Davidson strikes again   - April 24 , 2007

Radio Business Report

Peter Davidson's Hispanic radio group is getting a third station in the Charlotte NC market. It already owns WNOW-AM and WBZK-AM there and now has a deal in place for WAGI-FM, which serves the market from across the state line out of Gaffney SC. According to broker John Pierce of John Pierce & Company, the seller is Gaffney Broadcasting Inc. Davidson shed some light on his plans for the immediate future, saying his acquisition strategy will focus on properties in "...the southeast and Midwest with fulltime Hispanic broadcasting." The price for WAGI-FM was not immediately disclosed.

Charlotte Observer

A third major Spanish-language station has hit the Charlotte radio dial, and this one's likely to make some noise. New York-based Davidson Media Group has agreed to purchase WAGI-FM (105.7) in Gaffney, S.C., and is moving the transmitter closer to Charlotte. The deal closed Friday night. At 12:05 a.m. Saturday, the station went Spanish. Davidson also owns WNOW-AM ("Radio Lider" 1030) and is changing the call letters of the second station to WNOW-FM. Charlotte's other major Spanish radio station is WGSP-AM ("La Tremenda" 1310). Together, WNOW-AM and WGSP-AM attract about 3 percent of the radio audience, up 10 percent from last year, according to the latest Arbitron ratings.

The FM signal is already audible in Charlotte and upstate South Carolina, but the station will be stronger once it builds a new transmitter on Crowders Mountain in southwest Gaston County. The new transmitter is expected to come on line in about six months. "It's been our real goal to get in with a great FM in Charlotte," said Peter Davidson, president of Davidson Media. Davidson founded the company in 2004 and has emphasized Spanish-language stations in emerging markets in the Southeast and Midwest. Davidson operates 40 stations. FM delivers a clearer and longer signal. The station will be among the most powerful in the Charlotte market, broadcasting at 100,000 watts.

WNOW-AM's signal will be simulcast on both frequencies for a few weeks, then the FM station will become music-intensive. WNOW-AM, already an intensely community-focused station, will replace its music shows with a talk format, focusing on news and sports. "We love our AM," said Davidson. "But it's a daytimer. Where we can, we want to grow with the market. It's a better signal, better for the listeners, better for the advertisers."

Serving a growing audience

The Carolinas are among the nation's fastest-growing areas of Hispanic population. An estimated 140,000 Hispanics live in the Charlotte metro area, making up about 7 percent of the population. In Mecklenburg County alone, the Hispanic population jumped almost 60 percent to more than 71,000 from 2000 to 2005, according to U.S. Census figures, though Hispanic advocates say the numbers are higher after including illegal immigrants.Hispanic buying power is increasing, too. In the Charlotte metro area, Hispanic buying power reached an estimated $2.3 billion, up from $135 million in 1990, according to a study by the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth. Hispanics account for nearly 5 percent of the area's buying power, up from less than 1 percent in 1990.

Stations on the move

WNOW-FM will be the second station to move into Charlotte this decade. WPZS-FM ("Praise" 100.9), formerly licensed to Albemarle, moved to Charlotte in 2004. Stations in Charlotte, the nation's 35th-largest radio market, split a radio advertising pie estimated at about $130 million by Kagan Research. WAGI started in Forest City, N.C., in the 1960s and later moved its studios to Gaffney, about 45 miles southwest of Charlotte. It was owned by Raymond Parker. After his death, his widow, Bright Parker, retained ownership. She died in June 2005 and Gaffney Broadcasting Inc. went up for sale as part of the estate. The sale price will become public when the transaction is registered with the Federal Communications Commission.