WEEU 830 AM is stunting this weekend with oldies and is expected to unveil its new format Monday.
The Reading-based radio station was acquired last year by Treese Media Group of Montgomery County, co-owned by John and Kristina Treese and gained FCC approval in January.
The station was put up for sale earlier last year by Twilight Broadcasting, which had bought WEEU in 2019 after its former owner, Reading Eagle Company, filed for bankruptcy.
Treese bought assets for $138,000. Asset include WEEU’s studio building at 34 N. Fourth St. and a transmitter and tower site off Interstate 78.
The stunting this weekend is airing as equipment upgrades are made.
“Something I plan to immediately expand is local sports programming” Treese said. “I hope to also rebuild WEEU’s local news department.”
Treese has had a long career in radio, having worked as an on-air personality, news reporter, DJ, and station manager for multiple Pennsylvania stations. When he heard WEEU was for sale, it seemed like the perfect fit — a heritage station with a large reach and a local audience.
He said that even amid the digital age, he believes strongly in the value of radio, especially when the focus is hyperlocal.
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 20,2019 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.
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