Connoisseur Media LLC is an American media company. It is based in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

and led by Jeff Warshaw. Connoisseur operates radio stations and digital assets in markets across the

U.S The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. cities of Billings, Fredrick, Maryland; Bay Shore, Hempstead, Smithtown, Patchogue, New York; and Bridgeport, New Haven, Southport and Westport, Connecticut.

History

Founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, 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 Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

in 2000 for $258 million. 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 Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomingto ...

with capital from hedge fund

Farallon Capital Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. is an American multi-strategy hedge fund headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded by Tom Steyer in 1986, the firm employs approximately 230 professionals in eight countries around the world. Farall ...

, 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. On March 27, 2019, Connoisseur Media announced that it would acquire

WFRE WFRE (99.9 FM) is a radio station located in Frederick, Maryland, in the United States. It plays Country music and is owned by Connoisseur Media along with its sister station 930 WFMD. Despite the station being located approximately 45 mil ...

and sister station

WFMD WFMD (930 AM) is a news/talk/sports-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Frederick, Maryland, serving the Frederick/ Hagerstown area. WFMD is owned and operated by Connoisseur Media. Sale WFMD, along with its sister station WFRE, were ...

from the

Aloha Station Trust Aloha Station Trust, LLC was a privately owned trust company that owned radio and television stations previously owned by Clear Channel Communications, forerunner of the modern iHeartMedia. After Clear Channel was acquired by private equity inter ...

in exchange for transferring its

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

cluster to

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

. The sale closed on May 21, 2019. 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

Radio

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

WBZO WBZO (103.1 FM) is a rock-leaning classic hits radio station owned by Connoisseur Media and licensed to Bay Shore, New York. The station's studios are located at Airport Plaza in Farmingdale, New York, and its transmitter is located on Freeman Av ...

(103.1 Max FM)

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequo ...

* WEZN-FM (Star 99.9) * WICC (WICC600)

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

(Free Talk 930 WFMD) *

(Free Country 99.9 WFRE)

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, o ...

WHLI WHLI (1100 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hempstead, New York, and serving Long Island. It is owned by Connoisseur Media and has an oldies radio format made up of hits from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. The station's studios a ...

(1100 WHLI) *

WKJY WKJY (98.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Hempstead, New York, and serving Nassau County, New York. It broadcasts an adult contemporary music format and is owned by Connoisseur Media. WKJY's studios and offices are located at Airport Plaza ...

(K98.3)

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

WPLR WPLR-FM (99.1 MHz, also known as "99.1 PLR" or Connecticut's #1 Rock Station). licensed to New Haven, Connecticut, is a classic rock station owned by Connoisseur Media as of May 10, 2013. The station's playlist includes Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppe ...

(99.1 PLR) *

WYBC-FM WYBC-FM (94.3 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary radio station, licensed to New Haven, Connecticut. The station's studios are located on the campus of Yale University. The station is owned by Yale Broadcasting Company and operated through a lo ...

(94.3 WYBC)

Patchogue, New York Patchogue (, ) is a village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 11,798 at the time of the 2010 census. Patchogue is part of the town of Brookhaven, on the south shore of Long Island, adjoining Great South Bay. It is officially known ...

WALK-FM WALK-FM (97.5 FM) is a hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to Patchogue, New York, and serving Long Island. The station is owned by Connoisseur Media, with studios and offices located at Airport Plaza in Farmingdale, New York and its t ...

(WALK 97.5)

Smithtown, New York Smithtown is a town in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. The population was 116,296 at the 2020 Census. The census-designated place (CDP) of Smithtown lies within the town ...

WWSK WWSK (94.3 FM) is a mainstream rock formatted radio station, licensed to Smithtown, New York and owned by Connoisseur Media. The station's studios are located at Airport Plaza in Farmingdale, New York and its transmitter is located in Brentwood ...

(The Shark 94.3)

Southport, Connecticut Southport is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Fairfield, Connecticut. It is located along Long Island Sound between Mill River and Sasco Brook, where it borders Westport. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,710. Settle ...

* WFOX (95.9 The Fox)

* WEBE (WEBE108)

References

External links

* https://connoisseurmedia.com/ {{Connoisseur Media Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Companies based in Westport, Connecticut Connoisseur Media radio stations