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Station sale canceled

I spoke to Monte maybe 6 years back while he was acquiring stations. He seemed like a really nice guy. He seemed to have a plan on consolidating programming to the main office and had a plan on sales. I was worried he was stretching himself too thin. I can't say, since I was not sure of his operation. I hate to see any stations possibly going away but it seems all of these stations might not get up and going again. For some, they were loved by their communities. Once missing in action, that community might not embrace them in the same way again.
 
They were loved and it's my understanding Monte changed to home office generated programming. In oher words, that localism that was loved went away. If somebody picks up those sations that were beloved, they might face a long road in building trust again. I don't want to reveal more on a public forum.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
if they were “loved by their communities” they wouldn’t have failed in the first place.

“Love” isn’t going to solve hard economic reality.
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That's the problem all of radio has in a nutshell. Those stations WERE loved in their communities. They haven't been forgotten, but they don't receive active affection either. They're just another convenience that happens to be available and are just taken for granted.

If they go away altogether, they'll be missed when they're gone.
 
Kent said:
If they go away altogether, they'll be missed when they're gone.
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You know, Kent, I would agree with this had I not seen all of the shoulder shrugging in Pine Bluff after Jerry Russell ran the heritage KCLA, KOTN and KZYP straight into the ground.

It's not that Arkansans are apathetic towards their hometown stations, instead, it's the mass exodus of those fine people from places like Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Conway, etc. that are the direct result of all these stations going to the graveyard. Who's left to serve? Pine Bluff is nearly abandoned now, and it's quite startling to someone who vividly remembers the lively, energetic city that it still was just 2 decades ago.

I'm afraid these stations are going to follow suit. My worry is that this is not the only shoe to drop. He, through his daughters, I guess, own local-ish KYYK, KCKL, KNET, KLVQ, and KWRD here in East Texas. Could they be too far behind? We nearly lost KWRD to Jerry Russell 15 years ago, and I'm not so sure there's another Jerry Hanszen out here willing to save it from the brink again.
 
b-turner said:
Kent, you apply this to EVERY station and town. Reality is different.
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The reality is the entire medium has become an unappreciated relic, and we're all just hanging on to whatever we can grab hold of until the cans get hung up for the final time. That's just the truth. The money's been drying up for years. All we can do is hope the well doesn't run dry before we're ready to call it a day.
 
the problem is Monte didnt own any of the towers anymore and the theory is the buyers couldnt get financing because of that
 
rosecitymedia said:
You know, Kent, I would agree with this had I not seen all of the shoulder shrugging in Pine Bluff after Jerry Russell ran the heritage KCLA, KOTN and KZYP straight into the ground.
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I went to college in Arkansas for a few years, both in Fayetteville and Little Rock, and knew a few people from Pine Bluff (including White Hall and Star City in that group). That was 30 years ago and before MRS got its hands on those stations. Even then, if you asked what they listened to, they would've said Power 92, KLAZ, B98.5, KSSN 96 or Magic 105. I suppose you could make the case that Power 92 was a Pine Bluff station since that was its city of license, but it had already been operating out of Little Rock for a number of years. Pine Bluff was well-served, and people already preferred the larger market stations. I suppose, however, one could also make the case that the FM licenses were restored via auction thanks to Huckabee and Bluff City Radio. So, maybe enough people missed them that someone made the effort to bring them back.

rosecitymedia said:
It's not that Arkansans are apathetic towards their hometown stations, instead, it's the mass exodus of those fine people from places like Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Conway, etc. that are the direct result of all these stations going to the graveyard. Who's left to serve? Pine Bluff is nearly abandoned now, and it's quite startling to someone who vividly remembers the lively, energetic city that it still was just 2 decades ago.
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I don't remember Pine Bluff ever being a "lively, energetic city" when I went to school in Arkansas. I'm sure it's worse now (and it has lost about 20,000 residents since the mid-90's), but I remember it having a description very similar to East St. Louis when I lived in the state: The supreme king of places one should never go. One of my friends from there told me it wasn't as bad as its reputation (her dad was a doctor there), but she rarely went home and certainly never invited me to spend a weekend with her family there.

