By ED SALVAS
The owner of two area radio stations has pulled the plug and taken the stations off the air, providing more evidence that radio – especially on the AM Band – is losing the battle to other sources of music, news, sports and talk programs.
1310 AM and 1160 AM, owned by Townsquare Media, have been off the air since early March, but their FCC licenses are still valid as Townsquare decides what to do with them – find a buyer for the stations or return the license. to the FCC.
For decades 1310 was WJLK, ,known as “The Radio Voice of the Asbury Park Press,” and was owned by the newspaper. 1160 signed on as WHLW and later became WOBM and is licensed to Lakewood.
Townsquare Media also owns “WJLK-FM, “94.3 The Point.” and several other stations in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, as well as New Jersey 101.5 FM It owns more than 300 stations around the country and is heavily invested in digital products with Townsquare Ignite, a digital advertising agency.
In a statement to the publication Inside Radio, Townsquare COO Errik Hellum explained the WJLK/WOBM decisions.
“Both stations were never big performers, but over the past few years were losing money, with significant tower lease and utilities expenses. As a result, we would rather invest money in other areas of our business rather than losing it on these stations.”
Ed Salvas is a former Newsman for WJLK 1310.
