, we were at a point this morning where we didn't think it was going to happen."

WEEU has 11 full-time employees, and Adkins said Twilight's intention is to keep them all on board.

WEEU's operation manager and radio host Mike Faust said the station is ecstatic and the news that the station has a buyer is like an answer to prayers.


"This is just a tremendous day," said Faust, who broke into “The Rush Limbaugh Show” Thursday to announce the agreements. "We're excited to work with these guys, and they seem like really good guys.

"We're radio people that see heritage here in this radio station and the great people that work for it, and we wanted to make sure it didn't go away," he said. "We're not heroes by any stretch of the imagination. We just want, as fellow broadcasters, to not see something go away that has value."

WEEU 830 AM (20 kw-D, 6 Kw-N) Daytime 2 mV/m contour

WEEU went on the air in December 1931. It is the oldest continually operating radio station with its original call letters in Reading and — until the sale is finalized — the only locally-owned and operated radio station in the city.

Reading Eagle Company purchased the station Dec. 1, 1946, for a reported $250,000.

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.

MediaNews Group bought the station's assets — its building, tower, equipment and other property — but didn't buy the station's FCC license. That license is needed to legally operate a radio station, and it was feared the station would go silent when the sale is finalized June 30.

Adkins said it probably would take 30 to 60 days for FCC approval of the license transfer.

"During that time, we essentially will be running the station as the brokerage programmer — we'll be the programmer of the station, but not necessarily the full owner of the license until it's cleared," he said.

"Once we get a clearer picture of what the financials are, then we'll be able to make a determination of how we operate going forward," adkins said. "But our full intention, as radio people ourselves, is to keep everything intact and keep the quality product that WEEU has always had."