is still in use today by WWWE's successor WTAM, along with FM stations WAKS (co-owned with WTAM) and WZAK. In addition, the studios for both WWWE and WWWM were moved to Park Centre—known today as Reserve Square—that November 14. WWWE would then drop its NBC Radio affiliation altogether by 1977. WWWE was sold to Combined Communications, Inc. in December 1976 for $7.5 million, consummated the following September; Ohio Communications retained WWWM. Combined Communications subsequently merged into Globe Broadcasting Corp., owner of WMGC (1260 AM) and WDOK; WMGC was spun off to comply with then-existing ownership rules. Gannett then merged into Combined Communications in June 1979 in a $370 million deal; at the time, it was one of the largest mergers and acquisitions in the broadcasting industry. In December 1981, WWWE switched formats to country branded as Country 11, going in direct competition with WHK (1420 AM) and WKSW (99.5 FM). With the switch, the duo of Rick McGuire and Ron Marron were installed in morning drive, displacing Larry Morrow to afternoons; Morrow eventually left the station. Citing disappointing ratings and a waning audience in the market overall for country music, WWWE quietly switched back to an easy listening/MOR format in August 1983, again using the 3WE brand. "A Modell Miracle" Gannett sold off both WWWE and WDOK to Lake Erie Broadcasting, controlled by then-Cleveland Browns majority owner Art Modell and minority owner Al Lerner, for $9.5 million in February 1985. The purchase was seen by some as a surprise: Lake Erie consistently lost money operating WJW since purchasing it from Storer Communications in 1977, and was under financial pressure to sell WJW when that station's format changed from MOR to talk radio in July 1982. WJW made a winning bid for the Browns radio broadcast rights that included the team taking an ownership stake in the station, but minority owner Robert Gries sued Modell on charges of anti-competitive practices and existing flagship WHK matched WJW's bid for the 1984 season. Lake Erie's purchase of WWWE and WDOK came days after Lake Erie—not WJW specifically—managed to secure a long-term contract for the Browns effective with the 1985 season. Despite Modell's history of questionable investments and concerns he was heavily in debt, he dismissed speculation that Lake Erie didn't have the money to complete the deal, claiming "our collective net worth far exceeds the price of these stations." Concurrent with the purchase