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92.3/Wichita getting sold!...again.

K

ksradiogeek

First it was George Basil Anderson, then Journal, then Envision, then Rocking M, then the unfortunate brief tenure of Allied Media Partners, and now...Union Broadcasting (dba Pinnacle) will be buying KKGQ from the Miller family.

Basing off of current experience, I predict a sports format (a la WHB/KCTE) to come in the near future, but I could be completely wrong. Thoughts on this move? Is there anything any owner can do with any of these properties (if RM actually sells them) to rebuild them from the ground up? (Considering what all that has happened, from the months and continuous blips of silence to cancellation of all local advertising and a steady stream of syndi programming with nothing local, barring the occasional college game.) Could Don Sherman get back into the ownership game in Wichita like he is in Topeka and get a signal? Do you feel the RM cluster will be piecemealed out to different buyers?
 
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I suspect 92.3 will go to some form of sports programming, though Wichita seems really saturated with sports stations. However, both in KC and Louisville, Union runs sports formats. Almost 20 years ago, Union tried AAA and rock formats on 97.3 in Kansas City before finally deciding to take it sports, too. I don’t think 97.3 ever did well running music formats. Ultimately, they sold it to EMF. I understand they'd wanted to keep it, but part-owner Jerry Green had passed, and they had to sell 97.3 to buy his estate out.

As for Rocking M, your guess is as good as mine. Wichita doesn’t seem like a market anybody is scrambling to get into, and those aren’t the best signals. Of course, Steckline previously bought some bad signals in the market. I doubt Union wants the rest of that cluster, but, again, you never know, at least unless you’re a lot closer to them than I am.
 
Andy Travis said:
What's the current status of 100.5? I heard it was on and off - but broadcasting what?
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I no longer live in the area, but from what I heard from a friend of mine that lives near Wichita, it’s rebroadcasting KMMM from Pratt. 97.1 is still on (though each time I come back to visit, it’s usually a dead carrier for a day or two. Thanks to a site and stream I just found yesterday, it’s still airing Sun Broadcast Group’s version of Bob with little to no local imaging, not even a legal ID when I checked in today, and no local spots), and 92.3 is still airing SuiteRadio’s The Brand with some local imaging (though with no local spots) and legal IDs. 92.7 is airing some type of adult hits format and K-State sports. The AMs in Wellington and Winfield, I believe, are still silent. However, the STAs expire in a few days.
 
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Kent said:
I suspect 92.3 will go to some form of sports programming, though Wichita seems really saturated with sports stations. However, both in KC and Louisville, Union runs sports formats. Almost 20 years ago, Union tried AAA and rock formats on 97.3 in Kansas City before finally deciding to take it sports, too. I don’t think 97.3 ever did well running music formats. Ultimately, they sold it to EMF. I understand they'd wanted to keep it, but part-owner Jerry Green had passed, and they had to sell 97.3 to buy his estate out.

As for Rocking M, your guess is as good as mine. Wichita doesn’t seem like a market anybody is scrambling to get into, and those aren’t the best signals. Of course, Steckline previously bought some bad signals in the market. I doubt Union wants the rest of that cluster, but, again, you never know, at least unless you’re a lot closer to them than I am.
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I could think of a few potential owners, but the value of that cluster has gone way down. RM was asking $6ish mil for the cluster from Allied, and now has to be worth much less thanks to Covid and the aforementioned reasons I listed above. Any potential owner may not be able to clear/get RM to clear the debt/liens, which is what lead to the Allied sale collapsing.

I could see maybe EMF squeezing in for a stronger stick for Air 1 or a sister network (K-Love already puts a strong rimshot signal into the city). Bott’s already well covered, as is BBN. I know there’s a group in Oklahoma that runs The House FM, which has a translator in Wichita and could upgrade for the right price. There are a couple of religious LPFMs as well as a community LPFM that may evaluate options, though the price may be too steep.

An additional signal could pair with 99.7. And even though Steckline has really downsized, an FM or two paired with 1410 and 1480 may be tempting. I’ve also heard in the past that Brett Harris may try to get a station (he partnered with a longtime financial advisor to get 99.7, and later, Envision for 92.3).

I’m not really sure what’s going to happen. I know RM is in financial trouble, and they’ve had other legal issues, so this process may take some time to work through.
 
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ksradiogeek said:
I no longer live in the area, but from what I heard from a friend of mine that lives near Wichita, it’s rebroadcasting KMMM from Pratt. 97.1 is still on (though each time I come back to visit, it’s usually a dead carrier for a day or two. Thanks to a site and stream I just found yesterday, it’s still airing Sun Broadcast Group’s version of Bob with little to no local imaging, not even a legal ID when I checked in today, and no local spots), and 92.3 is still airing SuiteRadio’s The Brand with some local imaging (though with no local spots) and legal IDs. 92.7 is airing some type of adult hits format and K-State sports. The AMs in Wellington and Winfield, I believe, are still silent. However, the STAs expire in a few days.
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I stand corrected: 97.1 actually did ID, about :25 past.
 
ksradiogeek said:
I stand corrected: 97.1 actually did ID, about :25 past.
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97.1 does ID’s. KMMM actually does also include KVWF Augusta/Wichita in its ID as well. KWME only mentions Wellington. The AM’s in Sumner/Cowley counties are still off air.
 
CalebC said:
97.1 does ID’s. KMMM actually does also include KVWF Augusta/Wichita in its ID as well. KWME only mentions Wellington. The AM’s in Sumner/Cowley counties are still off air.
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Any branding being used (aside from Bob and the Brand), or are the stations still nameless?
 
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