Pulse 87 - Financial Problems and Closure

Financial Problems and Closure

Plans to expand Pulse 87 to other markets were canceled due to financial difficulties, most of which were unrelated to the creation of the Pulse 87 format and predated it significantly. On August 12, 2009, Mega Media filed for bankruptcy, reporting $3.5 million in liabilities against assets of just $180,000. Mega said it was hoping to continue operating Pulse while it restructures under Chapter 11.. By September 2009 the station was still on the air. According to the Stipulation and Order Regarding the Time Brokerage Agreement agreed to by Mega Media and Island Broadcasting and approved by the bankruptcy judge, Mega Media was required to pay $500,000 by 5:00 pm on October 30 to Island Broadcasting. If that payment was not made in time, Island Broadcasting had the right to terminate the contract, and therefore Pulse 87 would have been off the air.

On October 15, 2009, the buyout deal was still not confirmed, and there were no signs that it will take place in the near future. Mega Media needed to receive a last-ditch infusion of capital by the following week in order for Pulse 87 to have a hope of staying on the air.

On October 25, 2009 at 8:30 pm, WNYZ-LP suffered a studio-transmitter link outage caused by a Verizon fiber cut. The station was broadcasting silence, or "dead air", until 12:30 pm on October 27. Three days later on October 30, 2009, the lease between the Mega Media Group and Island Broadcasting ended after Island Broadcasting failed to receive the $500,000 it was owed under the terms of the contract. Island Broadcasting was under no obligation to continue letting Pulse 87 use their signal without paying for the lease.

On October 30, 2009, Pulse 87's New York station signed off at 5:00 pm. At this point the website continued to carry Pulse 87 online but WNYZ was at this point simulcasting WPTY, a semi-rival station on Long Island. By the end of the day, Pulse 87's web site streaming had also ceased, although the stream for their iPhone app was still active, with no other indication of any change or even a goodbye message, as if the station were still operating. On November 3, 2009 the Pulse 87 web page, stream and iPhone app were all pulled permanently offline. Mega Media has converted their bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 case, which means that all of their assets will be liquidated and all employees have been laid off. Most of its creditors will not receive anything and the corporation will no longer exist. The stock price is less than a twentieth of a cent per share.

On January 1, 2010 the Pulse 87 web page was reregistered by an entity claiming to be Mega Media Group, redirecting to an iTunes referral service known as "itune.biz." (Since the original Mega Media was liquidated, there is no way that it could be the original Mega Media.)

WNYZ, the lone affiliate for the format, switched to a simulcast of similarly-formatted WPTY-FM 105 on Long Island in November 2009, but WPTY dropped the deal in January 2010, ending dance music on the 87.7 frequency. The FCC eventually revoked WNYZ's license in June 2011.