How Radio Station Real Estate Creates Hidden Income Streams Through Wireless Leases

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

15 Jan 2026

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Broadcast towers are often viewed simply as technical infrastructure. Still, according to industry expert Roger Rafson, they function as valuable “vertical real estate” assets that generate steady lease revenue from cellular carriers, municipalities, and emergency services. This income stream is often overlooked in traditional radio station valuations, yet it can significantly impact a station’s overall financial performance.

Rafson, President of CMS Station Brokerage and Managing Director at Media Services Group, says that beyond advertising revenue and cash flow multiples, the physical tower itself is a revenue-producing asset. “The tower site itself is an asset that produces revenue,” Rafson explains. “The radio station owner can lease vertical real estate to cell companies, municipalities, fire departments, and other radio stations. The tower itself can generate revenue for the station owner. That happens all the time.”

This opportunity exists because strict zoning restrictions in many communities make new tower construction difficult or impossible. “There are zoning laws in place where people don’t want to have a new tower in their backyard,” Rafson says. “So if the radio station already has a tower that’s properly zoned and it’s in business, that’s valuable.” Existing towers, already permitted and operational, become prime locations for wireless carriers and municipal agencies seeking coverage without triggering local opposition.

AM Station Towers: Ownership and Operational Control

The importance of tower ownership is especially pronounced for AM radio stations. For these operators, owning the transmitter site is not just about generating extra income—it’s crucial to long-term station viability.

“If the station owner owns the transmitter site, they control their destiny,” Rafson says. “If the transmitter site for an AM station is owned by somebody else, they might decide to sell this land to a real estate developer, and then you’ve got five years to move it. For an AM station to move a transmitter site, that’s an expensive and onerous prospect.”

The technical reason lies in how AM signals are transmitted. “The AM signal is radiated from a ground system, a copper ground system,” Rafson explains. This infrastructure is costly to build and difficult to relocate. FM stations, which use a different transmission architecture, do not face the same relocation challenges.

Because of these factors, buyers evaluating AM station acquisitions pay close attention to whether the transmitter site is owned or leased. “Owning that real estate at an AM tower site is very important,” Rafson notes. Without ownership, a station’s future can be at risk if the land beneath it is sold or repurposed.

Wireless Infrastructure: A Growing Source of Tower Demand

The value of broadcast towers as revenue-generating assets has increased alongside the rise of wireless infrastructure needs. “The cell phones that we carry in our pockets every day—that’s a wireless thing,” Rafson says. “When you’re talking about wireless, that means there are transmitters all over the country.”

Cellular carriers, public safety agencies, and other wireless operators need access to tower space but often face community resistance to new construction. “People don’t want to have a new tower in my backyard, not in my backyard,” Rafson says, summarizing the typical zoning challenge.

For radio station owners, this demand translates into a secondary revenue stream that does not depend on advertising market conditions. Lease agreements with cellular companies, emergency services, and other broadcasters provide regular income that is largely insulated from local economic fluctuations. This makes tower sites a stabilizing asset within the overall station business.

Factoring Tower Revenue Into Broadcast Property Valuations

Rafson incorporates tower lease revenue into his approach to station valuations, though he notes it remains secondary to the core broadcast operation. “The main thing is cash flow,” he says. “You want to buy a station operation that will contribute to the balance sheet, that will contribute to cash flow. But there are technical reasons why the real estate at the transmitter site is also an important aspect.”

This creates a valuation model that considers both the broadcast business and the physical assets—the studio or office building and the transmitter site. “Real estate is often a part of a radio station purchase,” Rafson says. “There’s usually a studio office building that comes along with the station. There’s usually land at the transmitter site that comes along as well.”

Rafson notes that real estate professionals working with broadcast properties require specialized knowledge to fully understand this vertical. “I get calls from real estate agents and real estate brokers around the country, because real estate is part of a radio station asset, and they need help with that,” he says.

Looking Ahead: Tower Assets and Wireless Demand

The ongoing expansion of wireless infrastructure—driven by 5G deployment, IoT growth, and upgrades to public safety networks—is likely to increase the value of broadcast tower assets, independent of a radio station’s advertising performance. As demand for tower space rises, these sites may become even more attractive to investors and station owners seeking stable, recurring income.

Whether the tower-as-asset model gains broader recognition in commercial real estate will depend on how often transactions involve professionals who recognize the revenue potential of vertical real estate. As Rafson’s experience shows, understanding the income streams from tower leases is critical to assessing the actual value of broadcast properties.