Radio WCVR
Is Sold
To VOX

Randolph’s radio stations, after months of uncertainty, have been sold to a Burlington-based group.

On Friday, July 25, the two Randolph stations of WCVR were purchased by Vox Communications Group, it was confirmed this week by Ken Barlow, the chief operating officer and one of four partners in the corporation.

WCVR, at 1320 AM and 102.5 FM, had been part of the huge nationwide Clear Channel conglomerate. Clear Channel sold off dozens of radio stations last year, as part of the process of going private. The Randolph stations appeared to be sold at that time, but the deal fell through.

In July, however, Vox Communications purchased seven stations in all from Clear Channel, according to Barlow. They included stations Star 109, The Zone, and WVTK.

Barlow, who grew up in Springfield, noted his group used to own several stations in Barre and in the Upper Valley but sold them two years ago.

The Randolph station will continue with the same programming, the new owner said. "Listeners won’t even be able to tell the difference," he predicted. The FM station, with a classic rock format, will continue to simulcast "Champ Radio" programming. WCVR-AM offers talk radio.

One of Champ’s most popular programs, however, the morning show "Corm and the Coach," has been discontinued, as the announcers retired, he said. This happened before the purchase by Vox Communications, he noted.

Because the station is a simulcast of Champ radio, virtually no programming will be produced in the Randolph studios, Barlow confirmed. The staff, therefore, is quite small, consisting of Joel O’Brien, production director, and Lindsay Hannula, account executive, who has just come on board.

"I think we’ll keep going the way it is," Barlow commented. "It’s cost-effective for us."