DOJ settlement means iHeartMedia Richmond radio stations will likely have new owners come 2018

A group of Richmond radio stations owned by iHeartMedia will soon have new owners, if a trade agreement intended to satisfy Department of Justice regulators  goes through. In a deal announced Wednesday, six Richmond radio stations would be traded with rival radio conglomerate Entercom, along with iHeart’s Chattanooga, Tennessee market.

The move comes as Entercom prepares to merge with CBS Radio. In order to proceed with the transaction, DOJ officials said the former of the two must divest itself of stations in other markets including Boston and Seattle to avoid a monopoly that could cause advertising prices to rise. iHeartMedia will become the new owner of stations in those two cities.

Meanwhile, Entercom will gain a presence in Richmond with stations including news and talk station 1140 WRVA, alternative rock outlet XL102 (WRXL), adult contemporary Mix 98.1 (WTVR), urban 106.5 The Beat (WBTJ), sports station Fox Sports 910 (WRNL), heritage top 40 station Q94 (WRVQ), classic rock-programmed 96.1 The Planet (WRVQ-HD2), and country Big 98.5 (WTVR-HD2).

Ownership of stations in the Richmond market should be a natural fit for Entercom, which also owns a group of stations in the Hampton Roads market and will take over CBS Radio’s properties in Washington, D.C. should the merger go through as planned.

Lance Venta, editor of industry publication RadioInsight, tells RVAHub by email the deal likely means Entercom will need to staff up locally–good news for live and local talent.

“In terms of staff and air talent Entercom will need to restaff many of these stations,” Venta said. “iHeart spent much of the summer moving existing talent out of Richmond to fill holes elsewhere.”

Currently, the morning show position is open at WRVA after veteran morning man Jimmy Barrett transferred to a sister station in Houston, and over at XL102, the only live and local on-air personality is Tamo Sein in the afternoon shift. Alex Mac and DZL now do their shows from other cities after being transferred from Richmond to cover other open positions. “They (iHeart) also have Program Director openings at WRVA and WRXL to be filled,” he continued.

Syndicated talent including Elliot in the Morning on XL102, which is simulcast out of Washington, D.C.’s DC101, could continue under a syndication agreement between the two companies, Venta speculates. The same goes for Elvis Duran and Ryan Seacrest–other iHeart talent that have programs on Q94, as well as Delilah, who is heard evenings on Mix 98.1. “Entercom does rely on internal voice tracking (using talent from other markets and pumping them into another station) and syndication in many markets for night shifts, so it’ll likely be a matter of trading out the current people like EJ on Q94 who is based out of Dallas for someone else in the company,” he concluded.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, according to a news release.