Radio Stations Change Hands

Continuing the trend toward consolidation in radio, two Amagansett-based radio stations, WEHM and WBEA, have been acquired jointly by an out-of-town buyer, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

The two FM stations, which are locally managed and programmed, merged operations just over two years ago to form the Hamptons Radio Corporation. Fred Seegal of New York is the majority owner, with Derrick Cephas of Orient and Robert Sargent Shriver III of Los Angeles as major partners.

The price is reported to be $3.2 million, though none of the parties to the sale would confirm this. Mr. Seegal said Friday he expected the sale to be final within 45 days, or by early January.

"Adult Contemporary"

Several other shareholders, some of them celebrities, have also retained stock from the stations' previous incarnations. Mickey Schulhof, Christie Brinkley, Alan Grubman, Laura Ross, Bruce Wasserstein, Arnold Glimscher, and Mortimer Zuckerman are among those who stand to recoup their investments in the sale.

Zoe Kamitses, the stations' general manager, said Friday that they had been acquired by AAA Entertainment, a division of Back Bay Broadcasting Company of Providence, R.I. The company runs two FM stations, WWKX and WAKX, and one AM station, WLKW, in Providence, as well as WKCD in New London. All specialize in pop and rock standards, known in the business as "A.C.," or adult contemporary music.

No Place To Grow

The company also owns a large printing plant in Providence, but John Maguire, its president, said Friday that the company was "a radio-only company" as far as media operations go.

Ms. Kamitses said the current owners had decided "they either had to take it to the next level or find someone who would. First of all it had become profitable, and they're primarily investors."

"We would have liked to grow the business, but there's no place else for us to grow it," said Mr. Seegal. "I wish the new owners very well."

The sale comes as small, local radio stations are being bought and sold at a rapid pace nationwide. In 1996, the Federal Government relaxed restrictions on the number of media properties a single company could own in one market, opening the way for the merger of WEHM and WBEA, as well as many other ownership shuffles on Long Island.

"Very Positive"

The trend has been criticized for its homogenizing effect on local radio, with many formerly community-oriented stations losing some or all of their independence and local production control, or simply being used as feeder transmitters for music and news produced elsewhere.

Mal Kahn, who bought WBAZ in Southold and WLIE in Bridgehampton two years ago, said of the sale, "If they're not a local company, why is that positive?"

But Ms. Kamitses said she was pleased that this particular company had chosen to buy the two stations. "It's not one of the huge radio corporations," she said. "It's a one-owner company that is very positive about live radio stations in small marketplaces. What they wanted to do is acquire more properties and let us do with them what we're doing with Beach [WBEA] and with WEHM."

To Add Personnel

Mr. Maguire said that Back Bay intends to retain and augment the Amagansett operation and use it as a launching pad for future radio acquisitions. An expansion further into Suffolk County, with Ms. Kamitses and her full-time staff of 14 putting their expertise to work in setting up new operations, was "an eventual goal," he said.

"We certainly believe we have the human assets to run more than two radio stations," he said, adding that Ms. Kamitses and her staff "run the stations beautifully, and they have the assets to do more."

"There are a lot of things for sale, and there are a lot of interesting things that could happen," said Ms. Kamitses. "We'll be expanding personnel and having a lot more layers of management. I think that within the next six months there are going to be a lot of really interesting jobs that come out of this."

On The Internet

The stations will continue to broadcast the same locally-produced blend of adult contemporary music that has made them profitable, Ms. Kamitses said.

WEHM has a format designed especially for the Hamptons, "specifically for the 35 to 55 upscale second home owner and rock lover," Ms. Kametsis said, and WBEA has been targeted to "the 25 to 49-year-old," but "particularly chosen for the beach area we're living in - a very 'up' presentation of the concept of the beach."

"Any changes would be made by Zoe," said Mr. Maguire.

Ms. Kamitses said both stations would be broadcasting - streaming, in technical parlance - over the Internet within the next few weeks through their existing Web sites, and that this would provide a further incentive to maintain their local identities.

"The Internet is looking for unique products, not for cookie-cutter formats," she said.