Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadcasting on July 1, 2014. At its formation, it owned 68 radio stations in 12 markets, along with two theatres (in Portland and San Antonio) and a

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based Information technology, digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and service ...

firm in Peoria, Illinois.

Alpha Broadcasting

Alpha Broadcasting was founded in 2009 in Portland, Oregon by Larry Wilson, arising from the sale of stations formerly a part of the CBS Radio Portland cluster with those of Rose City Radio. On April 17, 2014, L&L Broadcasting announced that it has agreed to merge with Alpha, while purchasing the stations of Main Line Broadcasting. The combined entity became known as Alpha Media.

L&L Broadcasting

The broadcasting group was sometimes referred to as Live and Local. L&L was formed in 2012 to buy all but two of the radio stations of Triad Broadcasting for $21 million; the deal, involving 32 stations in 5 radio markets, closed in May 2013, and transfer was finalized in June 2013. L&L immediately arranged for the 6 stations in the

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

market to be sold to Jim Ingstad. In August 2013, L&L arranged to buy, from YMF Media (

Yucaipa Companies The Yucaipa Companies, LLC is an American private equity firm founded in 1986 by Ronald Burkle. It specializes in a private equity and venture capital, with a focus on middle-market companies, growth capital, industry consolidation, leveraged ...

and Earvin "Magic" Johnson), the six stations formerly owned by Inner City Broadcasting in the

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

radio market. In September, 2013, L&L definitively agreed to purchase an additional 5 stations in Columbia, South Carolina from YMF Media. On April 17, 2014, L&L Broadcasting announced that it has agreed to merge with Alpha Broadcasting, while purchasing the stations of Main Line Broadcasting.

Post-merger changes

On October 10, 2014, Alpha Media announced that it will be purchasing the remaining stations owned by

Buckley Broadcasting Buckley Broadcasting (or Buckley Radio) was an American broadcasting company that previously held radio stations in the states of New York, Rhode Island, California and Connecticut. History Buckley Broadcasting Radio was founded in 1954 as Buck ...

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

and

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on Apri ...

. These were the last stations remaining to be divested by Buckley, which had begun to sell off its radio assets in 2008. The purchase of the Buckley stations was consummated on December 31, 2014, at a price of $5.8 million. On January 1, 2015, Alpha Media began an LMA on the Access.1 stations in Shreveport, Louisiana and Tyler/Longview, Texas. The purchase was consummated on April 14, 2015, at a price of $13.75 million. Effective February 1, 2017 Alpha transferred control of KFRO to a new owner, and returned operation of KCUL-FM, and KSYR to Access.1. Effective May 1, 2015, Alpha Media acquired four stations and a translator in the Fredericksburg, Virginia market from The Free Lance-Star, at a price of $8.1 million. On August 17, 2015, Alpha Media announced it was purchasing

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, California radio stations KDES-FM and KPSI-FM ("Mix 100.5"). While the purchase price was not originally announced, the transaction was consummated on December 29, 2015 at a price of $3 million. On February 25, 2016, Alpha Media acquired Digity, LLC for $264 million, adding 116 stations in 26 markets to its portfolio for a total of 251. In September 2017, Alpha Media announced that it would sell its clusters in Savannah, Kinston/New Bern/Jacksonville, and Myrtle Beach, to Dick Broadcasting Corporation for $19.5 million. Dick assumed control of the stations under local marketing agreements shortly afterward. However, the sale of the Savannah, Georgia stations will not be filed with the FCC until August 2019, with Dick operating them under an LMA for the time being. The sale, at a price of $5,000,000, was consummated on December 1, 2022. On January 24, 2021, Alpha Media filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection, blaming several factors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the decision. The company had plans to shed most of its debt and restructure agreements with its lenders. Starting in May 2024, Alpha Media began laying off on-air personalities in several of its markets, starting with a round of cuts at stations in Farmington/Festus and Moberly, Missouri. Later in the month, stations in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota were also targeted for layoffs of on-air personnel. A social media post by a former on-air personality at one of the affected stations in Brookings, South Dakota, stated that the Alpha Media stations where the former personalities were employed "would be switching from local programming to national syndication." Another described this as "destroying anything that is unique and of value for local listeners and instead providing things they can already get from many other sources." In May 2025,

Connoisseur Media Connoisseur Media LLC is an American media company. It is based in Westport, Connecticut and led by Jeff Warshaw. As of May 2024, Connoisseur operates 13 radio stations and digital assets in four U.S. markets: Frederick, MD, Nassau-Suffolk, NY, Ne ...

announced its intent to acquire Alpha Media.

Theatres

Alpha Media owns the Skype Live Studio (formerly known as The Bing Lounge) in Portland and The Alamo Lounge in San Antonio, Texas.

Station list

Holdings

Divestments

References

External links

* {{Alpha Media Mass media companies established in 2014 2014 establishments in Oregon Companies based in Portland, Oregon Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Alpha Media radio stations Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021