Connoisseur Media, the Connecticut-based radio giant led by Jeff Warshaw, has filed for a FCC waiver to bypass local ownership limits and complete its $10 million acquisition of Bonneville International's four-station San Francisco Bay Area cluster— a deal that would vault the company to nine FM signals in the market, boosting its revenue share to 15.3% amid a broader consolidation push.
Announced in October 2025 and detailed in FCC filings on Friday the transaction includes heritage FMs Adult Contemporary 96.5 KOIT San Francisco, Contemporary Hit Radio "99.7 Now" KMVQ San Francisco, Adult R&B 102.9 KBLX Berkeley, and Classic Rock "98.5 K-Fox" KUFX San Jose, plus multiple FM boosters.
A $1 million escrow deposit has been posted, with Kalil & Co. brokering the sale.
The waiver request targets the FCC's Local Radio Ownership Rule, which caps large-market owners at 7-8 stations (typically 4-5 FMs) to foster competition and diversity.
Connoisseur argues the deal serves the public interest: Its post-merger share would trail competitors like Audacy (26.3%) and iHeartMedia (24.1%), and the company commits to "local programming, local voices, and community involvement" in a market plagued by news deserts and ad revenue dips.
Warshaw, who founded Connoisseur in 2004 after selling an earlier venture to Cumulus for $258 million, hailed the move as a "perfect complement" to his portfolio, which recently hit 220 stations across 48 markets post-Alpha integration. For Bonneville, the LDS Church-owned seller, it's a strategic exit to refocus on "high-growth areas" like streaming and TV, per a statement.