John King Reunites With Larry Wilson

7-2-14

Alpha Media has hired John King to run the company's Dayton market as Senior VP/Market Manager. At one point in his past, King was a Regional President for Wilson's first company, Citadel Broadcasting. Alpha Media Chairman Larry Wilson said, ?We?ve known John King for many years as a great partner in the old Citadel. We couldn?t be happier having him join us working with great people doing great radio in Dayton.? King said, "Live and local, Larry Wilson, Bob Proffitt, and Scott Mahalick?you can?t say no to these guys and this company. I?m thrilled to be working with this team again."

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Wilson Merges Two Companies Into One

4-17-14

As Larry Wilson continues to purchase companies he has merged his two companies into one. L & L (Live and Local) and Alpha Broadcasting have become called Alpha Media. The company will continue to operate out of Portland, OR. Wilson said, "The merger will be the culmination of a long-term plan to ultimately combine the two companies and will allow us to streamline our oversight of all stations to take advantage of the many synergies." 

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Larry Wilson Makes His Move

As we reported early on Friday, former Citadel CEO Larry Wilson has purchased Triad Broadcasting for $21 million. Triad has 32 stations in five markets; Peoria, Fargo, Biloxi, Hilton Head, and Bluefield. Radio Ink has also learned that this deal is approximately 5X cash flow and could be even less (with receivables).

This week bankers at Radio Ink's Forecast 2013 in New York City said there would not be a lot of M&A over the next 5 years and deals that do take place should come in at 6-7X cash flow. This low multiple for Triad's 32 stations seemed to just about shock brokers and group heads who were told. All they could assume was Triad's investors Bank of America and Shamrock Capital wanted out.

Wilson will operate this group of stations separately from Alpha Broadcasting, calling the new group L&L Radio, for "Live and Local." Bob Fuller, with whom Wilson has worked closely for a long time, will be part of the new company. Bob Proffitt, Donna Heffner, and Scott Mahalick will also join the L&L team. He owns six stations under the Alpha name in Portland, Oregon.

In the official press release Wilson said ?We are very excited about the acquisition of the radio assets of Triad.  After visiting each market and meeting with the great people David has assembled, we are more energized than ever to grow dominant clusters, assemble world-class talent and develop even more live and local programming to serve the wonderful communities that are home to these radio stations.? 

Also in the release, Triad founder and CEO, David Benjamin, said ?We could not be more proud of our stations and the great people who staff them. Our quality personnel, service to our communities, and financial track record have truly set a standard for small and mid-market radio. We are absolutely delighted to turn these properties over to L&L CEO Larry Wilson and his team, with whom we are like-minded regarding both the critical importance of professional local staffing and the necessity of excellence in local programming. We wish Larry every success as he builds on this Triad foundation.?  

Piper Jaffrey assisted L&L in the transaction. Waller Capital advised Triad.
The deal is pending FCC approval with an anticipated closing of the spring of 2013. 

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BE Appoints Jeff Wilson Western Region SM

In his new role, Wilson serves BE customers in the western U.S. as the representative of the company?s RF and studio lines, which include AudioVAULT and The Radio Experience (TRE) studio brands as well as BE?s AM, FM and HD Radio,  transmitter lines. Wilson brings to his new role more than 15 years of broadcast equipment experience as BE?s service manager for digital products as well as a number of other duties directly impacting customer service and solutions.

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Wilson Phillips Gets New Boost from 'Bridesmaids' Movie

by Cortney Harding  |   May 22, 2011 8:00 EDT

Wilson Phillips' "Hold On" is reaching a new audience thanks to the film "Bridesmaids," 21 years after the song hit No. 1. It's one of the key tracks in the movie, whose 13-song Relativity Music Group soundtrack also boasts Blondie's "Rip Her to Shreds," a cover of Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun" by Nouvelle Vague and songs by Hole and Smokey Robinson.

Even though Carnie Wilson has a small part in the Judd Apatow-produced film -- which opened May 13 and took in $26.2 million on its first weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com -- a 20-minute conversation with her makes it clear she could've played a much bigger role. Effusive and hysterically funny, Wilson wraps up the call by saying that she's taking her mother and some friends to see "Bridesmaids" again. Only this time, she's wearing a pantyliner. "I peed my pants laughing so hard the first time I saw it," she says. "So this time I'm totally prepared."

Video: Wilson Phillips, "Hold On"

Wilson, along with Chynna Phillips and sister Wendy Wilson, should also be prepared to step back into the spotlight. "Hold On" rises 620%, with sales increasing from 1,000 to 6,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. While the band's latest record, a Christmas album released last year by Sony Masterworks, sold minimally last week, the trio's catalog has shifted 4.2 million units since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

Winston Simone, who co-manages the group, says he arrived at work on May 18 to find two messages from TV showrunners asking about the group's availability -- and that the phone has been ringing nonstop. Wilson Phillips charted three No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 in the early '90s. Having released its last studio album, "California," in 2004, the act has played select dates as a trio while simultaneously pursuing acting careers, writing books and raising children.

A fan of such earlier Apatow-produced comedies as "Knocked Up" and "Superbad," Carnie says the group's publicist Lizzie Grubman "was the one who made 'Bridesmaids' happen. I'm more of a music business chick than a movie business chick, though, so actually shooting the scene was a new experience for me."

Carnie says the scene where she and her bandmates play at the wedding of Maya Rudolph's character was an all-day affair. "We were there until two in the morning, but it was amazing," she says. "We spent time with Kristen Wiig, who is hysterical and so talented. We were just laughing the entire time."

Although the film has reignited fond memories for the act's longtime fans and introduced the trio to a whole new generation, Carnie says a Wilson Phillips blitz isn't likely. "It takes a lot of money to capitalize on something," she says with a laugh. "We are doing select dates around the country. We have four in June [including Mount Pleasant, Mich.], one in July, a few in August and then some in December. We've also had to turn down gigs because they've been one-offs, and it doesn't make sense financially to do them."

She adds that she has no desire to tackle the arena circuit, either. "We've been touring quietly for the past two years, and I'm really happy with the venues that we are playing, like performing arts centers and the occasional casino," she says.

But fans will have a new album to look forward to: a collection of covers featuring tracks by the Mamas & the Papas and the Beach Boys, which Carnie says will likely be released next January on Sony Masterworks. She adds that the group is in the early stages of talking to a network about a reality show that would follow the trio through the recording and touring process. For now, Carnie says she's just excited to be part of "Bridesmaids" and that she loves the film's message. "It's all about the evolution of female friendships," she says. "And that's something I can definitely relate to."

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