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American radio broadcasting company
Connoisseur Media LLC
is an American media company. It is based in
Westport, Connecticut
and led by Jeff Warshaw. As of May 2024, Connoisseur operates 13 radio stations and digital assets in four
U.S
. markets: Frederick, MD, Nassau-Suffolk, NY, New Haven, CT and Metro Fairfield County, CT:
[1]
History
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Founder and
CEO
, Jeff Warshaw built his first station while still a student at the
Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania
. In 1993, Warshaw founded Connoisseur Communications Partners LP, which he later sold to
Cumulus Broadcasting
in 2000 for $258 million.
[
citation needed
]
[2]
In 2004, he and CFO Mike Driscoll formed Connoisseur Media which operates 13 radio stations and various digital markets. The first company's acquisition involved several stations in
Bloomington, Illinois
with capital from hedge fund
Farallon Capital
, along with its founders. Through a combination of start-ups, move-ins, and acquisitions, Connoisseur Media expanded. It maintains a significant presence in the New York City media market.
It was announced in July 2015 that Petrus Holding Company LP had invested in Connoisseur Media.
[3]
On March 27, 2019, Connoisseur Media announced that it would acquire
WFRE
and sister station
WFMD
from the
Aloha Station Trust
in exchange for transferring its
Erie, Pennsylvania
cluster to
iHeartMedia
.
[4]
[5]
The sale closed on May 21, 2019.
[6]
On April 14, 2022, Connoisseur Media made an offer to purchase the assets of Atlanta, GA based Cumulus Media (Symbol: CMLS) including its debt. Cumulus has a national footprint as well as the owners of Westwood One, a satellite driven company which provides programming to non-affiliated entities. The stock price of CMLS popped 39% at the announcement.
Company portfolio
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Radio
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Bay Shore, New York
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Frederick, Maryland
- WFMD
(Free Talk 930 WFMD)
- WFRE
(Free Country 99.9 WFRE)
Hempstead, New York
New Haven, Connecticut
Patchogue, New York
Smithtown, New York
Southport, Connecticut
Westport, Connecticut
References
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External links
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Radio Stations
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Long Island, New York
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Frederick, Maryland
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