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WALK Radio 97.5 is based in Patchogue. The station plays...

WALK Radio 97.5 is based in Patchogue. The station plays a mix of classic and contemporary rock and pop. This is from Sept. 17, 2014. Credit: Ed Betz

Connoisseur Media of Westport, Connecticut, has closed a $50 million deal to buy Long Island's top-rated radio station: WALK 97.5 FM.

Connoisseur, which owns several dozen stations in mid-size cities nationwide, bought WALK from Aloha Station Trust, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications Inc. The all-cash acquisition closed last week and also included WALK's sister station, 1370 AM.

"This is the single largest station right now in our company," said Connoisseur chief executive Jeffrey Warshaw, who confirmed the purchase price. "It gives us the opportunity to provide unique and powerful solutions."

WALK is based in Patchogue and plays a mix of classic and contemporary rock and pop. In August and July the station attracted the highest number of listeners on Long Island, followed by pop stations 106.1 WBLI-FM, also in Patchogue, and 100.3 WHTZ-FM, based in Newark, according to Nielsen ratings.

The majority of the station's employees began working out of Connoisseur's Farmingdale office on Monday. The company expects WALK to begin broadcasting out of the facility by early November.

There were no plans to change the station's format, Warshaw said.

Connoisseur also owns K-98.3 Long Island, 94.3 The SHARK and several other stations in the New York metro region.

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