N.J. investors
buying Hawaii
radio group

Stations being sold are
KQMQ AM and FM,
KPOI FM and KKHN FM

Star-Bulletin staff

New Wave Broadcasting, a limited partnership based in Saddle River, N.J., is buying Caribou Broadcasting Hawaii which operates four local radio stations.

The Hawaii stations are KQMQ AM and FM, KPOI FM and KKHN FM (Double K Country). No sale price was disclosed.

The sale is pending review by the Federal Communications Commission which is expected to be completed by February or March, said Kirk Warshaw, New Wave's chief financial officer.

"We've been helping Caribou manage the stations since August," Warshaw said yesterday.

New Wave Broadcasting owns three radio stations in El Paso, Texas, six stations in Monterey, Calif., and sold other stations in New Jersey and Sarasota, Fla. in recent years.

Warshaw said changes already have been made in Hawaii include adding country music at KKHN and a new morning show at KPOI.

New Wave includes five mainland partners headed by Jon Ferrari, chairman; Charles Cohn, president and chief operating officer; and Warshaw.

Mark Haworth and Alan Yamamoto will share the sales manager duties in Hawaii for New Wave. Haworth also is board president for the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters.

Warshaw said the group came to Hawaii knowing the economy was down but, nevertheless, excited about the prospects.

The partnership's move into the Hawaii market follows a wave of consolidation in both the national and local radio business after the FCC loosened rules for the numbers of stations one owner can control. Last year, the owner of seven local stations, including KSSK, was sold to Austin, Texas-based Capstar Broadcasting Corp., which owns about 300 stations nationwide.