Judge Approves Air America Radio Sale

AP via SFGate ^ | 2/16/7 | VINNEE TONG

[SmithL]

New York -- A federal bankruptcy judge approved on Friday the sale of the liberal talk radio network Air America Radio for $4.25 million to Stephen L. Green, founder of a New York real estate firm.

The approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain essentially transfers all the assets of Piquant LLC, parent company of the New York-based Air America, to a group including new and current investors.

It gives a majority stake to Green Family Media LLC, an entity controlled by Green, and a minority stake to Democracy Allies LLC. That group includes RealNetworks Inc. Chief Executive Robert Glaser and two former Air America board members.

Air America was launched in 2004 and has lost money ever since.

[RexBeach]

What assets has the network got? Some studios, perhaps?

[SmithL]

What assets has the network got?

Al Franken thought he was a real asset, but he was only half-right.

[Squawk 8888]

60% right, actually :-p

[Always Right]

What assets has the network got?

They have a blank check for free publicity by the MSM whenever they want. Of course $100 million of free publicity so far has bought them a network that is bankrupt and probably not even worth the $4 million this idiot paid.

[tina07]

Is RealPlayer part of RealNewtorks?

[Holicheese]

The chair that Gernine Gawdawfulhole sat on? They had to remove the arm rests for obvious reasons.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I think the correct term is studio. Singular. I don't think they own even one station, just allot of leases and contracts for hosts only a hanful of stations would want.

I still think it's funny that they just lost their one major "star", Al Franken. Now it's said that there's a battle between Ed Schultz and Thom Hartman as to who gets Franken's former time slot.

Randi Rhodes started the rumor that AAR may have some new affiliates next week. I don't see how.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Is RealPlayer part of RealNewtorks?

Yes it is.

[texson66]

[art_rocks]

When can we start shorting the stock?

[Elsie]

(It when over your head "half-ass"et!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Has anyone figured out Green's game plan with AAR beyond getting them legally free from most of their liabilities without paying them off? They've tried most business models I can think of and some that were just plain stupid. The walk in and take several hundred stations like Rush did without working for it and the NPR type fund drives are just two that come to mind. They've also ran through just about every leftist radio host and flaming lib there is with no success.

I don't have a bit sympathy for any AAR creditors, past and future. Once again to any normal radio people who end up working for them I say cash your checks ASAP.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Notice how the media has been silent on this entire subject for days. If AAR was in rosy shape they'd be shouting it from the rooftops, but we hear nothing.

Something always smelled about this "buyout", even more than them just stiffing their creditors. This could be it;

WORTH NOTHING?

Media May Have Misinterpreted Air America Bailout Deal
http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2007/02/air-america-bankruptcy-sale-stephen-l.html

Looks like it rings true to me.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Only $4 1/4 million?

Heeheeheehee...

[TChris]

...Democracy Allies LLC. That group includes RealNetworks Inc.

I knew I hated Real Networks for a good reason!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Just a post to update all about the latest Air America Radio news. There isn't any and hasn't been for days.

One would think a new regime would hit the ground running with an ambitious plan and plenty of hoopla. A press extravaganza to oversell potential investors and stations that this is an opportunity that knocks down the door, jumps up and down, screams, whistles, and gets the dog pregnant. Instead we get silence. Think it could all be just a scam? Nah. /sarcasm

They still haven't updated their website in months as half the stations they still list are gone.

I still wonder what is going to happen to those stations who took the Franken/Rhodes package deal now that he's gone. For those who don't know, at the start AAR had a policy that stations take all of their shows or none. This only got them a dozen affiliates. New affiliates only wanted their most marketable show, Franken's. That should be an indicator of the sad state of affairs that was the whole mess that is AAR. If new stations wanted Franken they had to take Randi Rhodes show packaged with it.

I also wonder about their cash burn since the bankruptcy filing. It's been estimated at a million a month.

[MadIvan]

I wish one of our people would buy it and turn it into a conservative network.

One could then identify the few liberals who listened to it by counting the number of people who clawed their own eyeballs out.

Regards, Ivan

[Toskrin]

Well, there certainly weren't any anti-trust issues. Hehe.