Centennial Broadcasting is a small market radio broadcasting company based in

Clemmons, North Carolina Clemmons is a village in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States and a suburb of Winston-Salem. The population was 21,177 at the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 21,517 in 2021. Geography Clemmons is located in southwestern For ...

. The company is led by President and CEO Allen B. Shaw. Shaw began his career in 1959, at the age of 15, at radio station

WRWB WRWB-FM (99.3 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Ellenville, New York and serving an area including much of the Hudson Valley and the eastern parts of the Catskills. WRWB-FM is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts with 115 watts effective ...

in Kissimmee, Florida.

History

1997-2000

Centennial purchased

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

-based

KJUL Kjul is a small village in Akershus, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsul ...

from American General Media for an undisclosed sum on May 13, 1997. Two months later, on July 22, 1997, the company bought another Las Vegas station,

KSTJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

, also for an undisclosed amount. In March 1998,

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...

sold three

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

-based stations to the company for $16 million. The stations included two FMs,

WRNO-FM WRNO-FM (99.5 MHz) – branded ''News Talk 99.5 WRNO'' – is a commercial talk radio station licensed to serve New Orleans, Louisiana. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station serves the New Orleans metropolitan area. The WRNO-FM studios are loc ...

and KMEZ, and one AM, WBYU. In April of the same year, Centennial purchased Las Vegas station

KKLZ KKLZ (96.3 FM) is a commercial radio station located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and airs a classic hits music format branded as "96-3 KKLZ". The KKLZ studios are located in Spring Valley, an unincorp ...

from Apogee Companies for $21 million. The company sold all six of its stations to Beasley Broadcast Group in late 2000 for $113.5 Million.

2004-Present

The company would re-enter the radio business, this time in Virginia, with the purchase of

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

-area stations WZZI (then at 101.5) and WZZU from Travis Media LLC on August 31, 2004 for $4.146 million. In 2005, the company purchased

WLNI WLNI (105.9 FM) is a News/Talk formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, serving Metro Lynchburg. WLNI is owned by James River Media, LLC. Programming WLNI programming consists mostly of network programming such as Coast ...

from 3 Daughters Media for $4.4 million. Centennial filed suit on 3 Daughters Media and owner Gary Burns in 2006 for violating a five-year non-compete agreement. The case was heard in the

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...

. U.S. District Judge Norman Moon ruled 3 Daughters Media "could not operate a station with a Talk format until the five-year non-compete" had ended on August 4, 2006. Burns appealed to United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which upheld the previous court's ruling. In March 2005, Cumulus Media sold WBWR and translator W247AD-FM to Centennial for $1.9 million. The deal closed in April of the same year. On May 17, 2007, Centennial announced it was buying

WINC Winc is a workplace support company operating in Australia supplying office essentials, furniture, safety equipment and IT solutions. The company is focused on supporting businesses through the delivery of everything a workplace needs to work - s ...

WINC-FM WINC-FM (105.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Berryville, Virginia, serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley. The station is currently stunting with Christmas music. WINC-FM is owned by Metro Radio, Inc. History In November 2020, the the ...

, WWRT, and

WWRE WWRE (105.1 FM) is a Classic Hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bridgewater, Virginia, serving Harrisonburg/ Staunton area. WWRE is owned and operated by Saga Communications, through licensee Tidewater Communications, LLC. His ...

in Winchester and

WBQB WBQB is an adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy l ...

and

WFVA WFVA (1230 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Fredericksburg, Virginia. WFVA is owned and operated by Centennial Broadcasting. It airs a talk radio format. The studios, offices and transmitter are on Mimosa Street in Fredericksburg. T ...

in Fredericksburg from Mid-Atlantic Network Inc. for $36 million. Later reports had the price of the sale at $35.972 million. Shaw, commenting in a '' Winchester Star'' interview on the sale, said he had been considering buying the stations for several months. The sale closed in August 2007. In April 2008, the company agreed to purchase four stations from

Univision Radio Uforia Audio Network () is the radio broadcasting and music events division of TelevisaUnivision USA. Formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation and Univision Radio, it is the eighth-largest radio broadcaster in the United States, and ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

for $24 million. The sale included stations

KIOT KIOT (102.5 FM, "Coyote 102.5") is an American radio station licensed to Los Lunas, New Mexico, and serving the Albuquerque and Santa Fe radio markets broadcasting a classic rock format with music from the late 1960s through the early 2000s. The ...

