FT LAUDERDALE, Florida: One of the major voices of the English-speaking Caribbean community in South Florida is changing hands, throwing some doubt whether its West Indian programming will continue. WAVS 1170 AM has been one of the leading Caribbean radio stations in the Miami-Ft Lauderdale area for 18 years, but its current owners have announced that they plans to sell the station to Alliance Broadcasting, an organization linked to the Haitian community. The announcement of the sale has been made in a memorandum distributed to the station’s brokers. The sale requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission before it can take effect. “Age and health and prompt a change in ownership of the radio station,” its Jewish owner Roy Bresky wrote in a memorandum. WAVS is a full brokered station, and has 24 hour West Indian programming. It is estimated that the brokers pay the station about two million dollars a year in time purchases. The brokers have been assured that the new owners will not change the current English-speaking format. However there’s some skepticism that this could change when current contracts expire. “Cleary the future is bright for WAVS and we want to continue being an integral part of the station’s future. Please be assured that although a shift of ownership has occurred, your roles and contributions are truly cemented within our minds and hearts,” Emmanuel Cherebin, President of Alliance Broadcasting also wrote in a memorandum to brokers dated May 28. “There will be no loss of jobs or down-sizing of opportunities, nor format change at WAVS,” his letter assured. “Instead, cooperatively, we will endeavor to bring out more opportunities for both WAVS and its existing staff. More specifically, your continued contribution and teamwork is not only appreciated, but will be expected.” But some brokers say, that inspite of the assurances, a lot can change when their current brokerage contracts expires at the end of the year. There is some weariness over the sale agreement especially given the fact that only a few months ago the Caribbean community’s lost its leading voice in New York when WLIB underwent a format change. SOURCE: CARIBUPDATE.COM