Curtis Media Group

Curtis Media Group is a privately held broadcast-media company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its business is centered on the ownership and operation of radio stations serving communities and metropolitan markets across North Carolina, together with radio networks, syndicated or distributed programming, traffic reporting, agricultural news, sports content, and internet properties. The company is associated with both AM and FM broadcasting and has a portfolio extending from the Raleigh-Durham area to eastern, central, and western North Carolina. The company was founded in 1968 by Don Curtis, initially as a cable television provider. It subsequently developed into a radio-focused broadcasting group. Its station portfolio includes properties in Raleigh, Goldsboro, Boone, Newland, Kinston, Greenville, Blowing Rock, Smithfield, Hillsborough, Burlington, Walnut Creek, Jefferson, Beech Mountain, Banner Elk, Newport, Grifton, New Bern, and other North Carolina communities. This geographic spread gives Curtis Media Group a local and regional footprint rather than a single-market identity. Among the group’s listed radio assets are WPTF, WQDR, WGBR, WFMC, WKIX, WXIT, WATA, WECR, WWMC, WSSG, and WNCT on the AM band, as well as WQDR-FM, WBBB, WPLW-FM, WKJO, WKXU, WKIX-FM, WYMY, WZKT, WMMY, WWMY, WZJS, WELS-FM, WMGV, WMJV, WSFL-FM, and WIKS on FM. The portfolio includes talk, news, country, sports, and other locally oriented formats, although the available reference material does not provide a complete format history for each station. In addition to individual stations, Curtis Media Group operates or is associated with several content and information services. The North Carolina News Network distributes broadcast news to affiliated stations throughout the state. The Triangle Traffic Network provides traffic reporting for the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area. The Southern Farm Network supplies agricultural programming and information for audiences in North Carolina and South Carolina, while the Triad Sports Network provides sports programming for the Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem market. Digital properties listed in connection with the group include the North Carolina News Network, StateGovernmentRadio.com, SFNtoday.com, and ACCsports.com. The company is described in the reference material as North Carolina’s largest privately held broadcast company. It has also claimed that WQDR-FM is the state’s highest-billing radio station, though no independently documented financial figures or time period are supplied here. Curtis Media Group’s broader positioning is therefore that of a locally rooted, multi-station media operator combining broadcast reach with specialized news, traffic, agriculture, sports, and digital services. Its history reflects the continuing diversification of regional broadcasting companies beyond individual station ownership into networked content distribution and online media.

Curtis Media Group began in 1968, when Don Curtis founded the company as a cable television provider. The business later evolved into a broadcast-media organization with radio as its central operating activity. Rather than concentrating solely on one flagship station, the company built a geographically distributed portfolio covering multiple North Carolina markets and a wide range of community sizes. The group’s station holdings include AM and FM licenses in the Raleigh area and in eastern, central, and western parts of the state. Listed locations include Raleigh, Goldsboro, Boone, Newland, Kinston, Greenville, Blowing Rock, Smithfield, Hillsborough, Burlington, Walnut Creek, Jefferson, Beech Mountain, Banner Elk, Newport, Grifton, and New Bern. This network of properties gives the company access to local audiences across much of North Carolina and supports programming tailored to individual communities and regional interests. Curtis Media Group also expanded beyond stand-alone station operations by developing and distributing specialized radio services. The North Carolina News Network functions as a statewide broadcast-news service with approximately 75 affiliate stations identified in the reference material. The Triangle Traffic Network supplies traffic reports for the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area. The Southern Farm Network focuses on agricultural information for North Carolina and South Carolina, and the Triad Sports Network provides sports programming in the Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem market. The company has also maintained an internet presence through digital properties associated with its broadcast and content businesses. These include the North Carolina News Network site, StateGovernmentRadio.com, SFNtoday.com, and ACCsports.com. The digital properties complement the company’s broadcast operations by extending access to news, government, agriculture, and sports material beyond traditional terrestrial radio. A notable later corporate event occurred in 2006, when Don Curtis formed Inner Banks Broadcasting in partnership with eastern North Carolina broadcaster Henry Hinton. That company acquired WMFR from CBS Radio and simulcast the talk programming of WSJS and WSML. The transaction illustrates Curtis’s participation in regional broadcast consolidation and its relationships with other North Carolina radio operators. The supplied reference material does not provide a complete account of the subsequent ownership status of every station or network. Curtis Media Group is described as the largest privately held broadcast company in North Carolina. The company has also claimed that WQDR-FM is the highest-billing radio station in the state, but the available material does not provide a financial figure, methodology, or date for that claim. Overall, the company’s history is defined by a transition from cable television into a broad regional radio platform, followed by expansion into networked news, traffic, agricultural, sports, and digital programming. It remains identified with North Carolina broadcasting and local-market media operations.

• 2006

  Inner Banks Broadcasting transaction

  [1]Curtis Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Don Curtis formed Inner Banks Broadcasting with eastern North Carolina broadcaster Henry Hinton; the partnership acquired WMFR from CBS Radio and simulcast talk programming from WSJS and WSML.

• 1968

  Company founded

  [1]Curtis Media Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Don Curtis founded the company as a cable television provider.

A privately held, North Carolina-focused broadcast-media group combining local radio-station ownership with statewide news, traffic, agricultural, sports, and digital content services.

• Radio broadcasting

  AM radio stations

  Curtis Media Group’s listed AM portfolio includes WPTF and WKIX in Raleigh; WGBR, WFMC, and WSSG in Goldsboro; WXIT in Blowing Rock; WATA in Boone; WECR in Newland; WWMC in Kinston; and WNCT in Greenville. These stations serve local and regional audiences through market-specific programming.

• Radio broadcasting

  FM radio stations

  The listed FM portfolio includes WQDR-FM, WBBB, and WKIX-FM in Raleigh; WPLW-FM in Goldsboro; WKJO in Smithfield; WKXU in Hillsborough; WYMY in Burlington; WZKT in Walnut Creek; WMMY in Jefferson; WWMY in Beech Mountain; WZJS in Banner Elk; WELS-FM in Kinston; WMGV in Newport; WMJV in Grifton; and WSFL-FM and WIKS in New Bern.

• Radio news network

  North Carolina News Network

  A broadcast-news service distributed to affiliated stations across North Carolina. The reference material identifies approximately 75 affiliates, making it one of the group’s principal statewide content services.

• Traffic reporting

  Triangle Traffic Network

  A traffic-reporting service serving the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area and supporting local radio programming with transportation information.

• Agricultural radio programming

  Southern Farm Network

  An agricultural information and programming service serving audiences in North Carolina and South Carolina, with content oriented toward farming and the broader agricultural sector.

• Sports radio programming

  Triad Sports Network

  A sports-programming service associated with the Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem market, extending the group’s content portfolio beyond general local radio.

• Digital media

  Digital properties

  Internet properties listed in connection with the group include the North Carolina News Network, StateGovernmentRadio.com, SFNtoday.com, and ACCsports.com. Their subject areas correspond to the company’s news, government, agriculture, and sports programming interests.

• 2006

  WMFR acquisition through Inner Banks BroadcastingM&A

  Background

  Don Curtis and Henry Hinton created Inner Banks Broadcasting as a partnership in the context of regional radio ownership and programming operations.

  Action taken

  The partnership acquired WMFR from CBS Radio and simulcast talk programming from WSJS and WSML.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded the partnership’s presence in North Carolina radio, although the supplied reference does not document the longer-term ownership outcome.

  Source

1. 1Curtis Media Groupen.wikipedia.org