, KJFA, KKRG, and

KKSS KKSS (97.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and broadcasting to the Santa Fe and Albuquerque metropolitan area. KKSS airs an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio format branded as "Kiss 97.3". Owned b ...

. For unknown reasons, the sale was never completed and the stations remain owned by Univision. On February 1, 2011,

WVMP WVMP (101.5 FM) is a broadcast radio station licensed to Vinton, Virginia, serving Metro Roanoke, Virginia. WVMP is owned by Todd P. Robinson's WVJT, LLC. History H. Edward Hale's Carousel Entertainment signed on country WZZI in December 1995. ...

was sold to CityWorks Community Broadcasting LLC for $500,000. Centennial sold WZZU and WZZI (now on ), then airing an

Active Rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format, to WVJT, LLC. for $523,000 on August 27, 2012. Mel Wheeler Inc. purchased W247AD-FM from Centennial for $75,000 on April 4, 2012. A year later, Centennial sold WLNI to Mel Wheeler Inc. on January 12, 2013 for $1.025 million. That sale was delayed due to a "petition to deny" filed with the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC). Gary Burns, owner of 3 Daughters Media, contented the sale would give Mel Wheeler Inc. control of too many stations in one market. The FCC disagreed and denied the "petition to deny" in August 2013. On October 6, 2020, Centennial sold WINC-FM operating on from

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

, to

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...

(EMF) for $1.75 million. WINC-FM's existing music programming moved to the co-owned WXBN (105.5 FM) and WZFC (104.9 FM) ahead of the sale;, and Centennial retained the rights to the WINC callsign and branding. On December 29, 2020, after the sale of the 92.5 FM channel closed, Centennial transferred the WINC-FM callsign to . WZFC continued to simulcast WINC-FM's programming.

Stations

Centennial Broadcasting currently owns and operates two stations in Fredericksburg, Virginia:

Fredericksburg

Formerly owned stations

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=http://www.centennialbroadcasting.com/, title=Centennial Broadcasting, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=Centennial Broadcasting {{cite web, url=http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/bbgi/insiders?pid=2147, title=Allen B. Shaw, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=

MarketWatch MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''Barron's'', it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp. Histor ...

{{cite web, url=http://www.radioyears.com/other/details.cfm?id=806, title=RadioYears.com - Allen B. Shaw, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=RadioYears.com {{cite web, url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/242849.pdf, title=Assignment of License, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414031835/http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/242849.pdf, archivedate=April 14, 2014, date=May 13, 1997, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=

, audio division {{cite web, url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/249643.pdf, title=Assignment of License, date=July 22, 1997, accessdate=April 10, 2014, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414013148/http://licensing.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/Auth_Files/249643.pdf, archivedate=April 14, 2014, work=

, audio division {{cite news, newspaper=Baltimore Business Journal, location=

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, title=Sinclair to divest certain New Orleans radio stations to Centennial Broadcasting, url=http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/1998/03/16/daily12.html, date=March 19, 1998, accessdate=April 10, 2014 {{cite news, newspaper=Portland Business Journal, location=

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, title=Apogee sells radio station, url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1998/04/13/daily1.html, date=April 13, 1998, accessdate=April 10, 2014 {{cite news, newspaper=

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...

, location=

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, title=Beasley renegotiates deal, url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2000/dec/18/beasley-renegotiates-deal/, date=December 18, 2000, accessdate=April 10, 2014 {{cite news, newspaper= Business Wire, location=

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, title=Beasley Broadcast Group Renegotiates Acquisition of Six Radio Stations From Centennial Broadcasting; Revised Purchase Consideration Totals $113.5 Million., url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Beasley+Broadcast+Group+Renegotiates+Acquisition+of+Six+Radio...-a068013110, date=December 13, 2000, accessdate=April 10, 2014 {{cite web, url=http://rbr.com/new-owner-coming-to-roanoke-alternative-outlet/, title=New owner coming to Roanoke alternative outlet, date=February 12, 2011, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=Streamline RBR, Inc. {{cite web, url=http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/32916/court-rules-against-wlni-flip-to-talk, title=Court Rules Against

BLT A BLT is a type of sandwich, named for the initials of its primary ingredients, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. It can be made with varying recipes according to personal preference. Simple variants include using different types of lettuce, toastin ...

