Woodward Communications Expands Springfield Footprint

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, April 2, 2025 | 2:48pm CT

Woodward Communications

Woodward Communications Inc. (WCI), has announced its acquisition of four stations -- WNNS-FM, WQLZ-FM, WMAY-FM, and WMAY-AM -- from Mid-West Family. This marks WCI's continued expansion in the Springfield, IL, market following the acquisition of four other local stations from Neuhoff Media last October.

Kevin O'Dea, Market Manager for Woodward's Springfield operations, commented, "All of us at Woodward Community Media look forward to the addition of the Midwest Family Stations to our lineup here in Springfield. These four stations along with our current lineup including Channell450.com and our Digital Services will allow us to enhance our local commitment to our listeners, advertising partners, and the Springfield and Central Illinois Community."

To comply with FCC ownership regulations, WCI has divested WCVS-FM to Educational Media Foundation. Further adjustments include the divestiture of two Bloomington, IL, stations -- WIHN and WWHX -- and a Local Marketing Agreement (LMA) with Great Plains Media for the operation of WBBE.

Tom Woodward, CEO and President of WCI, highlighted the strategic benefits of the acquisitions and integrations. "We look forward to integrating Mid-West's solid brands into our Springfield operations, and, importantly, welcoming the talented and dedicated Mid-West team to be part of our employee-owned company. Our plan is to co-locate all the stations and related operations into Mid-West Family's current office and studios, which we believe will create synergies that will benefit our employee owners, our customers, and the community," Woodward stated.

The acquisition and subsequent divestitures were advised by Greg Guy of Tideline Partners for WCI, and Bob Heymann Jr., Managing Director of Media Services Group - Chicago, advised Mid-West Family.