Binnie Wins Bid for Concord Radio Station

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that actual number of stations that were purchased. The full press release from Binnie's company has been posted at the bottom of the original story.

Former U.S. Senate candidate Bill Binnie's company Carlisle Capital is the winning bidder of 17 New England radio stations, including Concord's WJYY, owned by Nassau Broadcasting Partners, according to radio-info.com. 

Binnie's bid of $12.5 million was the highest bid for the properties which are located in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. Binnie also owns WBIN-TV Channel 50 out of Derry and a lower power television station in Nashua.

If a bankruptcy judge approves, along with WJYY, Binnie's company will own Frank FM, WLNH, The Hawk, The Wolf, and other radio stations in the Upper Valley and Lakes Region.

Press release:

WBIN Media Company Announces Acquisition of 17 Radio Stations Throughout New England

Portsmouth, NH – WBIN Media Company has announced the acquisition of 17 radio stations from Nassau Broadcasting, creating one of the largest privately held radio and television media companies in New England.

“We will be # 1 in radio in the Concord, Lakes Region and Nashua markets as well as a strong #2 in Portland, Maine,” said Bill Binnie, President of WBIN Media Company.  “Our station lineup will include ‘Frank FM,’ ‘The Wolf’ and heritage stations like WJYY and WLNH,” continued Binnie.

“Combining our television and radio stations will give us a strong media presence throughout New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts and provide a great platform to deliver news and entertainment to listeners and viewers,” said Binnie.  “We will reach millions of viewers and listeners every day.”

WBIN was represented by Media Venture Partners.  “This is one of the single largest radio transactions in New England history, it was extremely complicated and challenging” said Elliot Evers, Managing Director of Media Venture Partners of San Francisco.

Vertical Capital Partners will acquire 13 radio stations from Nassau Broadcasting principally in the Vermont market as a part of the same transaction.

Stations acquired by WBIN Media Company include:

WJYY-FM 105.5 NH’s #1 Hit Music Station in Concord, NH
WNHW-FM 93.3 “The Wolf” in Belmont, NH
WEMJ-AM 1490 News/Talk/Sports in Laconia, NH
WLNH-FM 98.3 the Lakes’ Best Variety in Laconia, NH
WNNH-FM 99.1 Oldies/Henniker, NH
WFNQ-FM 106.3 “Frank-FM” in Nashua, NH
WXLF-FM 95.3 “The Wolf” in Hartford, VT
WZLF-FM 107.1 “The Wolf” in Bellows Falls, VT
WFNK-FM 107.5 “Frank-FM” in Lewiston, ME
WTHT-FM 99.9 “The Wolf” in Auburn, ME
WHXR-FM 106.3 “The Bone” in Scarborough, ME
WBQQ-FM 99.3 “The Wolf” in Kennebunk, ME
WBYA-FM 105.5 “Frank-FM” in Islesboro, ME
WLAM-AM 1470 Oldies/News/Talk in Lewiston, ME
WLVP-AM 870 Oldies/News/Talk in Gorham, ME


About WBIN-TV/WBIN Media Company
WBIN-TV is the flagship station for WBIN Media Company and offers programming to an audience that encompasses 2.4 million households representing nearly 6 million viewers both over the air and through all major cable systems throughout New Hampshire and the Boston DMA.  WBIN Media Company portfolio includes 5 broadcast television stations, 17 radio stations with a total service area of nearly 7.5 million viewers and listeners in over 650 towns in New England.