Owner of Homer City radio station buys two more stations in Indiana County

All four of Indiana County's radio stations will soon be owned by one man -- and eventually housed under one roof.

WDAD-AM (1450) and WQMU-FM (92.5, U-92), of RMS Media Management Inc., will be sold to the St. Pierre Group Inc., owned by Indiana native Anthony Renda.

Renda owns Renda Radio and Renda Broadcasting, which operates radio stations in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region as well as in Oklahoma and Florida.

When the possibility of the purchase came up in conversation in the past, Renda always said, "That would be nice," if the price was right.

"We are a company that owns 21 radio stations, we have grown by buying radio stations," Renda said. "I have a lot of positive feelings about Indiana and Indiana County and where it's going. There are many great things that are happening."

As a native, Renda feels the area has "a lot of great heritage."

All four of the stations will eventually be moved into the former Gatti Pharmacy building at the corner of Philadelphia and Ninth streets in Indiana. Currently, WDAD and WQMU are located in Chevy Chase. Renda Radio's other two stations, WCCS-AM (1160) and WLCY-FM (106.3) are based in the Homer City area.

Mark Bertig, the general manager for WCCS and WLCY, said the sale is just in the initial stages. It won't be finalized until they receive final approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which officials expect to happen in late March.

Renda declined to specify the amount of the sale until the approval.

WCCS and WLCY will move into the pharmacy building early next year, Bertig said.

"We're going to progress with that as quickly as possible," Bertig said.

After the move, the four stations will have to then figure out how to communicate with the transmitter stations, which will be located in Center Township and Chevy Chase.

Other possible changes, such as programming formats, haven't been finalized, Bertig said. "We've made no decisions and haven't looked at it that hard," he said.

There will be no staff changes at WCCS and WLCY, which employs about 24 people. WDAD and WQMU staffs about 12 people, but owner/operator Dick Sherry was unsure if the new owner would make any changes.

He believes it will be "nothing major," Sherry said.

Since each station is a licensed FCC property, they cannot be consolidated, Sherry said.