I agree with umfan 100% that the transaction terms are in no way "below market value." I would be curious to know how TheBigA arrived at that conclusion.
The terms were $12.2 million cash, plus three translators (still as of yet unidentified) representing $500,000 in value.
Urban One's CEO, Mr. Liggins, disclosed that WPZR's annual broadcast cash flow was only about $1 million per year. So, getting more than $12 million for that signal is a very impressive haul! No commercial broadcaster in this day & age would pay a 12x multiple.
No commercial format in the past 20 years has ever done better than mid/upper 2's in terms of AQH share on that frequency on a consistent basis. The only formats to do even that well were all targeted at African American listeners. The best ratings performer was Hot 102.7, which as the present-day Hot 107.5 has the worst or second worst billing power ratio of any FM station in the market. (There are several stations in GRAND RAPIDS that rake in more annual revenue than Hot 107.5.) Interestingly enough, Hot's ratings on 107.5 are somewhat lower than what they earned back in the day on 102.7.
EMF paid only about $9 million more - in terms of cash consideration - for the mighty WLUP than it did for WPZR! WLUP reaches many more potential listeners, is located in a wealthier market, and is a preset on a much greater percentage of radios in the Chicagoland area than is the case for WPZR in Metro Detroit. I would contend the typical FM station in Detroit only has 40% to 50% the value of the typical FM station in Chicago. Granted, the conditions under which WLUP was sold (i.e. orderly liquidation) were different than the market conditions under which WPZR is being sold. And as far as Detroit FM stations go, this one is the worst of the lot in terms of 70 dBu contour placement.
Coverage wise - WPZR does deliver a very good signal to all of Macomb, much of Oakland, and the NE part of Wayne County. It does struggle a bit around parts of midtown, downtown and southwest Detroit indoors due to distance and RF from other nearby stations, such as 101.9 WDET.
In western Wayne County as well as downriver, reception can be an issue on radios with weak selectivity (102.9 WWWW-FM and 102.7 WPZR have similar field strengths on paper in western Wayne; my personal experience is WPZR is generally the easier to receive of the two). It also does not deliver a reliable signal at all to two Detroit MSA counties - Monroe and Livingston.
As may have been mentioned earlier, the station does have a CP to move to the same tower along Greenfield Rd. in Oak Park that is currently utilized by WDMK and WDRQ, albeit with a deep null toward Ann Arbor. If that CP ever gets built, 102.7's signal in southern Oakland County, Detroit's west side, and places such as Dearborn, Taylor, and Livonia will improve dramatically.
Good thing 99.5 WYCD's tower is nearby; it otherwise would be susceptible major to gigantic RF intermod issues near the I-696 corridor if & when the new 102.7 facilities ever get built. (102.7 x 2 - 105.9 = 99.5. Also, 101.1 x 2 - 102.7 = 99.5. WRIF's field strength is very strong along Coolidge Hwy, Greenfield Rd and Southfield Rd even though its TX site is at Broadcast House.)
in terms of the Houston situation - totally agree KROI needs to be sold! K-Love is currently found on 103.7 in the Houston region, which has horrible coverage of western and southern areas of the market and not so good coverage of downtown, either. KROI would be a definite upgrade for them.