Originally posted Thursday, February 14, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Cumulus' surprise announced sale of 106.7/WYAY-FM to Christian outfit Education Media Foundation yesterday leaves the company's deal with the Atlanta Braves up in the air.
680/93.7 The Fan has a primary deal to air Atlanta Braves broadcasts and that remains in place, according to David Dickey, who runs that station as part of Dickey Broadcasting. Atlanta-based Cumulus Media has a separate deal to also air the games on Talk 106.7, which is a 77,000-watt signal, much stronger than 93.7 on the FM side.
Cumulus could move Braves games back to Rock 100.5, the likeliest replacement candidate. But 100.5 isn’t as strong a signal as 106.7.
An Atlanta Braves spokeswoman and Cumulus Media Atlanta market manager Sean Shannon said a revised deal will be forthcoming in the new few weeks.
Talk 106.7 will exist for the time being though for how long is unclear. That also means whether the station will air any Braves games at all this spring is unknown.
The radio sale will take about three months to close as the two parties await the Federal Communications Commission to clear it. There is no expected regulatory hurdles.
"I'm upset, I'm angry, I'm freaked out," afternoon host Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson said on air Thursday. "But I have nothing against Cumulus... We feel bad for what's happened. Business is business."
He said Cumulus management is treating the staff professionally.
The Kimmer, who said he didn’t get much sleep last night, said he wants to keep his horse Jack the Good Boy so he has his Harley’s up for sale to generate some extra cash.
He has been on Atlanta radio for much of the past 45 years and hopes to stick around but isn’t sure if that will come to pass. Talk 106.7 gave the Kimmer a career resurrection five years ago after he was off air for several years.
Shannon Burke, who airs from 9 to noon and came to the station in 2016, this morning said he appreciates being able to even talk about it to his fans. As he noted, when DJs and talk show hosts lose their job, they seldom get to say anything on air.
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