According to docs filed with the feds, purchase price is $1.5MM.
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Bustos buying KXXO Oly
- Thread starter The New Chico
- Start date
This is rather baffling...
Bustos already owns 99.3 FM, 1210 AM, and 102.9 FM, and they are all Regional Mexican... so, will they be switching the station at some point to Regional Mexican as well? It would be a shame, as KXXO is a great South Sound station, with a good mix of newer songs and older hits.
Or are the owners of KXXO planning on buying one of Bustos current stations and flipping it to KXXO's current format?
Bustos already owns 99.3 FM, 1210 AM, and 102.9 FM, and they are all Regional Mexican... so, will they be switching the station at some point to Regional Mexican as well? It would be a shame, as KXXO is a great South Sound station, with a good mix of newer songs and older hits.
Or are the owners of KXXO planning on buying one of Bustos current stations and flipping it to KXXO's current format?
I believe he is running several different Spanish language formats. And/or maybe he is looking at creating another one? As folks who know a lot more about this than me have repeated time and again on this board, Spanish language programming is not monolithic. What may appeal to men 25-54 will be different than women 18-35. And so forth. Bustos isn't dumb and likely has a plan.
As far as the current owners, I am guessing they are looking to retire. Purely specuation on my part, but I am 61 and I know they are older than me...they were granted their construction permit when I was 22. It is my understanding that there are other local market properties for sale as well.
As far as the current owners, I am guessing they are looking to retire. Purely specuation on my part, but I am 61 and I know they are older than me...they were granted their construction permit when I was 22. It is my understanding that there are other local market properties for sale as well.
There are a wide variety of Regional Mexican formats, ranging from all currents to gold and having different flavors such as norteña, banda and even old ranchera.
On FM, Bustos currently has La Zeta on 102.9 and La Gran D on 99.3 which overlap significantly with each other and KXXO.
La Zeta and La Gran D are pretty much well established between Seattle and Portland so unless Bustos sells or flips 102.9 or 99.3, I doubt either network would be broadcast on KXXO.
My guess is that they'll launch La Maquina or Urbana on the signal. La Maquina is Bustos' third Regional Mexican network that broadcasts to Yakima and Tri-Cities; while Urbana is on 1010 in Portland. Personally, I'd like to see Urbana launched on 96.1 if this sale goes through.
La Zeta and La Gran D are pretty much well established between Seattle and Portland so unless Bustos sells or flips 102.9 or 99.3, I doubt either network would be broadcast on KXXO.
My guess is that they'll launch La Maquina or Urbana on the signal. La Maquina is Bustos' third Regional Mexican network that broadcasts to Yakima and Tri-Cities; while Urbana is on 1010 in Portland. Personally, I'd like to see Urbana launched on 96.1 if this sale goes through.
Bustos has a cluster in Tucson that has three English language stations. So it's not for sure they will even flip KXXO, but might keep as is, if it's profitable.
bustosmedia.com
Tucson, AZ – Bustos Media
bustosmedia.com
Nooooooo!!!!!!
I grew up with this station!
I'll have to tape them off the webstream before they go Spanish. Their mix of music was slightly wider than Warm, and their signal especially on the old Rooster Rock site, was impressive.
This baffles me just as much as some of you. Mixx 96.1 is heard in offices and shops, and in car radios, from Federal Way to Winlock, and west to the coast. It's always been a local, reliable, community voice.
I grew up with this station!
I'll have to tape them off the webstream before they go Spanish. Their mix of music was slightly wider than Warm, and their signal especially on the old Rooster Rock site, was impressive.
This baffles me just as much as some of you. Mixx 96.1 is heard in offices and shops, and in car radios, from Federal Way to Winlock, and west to the coast. It's always been a local, reliable, community voice.
Bustos has a cluster in Tucson that has three English language stations. So it's not for sure they will even flip KXXO, but might keep as is, if it's profitable.
Tucson, AZ – Bustos Media
Kilowatt Katt is correct. Whether or not KXXO goes Spanish may well depend on how well its current English format is doing, especially in terms of ad sales.
Tucson is the only market where he has 6 formats running. So it makes sense that he might keep some of them Inlges. Every other market he has 2-4 formats, and every one is Spanish language. If he had 6 formats running in Western WA, then perhaps he would keep 96.1 in some form of an English speaking format. But he doesn't. Tucson is an outlier. I will bet someone here 50 Ameros that it goes Urbana or some other Spanish language format by the new year. Who wants my money?Bustos has a cluster in Tucson that has three English language stations. So it's not for sure they will even flip KXXO, but might keep as is, if it's profitable.