Flip To Talk, date=November 19, 2007, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=All Access Music Group {{cite court, litigants=Centennial Broadcasting, LLC v. Gary E. Burns and 3 Daughters Media, Inc., court=

, date=November 16, 2007, url=http://www.vawd.uscourts.gov/OPINIONS/MOON/6-06-CV-6_CENTENNIAL_PERMANENT_INJUNCTION.PDF, accessdate=April 10, 2014 {{cite court, litigants=Centennial Broadcasting, LLC v. Gary E. Burns; 3 Daughters Media, Incorporated, court= United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, date=August 4, 2006, url=http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Unpublished/062098.U.pdf, accessdate=April 10, 2014 {{cite web, url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/deals/106616, title=Deals - Broadcasting & Cable, date=April 17, 2005, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=NewBay Media, LLC {{cite web, url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101050842&formid=314&fac_num=15188, title=Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License, date=April 4, 2005, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=

, audio division {{cite web, url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101050842&qnum=5040©num=1&exhcnum=1, title=Asset Purchase Agreement, date=March 31, 2005, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=

, audio division {{cite news, newspaper= Winchester Star, location=

, title=SOLD! $26M for WINC's corporate parent, url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/virginia/winchester/winchester-star/2007/05-17/, date=May 17, 2007, accessdate=December 3, 2013, last=Mangino, first=Stephanie M., pages=A1, A8 {{cite news, newspaper=Radio Business Report, location=

Lake Ridge, Virginia Lake Ridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, Prince William County, Virginia, United States. It is an annex of Woodbridge, Virginia. The population was 41,058 at the 2010 census, an increase of 35% from 2000. H ...

, title=RBR's Daily Morning Epaper – Transactions, url=http://www.rbr.com/epaper/issue106-07-sea.html, date=May 31, 2007, accessdate=December 3, 2013, last=Carnegie, first=Jim {{cite news, newspaper=Albuquerque Business First, location=

, title=Radio veteran with NM ties buys local Univision stations, url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2008/03/17/story4.html, date=March 16, 2008, accessdate=April 10, 2014, last=Kamerick, first=Megan {{cite web, url=http://imgsrv.mykiss973.com/image/kkss2/UserFiles/File/kkss2eeo.doc, title=Annual EEO Public File Report, date=May 31, 2013, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=

, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702131059/http://imgsrv.mykiss973.com/image/kkss2/UserFiles/File/kkss2eeo.doc#, archive-date=2013-07-02, url-status=dead {{cite web, url=http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/109575/centennial-sells-virginia-fm-simulcast, title=Centennial Sells Virginia FM Simulcast, date=August 27, 2012, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=All Access Music Group {{cite web, url=http://rbr.com/robinson-expands-in-roanoke-lynchburg-market/, title=Robinson expands in Roanoke-Lynchburg market, date=August 27, 2012, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=Streamline RBR, Inc. {{cite web, url=http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/56263/translator-report-44/, title=Translator Report 4/4, date=April 4, 2012, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=RadioBB Networks, last=Venta, first=Lance {{cite web, url=http://rbr.com/wheeler-applies-to-expand-western-virginia-radio-cluster/, title=Wheeler applies to expand western Virginia radio cluster, date=January 12, 2013, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=Streamline RBR, Inc. {{cite web, url=http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/121589/fcc-rejects-3-daughters-media-challenge-to-wlni-de, title=FCC Rejects 3 Daughters Media Challenge To WLNI Deal, date=August 22, 2013, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=All Access Music Group {{cite web, url=http://www.fcc.gov/document/media-bureau-grants-wlni-fm-lynchburg-va-assignment-application, title=Media Bureau Grants WLNI (FM), Lynchburg, VA Assignment Application, date=August 22, 2013, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=

, media division {{cite web, url=http://www.espninva.com/contact/, title=ESPNinVA, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=Three Daughters Media {{cite web, url=http://www.vabonline.com/membership/members/member-details/?ID=80, title=Virginia Association of Broadcasters - Member Details, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=Virginia Association of Broadcasters {{cite web, url=http://www.vabonline.com/membership/members/member-details/?ID=106, title=Virginia Association of Broadcasters - Member Details, accessdate=April 10, 2014, work=Virginia Association of Broadcasters

External links

Centennial Broadcasting Online
Companies based in North Carolina Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Fredericksburg, Virginia Winchester, Virginia