I'm not a fan of the programming on WABC, but the guy who bought the place is a fascinating character. 

John Catsimatidis may be the most unlikely owner of a radio empire you'll ever see. Starting out as a grocery clerk, he eventually bought half of the supermarket he was working in, only to expand to a chain of them, securing a fortune that allowed him to buy one of the U.S.' most famous radio stations. 

And while he turned it into a right wing outlet whose programming I dislike, you've got to admire what he did on the weekends, bringing back Cousin Brucie and MusicRadio on Saturday nights, recreating the glory days of the station. It's rare any broadcaster acknowledges its successful past. (Are you listening CHUM & CFRB?)

"After taking over, Catsimatidis told its president, Chad Lopez, to drop its weekend infomercials and replace them with locally produced shows. The decision meant walking away from $2.7 million in annual revenue, but Catsimatidis insisted.

“John said, ‘I want to make WABC great,’” Lopez said. “Once we went to more live and local programming, you could see the audience start coming in.”

He was also the former landlord to the guy who became famous as "Marty Supreme" in the movies, and was in the film about his life. 

And he may not be done yet, with plans that may seem overly ambitious even to the most enthusiastic entrepreneur. 

"Catsimatidis speaks of grandiose-sounding plans to take on the BBC or replace the Voice of America with WABC content, while keeping an eye out for other distressed radio properties he could turn around."

You may not like his politics, but a single owner of a radio empire - unlike an Audacy or a Cumulus - is a rarity these days. And I wouldn't put anything past him. 

How a grocery and oil magnate became New York’s king of talk radio