Kreeger, Kelly Have "Letter Of Intent" To Buy Air America Radio

"Requires a Radio Professional"

ALL ACCESS was the first to report FRIDAY (NET NEWS 12/15) that AIR AMERICA RADIO has a letter of intent from a potential buyer, and the NEW YORK TIMES has attached names to the letter: former network CEO DOUG KREEGER and former Chairman TERENCE F. KELLY. Neither KREEGER nor KELLY would tell the TIMES when a deal might be done ("any number of things can happen," KREEGER told the paper) and KELLY said another strategic media partner is involved, although he would not name that party.

The article also details the network's troubled history, including PRODUCT FIRST President STU KRANE's contention that the network "really put this together without broadcasters" and original investor SHELDON DROBNY's claim that "what (the network) did for $45 million they could have done for $10 million." But KELLY counters that the network "clearly had an impact on the 2006 elections... I think with a relatively small amount of money, we have succeeded wildly." KREEGER, touting the "absolute untapped potential for 24/7 online streaming that has never been absolutely monetized," acknowledges that "I have come to understand very clearly that the radio component of this requires a radio professional."

Read the TIMES report by clicking here.

And RADIO EQUALIZER blogger BRIAN MALONEY is reporting that the "media partner" left unnamed by KREEGER and KELLY is the FRENCH family, the owners of "REGIONAL NEWS NETWORK," which airs on WRNN-TV/KINGSTON, NY and schedules mostly infomercials plus "RICHARD FRENCH LIVE," hosted by the owner, a former DEMOCRATIC PARTY staffer in WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, and a news show oriented towards NEW YORK CITY.

« see more Net News