Connoisseur Media

History

Founder and CEO, 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 in 2000 for $258 million. In 2004, he and CFO Mike Driscoll formed Connoisseur Media which operates 11 radio stations and various digital markets. The first company's acquisition involved several stations in Bloomington, Illinois with capital from hedge fund Farallon Capital, 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 and sister station WFMD from the Aloha Station Trust in exchange for transferring its Erie, Pennsylvania cluster to iHeartMedia. The sale closed on May 21, 2019.

On April 14, 2022, a group led by Warshaw made an unsolicited offer to acquire Cumulus Media for $1.2 billion including debt, and take the company private; the offer was rejected by Cumulus, who believed that it was undervalued.

On July 26, 2024, Connoisseur Media announced the sale of WFRE and WFMD to Local Daily Media for $4.275 million.

In May 2025, Connoisseur Media announced its intent to acquire Alpha Media for an undisclosed amount, and entered into a transitional local marketing agreement with all of its stations. The merger will expand the company to 218 stations. Warshaw stated that the acquisition would improve the company's scale, and "[give it] all the ingredients to be a highly successful local media company for many years to come." The FCC approved the sale on August 13, 2025, and the sale was consummated on September 4.

In October 2025, Connoisseur announced its intent to acquire Bonneville International's San Francisco cluster, including KUFX, KBLX-FM, KMVQ-FM and KOIT.

Radio stations

References

References

1. "Connoisseur Media - Headquarter Locations, Competitors, Financials, Employees".
2. (November 10, 2022). "Jeff Warshaw: Westport's Radio Connoisseur".
3. [http://www.radioworld.com/article/perot-companies-go-for-connoisseur-media/276615 Perot Companies Go for Connoisseur Media] {{Webarchive. link. (July 16, 2015 Paul McLane, Radio World, July 15, 2015)
4. (March 27, 2019). "iHeartMedia & Connoisseur Media Swap Frederick & Erie".
5. (April 4, 2019). "Two Frederick radio stations acquired by Connoisseur Media".
6. "No New Station Sales In FCC Database Tuesday Morning".
7. (2022-04-14). "Report: Jeff Warshaw Leads Effort To Acquire Cumulus Media.".
8. Huston, Caitlin. (2022-05-04). "Cumulus Media Rejects $1.2B Acquisition Offer".
9. (2024-07-24). "Local Daily Media Acquires WFRE/WFMD".
10. Coats, Cameron. (2025-05-05). "Alpha Media to Join Connoisseur Media in Landmark Group Merger".
11. (September 4, 2025). "Connoisseur Media Completes Acquisition of Alpha Media, Becoming a Top 10 U.S. Radio Broadcaster".
12. Venta, Lance. (2025-10-07). "Connoisseur Media Acquires Bonneville’s San Francisco Cluster".