Sinclair selling KOMO, KVI & KPLZ

[CarAgencyGuy]

Relax everybody, good news, the First Sr. VP of Lotus assures us that nothing is going to change!

“KOMO is as good of a news station as I’ve ever heard. That ain’t changin’ … Take that away from the market, and it would be a criminal act! KOMO Radio is indispensable.” — Jim Kalmenson​

Lotus Grabs Sinclair’s Seattle Radio Properties | Radio & Television Business Report

Sinclair Broadcast Group's AMs and FMs in Seattle, once the heart of Fisher Broadcasting, have been sold to Lotus Communications. It's a deal that's three months in the making, and not for the reasons one may believe.

www.rbr.com

 

[seatownmedia]

I was employed at two radio stations that said “nothing will be changing” until it actually did, both less than a month later.

 

[DN14224]

“KOMO is as good of a news station as I’ve ever heard. That ain’t changin’ … Take that away from the market, and it would be a criminal act! KOMO Radio is indispensable.” — Jim Kalmenson

Well, besides the fact that they can’t use the call letters or the branding of the station mentioned, why in the world would Lotus telegraph any coming changes now?

 

[seatownmedia]

I have been in the biz long enough to know that this “no change” proclaiming is total bs about 75 percent of the time.

 

[Kelly A]

I have been in the biz long enough to know that this “no change” proclaiming is total bs about 75 percent of the time.

Exactly. Time will tell.

 

[semoochie]

I have been in the biz long enough to know that this “no change” proclaiming is total bs about 75 percent of the time.

If you say that something is a "criminal act" and then proceed to commit it, does that affect your legal standing?

 

[davideduardo]

Exactly. Time will tell.

I've known the Kalmensons for 49 years, and never known them to be dishonest or deceitful.

 

[DN14224]

I've known the Kalmensons for 49 years, and never known them to be dishonest or deceitful.

So have the Kalmensons previously stuck with money-losing formats after promising "no changes":?
(Note: I'm not saying 1000/97.7 is a money loser, but instead what would happen if that turns out to be the case.)

 

[davideduardo]

So have the Kalmensons previously stuck with money-losing formats after promising "no changes":?
(Note: I'm not saying 1000/97.7 is a money loser, but instead what would happen if that turns out to be the case.)

They are very efficient operators, and likely will look at lots of ways to reduce overhead. But they are good people.

 

[Kelly A]

I've known the Kalmensons for 49 years, and never known them to be dishonest or deceitful.

Where did I use either of those words? All I was saying is time will tell what happens to any of the three stations. Including 1000kHz.

 

[davideduardo]

Where did I use either of those words? All I was saying is time will tell what happens to any of the three stations. Including 1000kHz.

I did not say that you did. The prior post questioned all broadcasters' integrity, so the subject was "are they truthful" and I responded that my long experience says that they are.

 

[boombox4]

FWIW, the few times I heard the 'no changes' mantra, usually at least a couple months or so before changes occurred, it was never from the CEO or one of the heads of the corporation.

 

[TexasTom]

Can they really maintain the all-news format without the resources of a co-owned TV news department?

And as an almost total non-sequitur, I heard a station in Austin last weekend that described their format as "pop hits and throwbacks", which reminded me of the original Top 40 format that launched on 101.5 as "the FM KVI", playing "pop rock". That would have been in the fall of 1976, and I don't think it lasted long -- the term was gone by the time they became "K-Plus 101" in 1978 (and that's where the KPLZ call letters that are still on 101.5 came from).

 

[TheBigA]

Can they really maintain the all-news format without the resources of a co-owned TV news department?

Somehow Urban One was able to run an all-news station in Houston for about 5 years. Not saying Lotus would be willing to eat that much overhead, but it can be done. The way the news format is being done outside of Top 10 markets is to combine with some outside syndication. And we don't know about the "other consideration" relationship Lotus will have with Sinclair.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Well, besides the fact that they can’t use the call letters or the branding of the station mentioned, why in the world would Lotus telegraph any coming changes now?

Just transfer the KVI calls to 1000 and rebrand it "All News Radio 1000/97.7", very few would even notice the difference.

 

[Kelly A]

Just transfer the KVI calls to 1000 and rebrand it "All News Radio 1000/97.7", very few would even notice the difference.

As a lot of you know, I'm not a huge nostalgia guy. But it would be a mistake to take one of the few remaining original three letter calls away from it's original home at 570kHz. That, and for better or worse, and depending on your age, the call letters KVI are polarizing. Calling 1000kHz KVI might cause confusion with remaining AM listeners.
I do agree that just calling 1000kHz Newsradio 97.7/1000AM would probably be the most value neutral proposition. Burying whatever new call letters.

 

[Rusty Muck]

As a lot of you know, I'm not a huge nostalgia guy. But it would be a mistake to take one of the few remaining original three letter calls away from it's original home at 570kHz. That, and for better or worse, and depending on your age, the call letters KVI are polarizing. Calling 1000kHz KVI might cause confusion with remaining AM listeners.
I do agree that just calling 1000kHz Newsradio 97.7/1000AM would probably be the most value neutral proposition. Burying whatever new call letters.

Lotus has kept and scooted around the KWKW calls from 1300 to 1330 when the IP moved onto the former KFAC, so they've had some experience in that regard. Plus if the branding is "Newsradio 97.7/1000", few if any will notice the KVI calls being buried on a two-second liner.

Either way, it feels logical that the KPLZ calls will wind up on either 570 or 1000.

 

[crainbebo]

Remember what happened in San Diego - 760 became KGB-AM because they were not allowed to use the KFMB callsign in the sale.

 

[DN14224]

Sinclair is looking for a FT on-air talent at Star - seems a bit unusual that a company selling a station in a few months wants to hire someone...
Link: On-Air Talent/Producer

 

[TexasTom]

That, and for better or worse, and depending on your age, the call letters KVI are polarizing. Calling 1000kHz KVI might cause confusion with remaining AM listeners.

Shows how long I've been out of the area that I still associate the KVI call letters with music. In the 70s, KVI/570 was a middle of the road music station -- I remember hearing them play Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" as an album cut a couple months before it was released as a single and became a hit.

The KVI call letters were also briefly on 101.5 for a couple years between 1976 and 1978 ("The FM KVI", a Top 40 station).