Good Karma Brands has won the competitive battle to acquire E.W. Scripps’ Milwaukee brands, News/Talk WTMJ (620 AM and 103.3 FM) and Country WKTI (94.5 FM). The Milwaukee based company has agreed to purchase both brands for the sum of $16 million dollars.
Scripps had previously announced intentions to sell their radio group. That process started last month when the company unloaded some of their brands in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Good Karma Brands’ focus on Milwaukee makes the company an ideal home for these important local radio stations,” said Scripps President/CEO Adam Symon. “The company’s expertise in connecting audiences and advertisers, particularly with sports marketing, means these stations will be well positioned for the future.”
One of the crown jewels of Scripps’ properties is WTMJ which serves as the flagship station for the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Milwaukee Bucks. By adding the radio station to its portfolio, Good Karma opens up numerous cross promotional opportunities across their local sports stations, 540 ESPN in Milwaukee, and 100.5 ESPN in Madison. The company also owns another news talk (1430 WBEV-AM) and country music station (95.3 WXRO-FM).
“We’re thrilled to welcome WTMJ and WKTI to the GKB family,” said Craig Karmazin, Good Karma Brands founder and chief executive officer. “The heritage, prestige, and team at the stations, in addition to their incredible sports partnerships, fit our commitment to provide best-in class opportunities for our teammates, content for our fans, and solutions for our marketing partners.”
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
Absolutely shocking that WTMJ-AM and WKTI-FM was purchased by Craig Karmazin, whose ownership of Wisconsin-based stations is limited to sports talk radio. ESPN540-Milwaukee has a terrible signal. Their tower is in tiny Jackson, Wisconsin which is no more than 10 miles from me. I can’t receive the station until after sunset. I don’t know how Karmazin is making money off of his stations he’s owned in the past. Add the fact he’s a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and it’s interesting that he has the capital to purchase WTMJ Radio, with a “reach” that is #1 in the state of Wisconsin. Wonder if his multimillionaire father, Mel, isn’t helping him out. It will be interesting to see what changes happen beginning in 2019 at WTMJ. Will he continue the far right-wing talk programming that has been a staple of the station since the early 1990’s? I once wrote to you about the possibility of the Bucks broadcasts being moved to 105.7TheFan. That possibility ended with this purchase. I am really wondering where Karmazin got the money to purchase this iconic radio station in the history of Wisconsin broadcasting. And a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks? I don’t get it.