SYRACUSE -- There's no more Buckley Radio in Central New York. The Connecticut-based company's sale of its three-station Syracuse cluster to Leatherstocking Media Group has officially closed.
CNYRadio.com first told you about the sale back in August, when the two sides first announced their plans for the sale. The deal, later reported to be worth $2.1 million, includes CNY Talk Radio 1390 (WFBL), Classic Hits 92.1 (WSEN-FM) and Oldies 1050 (WSEN[AM]).
Word of the closing was reported Friday by AllAccess.com, but Leatherstocking has already made its mark on the cluster, thanks to an LMA which effectively turned the keys over to the new owner back on September 1st. In less than six weeks, the new ownership moved the "Oldies 1390" format from WFBL over to WSEN(AM) 1050, making room for the debut of "CNY Talk Radio."
It won't be much longer until the new talk format's impact on local listenership habits will be known; the fall Arbitron ratings survey period ends on Wednesday. We predict those results will be limited to insiders, however, as Arbitron hasn't released Syracuse's P12+ numbers to the public since Spring 2008.