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104.9 has a buyer!

K

ksradiogeek

Going from the Trust to 247 Media Industries. Sounds like Christian programming will remain.

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/196854/247-media-ministries-acquires-104-9-ktdd-from-iheart-divestiture-trust/
 
This is a move that makes sense. 104.9 is a tricky frequency to market, so they probably didn't have many buyers chomping at the bit to make an offer.
 
Did they actually get that much for it? I guess radio is a terrible investment. KMCQ only went for around $8 million 5 years ago.
 
$320,000 is not a bad price considering the weak ROI right now in the broadcast industry. Obviously, this is a religious service that probably doesn't rely on local advertising sales for revenue, but I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be for a local ownership group to make 104.9 a profitable frequency. National programming that operates on a "non-profit" platform is a much safer bet than commercial programming with local salespeople.
 
fordranger797 said:
$320,000 is not a bad price considering the weak ROI right now in the broadcast industry. Obviously, this is a religious service that probably doesn't rely on local advertising sales for revenue, but I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be for a local ownership group to make 104.9 a profitable frequency. National programming that operates on a "non-profit" platform is a much safer bet than commercial programming with local salespeople.
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That's true. I'm not sure if you sell to a religious operator you'll get less money than not, but I'd say radio is a pretty bad investment at least right now. I'm not sure what iHeart bought this thing for, but I just saw a sale in Boston of an AM daytimer for $80,000. That's probably not bad, but considering the sellers paid just over $888,000 just two years ago.
 
bobdavcav said:
That's true. I'm not sure if you sell to a religious operator you'll get less money than not, but I'd say radio is a pretty bad investment at least right now. I'm not sure what iHeart bought this thing for, but I just saw a sale in Boston of an AM daytimer for $80,000. That's probably not bad, but considering the sellers paid just over $888,000 just two years ago.
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Absolutely. It seems that the value of many broadcasting outlets are in freefall right now. Recall that KZTM 102.9 sold for about 3 million dollars, and this was before the economy took a major turn for the worse. I would be interesting in knowing that the value would be for that station now.
 
fordranger797 said:
Absolutely. It seems that the value of many broadcasting outlets are in freefall right now. Recall that KZTM 102.9 sold for about 3 million dollars, and this was before the economy took a major turn for the worse. I would be interesting in knowing that the value would be for that station now.
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For an Olympia-centric station? By the end of this recession/pandemic, about the price of a McDonald's value meal.
 
You know what would be an interesting format to try on that signal? Something similar to Hubbard's Federal News Radio that they run in DC, just on a smaller scale. Focus the station completely on Olympia and target government workers with gov news. You'd maybe have to hire a few contract reporters, carry a national news network, maybe host a local show or two. Then you have a platform for all kinds of lobbying dollars year round.
 
iamarussianpirate said:
You know what would be an interesting format to try on that signal? Something similar to Hubbard's Federal News Radio that they run in DC, just on a smaller scale. Focus the station completely on Olympia and target government workers with gov news. You'd maybe have to hire a few contract reporters, carry a national news network, maybe host a local show or two. Then you have a platform for all kinds of lobbying dollars year round.
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Even FNR in D.C. isn't that popular, especially since this Administration came to power. The only reason it had the popularity originally, is due to the proximity to D.C. Seattle can care less about that sort of news.

Same goes for LA, or San Francisco. The West Coast just isn't interested in the government minutia that people who work in the government are.
 
Kelly, I think the proposal was a state version of such a service, similar to how TVW is Washington's version of C-Span. I think it's an interesting idea, but probably not going to happen.
 
bobdavcav said:
Kelly, I think the proposal was a state version of such a service, similar to how TVW is Washington's version of C-Span. I think it's an interesting idea, but probably not going to happen.
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There have been a couple attempts at setting up a regional news network in Washington State. TVW was one. NWCN was set up using the KING Broadcasting/Providence Journal stations and other affiliates around the State. After two years, NWCN was pretty much relegated to KING in Seattle doing newscasts on local cable.

NWNN was a group of Public Radio stations in Washington and Oregon. Never really gained any traction.

CSPAN is funded by cable companies as a public service, mainly focusing on Capitol Hill in D.C. For the reasons I already mentioned, that sort of news is pretty minimal appeal to news consumers across the country in the PNW.

Keep in mind too, that news is THE most expensive radio format. Given the pandemic, high unemployment, and fragile economic conditions, creating a business plan to include a regional news network for radio would be a tough sell to any investor that had half a brain.
 
I've heard of at least a couple of cable companies that used C-Span to get subscribers to pay up. They'd get behind, turn on the TV and the only channel they could view was C-Span. They'd call the cable company and typically get current with a check by phone. That told me of the appeal of C-Span.
 
$320K seems like a good price for a 17kW FM signal. Many people spend that much on a vacation home, with no intention of making a profit. Given relatively low monthly loan payments on $300K (or less), I would think a decent FM signal like KTDD could be quite profitable if run properly.
 
Kelly A said:
Even FNR in D.C. isn't that popular, especially since this Administration came to power. The only reason it had the popularity originally, is due to the proximity to D.C. Seattle can care less about that sort of news.

Same goes for LA, or San Francisco. The West Coast just isn't interested in the government minutia that people who work in the government are.
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Popularity has nothing to do with it. Who cares if anyone is listening? The point is a station like that could grab a ton of lobbying dollars based solely on its format and specific target. They could live off of that alone. Businesses bidding on government contracts, unions and trade groups, pharma companies, tech companies etc. They all want something from the people in Olympia and that would be an easy sell to those folks. Ask Hubbard if they are programming FNR in hopes of reaching the masses or if they understand that it's a source of revenue that radio typically doesn't see normally.
 
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