Maine firm buying 17 Clear Channel stations

KENNEBUNKPORT – A new company headed by two veteran Maine broadcasters said Thursday it has agreed to buy all 17 Maine radio stations owned by national media giant Clear Channel Communications.

Blueberry Broadcasting, based in Kennebunkport, has signed a contract to buy the stations for $11 million, said its president, Louis Vitali, who previously ran the WBACH network of classical music stations in Maine.

The stations included in the deal are in the Bangor, Rockland and Augusta areas and have formats that range from talk and country to oldies and adult contemporary.

Vitali said on-again, off-again negotiations for the purchase were conducted for nearly two years.

“We had contacted Clear Channel even before they announced that they were going to be disposing of these stations and many more in their smaller markets,” he said.

Vitali said he and Bruce Biette, Blueberry Broadcasting’s chief operating officer, were attracted by stations that are well-branded, have excellent signals and have remained in the same format a long time.

“It’s in our own backyard,” Vitali said. “We know the markets very well.”

Biette had worked as a broadcaster in Augusta and Bangor, while Vitali had stations in Rockland.

A call to Clear Channel headquarters in San Antonio was not immediately returned.