Tucson, AZ – Bustos Media
I understand your feelings, but times change my friend.
I am so old my childhood house is gone. My first grade school is still around, but not being used as a school any more. The rest of the schools I went to K through 12 are all gone. My high school is now a Costco! The trail behind my high school where I used to
KOMO AM used to dominate the Seattle market. But it is gone, and so is Larry Nelson. Only BossBill is eternal in Western WA radio.
When Everclear sang that song about AM Radio they were talking about KHJ is its glory days- that song is now 30+ years old, and it was looking back another 30+ years easily. The only constant is change. And BossBill.
(Aside- that Rooster Rock location was superb. But I believe it was powered by generator, correct? Tough to sustain THAT long term.)
I grew up (in part, anyway) with 85 KTAC. (Aren't those calls available now?)
I would agree with that. If not Urbana, it would probably be La Maquina or some Spanish Christian format.
They are now.
This one stings for me. KXXO is the very first radio station I ever worked for, so seeing it get sold is a sad sight to behold. I started working with KXXO when I was a teenager (and barely out of high school). Working there was, by far, one of the most important and foundational experiences of my life. I was an extremely shy and introverted kid when I was introduced to the ownership group. They welcomed me, and saw some sort of potential in me. Of course, I was also a know-it-all teenager at the time who thought he already knew everything there was to know. But over the course of my time there, I learned countless lessons (about broadcasting, the importance community service, and life in general).
Shortly after I arrived at the station for the first time, I was introduced to one of the personalities (who was splitting his time between KXXO and another station in Seattle). He was extremely kind to me, and became one of my core mentors. I will never forget the day that I got to sit-in while he was doing a live show. That was the moment that I knew I wanted to be on-the-air, and wanted to be like him. He must have seen something in me, since he took the time to give me tons of advice and guidance (which actually allowed me to move into an on-air role over time).
If not for KXXO, I would be an entirely different person than I am today. To this day, I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to work there, and gain the confidence to do things that I never thought were possible. It's certainly a sad day, because I know my experience is not the norm in this day and age. It would be almost impossible (if not completely impossible) to walk into iHeart, Audacy, Cumulous, etc. and gain the same type of experience that I did.
For listeners across the south sound, losing KXXO will leave a hole in their routine (or their radio presets). For me, it's more like a hole in my heart, since it feels more like the loss of a childhood home or a first car.
Shortly after I arrived at the station for the first time, I was introduced to one of the personalities (who was splitting his time between KXXO and another station in Seattle). He was extremely kind to me, and became one of my core mentors. I will never forget the day that I got to sit-in while he was doing a live show. That was the moment that I knew I wanted to be on-the-air, and wanted to be like him. He must have seen something in me, since he took the time to give me tons of advice and guidance (which actually allowed me to move into an on-air role over time).
If not for KXXO, I would be an entirely different person than I am today. To this day, I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to work there, and gain the confidence to do things that I never thought were possible. It's certainly a sad day, because I know my experience is not the norm in this day and age. It would be almost impossible (if not completely impossible) to walk into iHeart, Audacy, Cumulous, etc. and gain the same type of experience that I did.
For listeners across the south sound, losing KXXO will leave a hole in their routine (or their radio presets). For me, it's more like a hole in my heart, since it feels more like the loss of a childhood home or a first car.
Bustos has a cluster in Tucson that has three English language stations. So it's not for sure they will even flip KXXO, but might keep as is, if it's profitable.
Tucson, AZ – Bustos Media
It's definitely flipping, or at least it won't be staying exactly the same. The sales agreement specifically states Bustos is NOT buying any of the programming assets (unless you consider the calls and website programming assets). Given how specific the agreement is, that MIGHT mean someone else is interested in buying the programming.
That reminds me - I saw a posting on another board saying Bustos 1130 AM in Mount Angel (Oregon) switched to carrying "Tu Familia FM" - that's operated by religious group that owns KLSY in the South Sound. Could the main Familia "AM" network end up on FM too in an LMA deal? KLSY is on South Mountain which reaches into Seattle, KXXO is on Capitol Peak which falls short of Seattle. Perhaps there will be a KLSY-KXXO ownership swap.
It's a little bit odd to me that you're retaining the brand but not the website and calls. Doesn't that put you at a competitive disadvantage in launching a new product? For Bustos' brands, the calls don't seem to mean very much compared to what they'd mean being tied to a "2.0" of the current KXXO format.
Urbana is delivering very good results in the cities where it airs. I had access to its audience six months ago, and it's surprising. For example, in Tucson, a small IBOC translator, it has a larger audience than some local AM or FM stations.