I do agree with your basic point, though. If radio in small towns is dying, it's because small towns themselves are in a death spiral. That's been a problem since at least the early 80's, if not longer. When people leave, they tend not to come back.

rosecitymedia said:
I'm afraid these stations are going to follow suit. My worry is that this is not the only shoe to drop. He, through his daughters, I guess, own local-ish KYYK, KCKL, KNET, KLVQ, and KWRD here in East Texas. Could they be too far behind? We nearly lost KWRD to Jerry Russell 15 years ago, and I'm not so sure there's another Jerry Hanszen out here willing to save it from the brink again.
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If we have more stations than the market can comfortably sustain, at some point, stations are going to go away. You probably don't need me to tell you this, but it's already happening.

b-turner said:
Kent, you apply this to EVERY station and town. Reality is different.
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How so? Am I wrong that total listening is down substantially from where it was in 2010? You might be able to find a few stations healthier than they were 15 years ago, but they're the exception, not the rule, and that doesn't mean total usage, even in their listening areas, isn't down sharply. Or am I wrong that people will miss radio if they suddenly find it gone?
 
YEARS ago when i worked in the NW MS Delta and after, i heard a nickname for Jerry Russell's company.. Miserable Radio stations
 
How so? The station I work for is currently sold out. Town of 16,000. 50 sttions you can receive.

Lots of people here see lemons. I happen to see lemonaide but I'm not squeezing in towns with boarded up dowtowns. Lots of towns are dead compared to a couple of decades ago. Some aren't and happen to have a strong sense of community. Got some fresh squeezed lemonaide here.
 
b-turner said:
How so? The station I work for is currently sold out. Town of 16,000. 50 sttions you can receive.

Lots of people here see lemons. I happen to see lemonaide but I'm not squeezing in towns with boarded up dowtowns. Lots of towns are dead compared to a couple of decades ago. Some aren't and happen to have a strong sense of community. Got some fresh squeezed lemonaide here.
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But, Bill, in all fairness. That's Gainesville, a bustling exurb of Dallas and gaining potential new listeners all of the time, just like a lot of us are in our part of the State. Sure, Dallas stations are readily available, but y'all give the listener that special "hometown" feel that they can't get from the "big city station". I have found that a lot of these listeners who tend to come from the bigger cities, and some even from out-of-state, to a small town like ours, has never heard a radio presentation like you provide. There's a bit of stigma to it, apparently. It's the same thing here. Neither Tyler, nor Longview has a station that regularly allows granny to call into the studio asking to be put on the air to see if anyone has seen her calico cat roaming around the neighborhood behind the Ace Hardware. You'd probably see a number of wrecks on both South Broadway and McCann Rd. if that were to ever occur.

Add all of that to you having a superb radio man as an owner, and it's glaringly apparent why you are now sitting in high cotton. I found my own patch, thankfully, and they couldn't pay me enough to go be back to the big city.

I, personally, have been on here long enough to vividly remember your regular struggles in your last years involved with KYND. To read how things have come around for you with the change of scenery gives my heart great joy, partner. Hey, we're not hurting over here, either. Could always be doing better, of course, but at least making a living with a little something to spare.

It's just basically impossible to make any money in the Delta anymore. The towns have been drying up, resulting, in part, to the same fate for its radio facilities. Only Louisiana, that I can name right off of the top of my head, has a bigger number of deleted broadcast facilities around here. I'd love to see it turned around, I mean, they're my neighbors, but neither the near-term, nor the long-term, look very good for them.
 
Was there any "fees" the buyer had to pay if they couldn't close the deal?? If not the what was the trustee thinking?

At this point an auction might be the only option. I would do it for the whole chain and each station individually which ever generated the most cash wins. Cashier's check in 5 business days. The winner can LMA for $1 a month till the FCC approves the sale max one year or two years. No refunds.
 
Agreed. KYND was Houston. AM in major markets to small cities is pretty much dead. You couldn't give me a major market AM, especially an AM with no translator because the owner saw the translator as just another excuise to spend money. And I took them 26 qualified potential clients over 3 years only to have all rejected. I think they wanted to take KYND dark.

The magical part here is local information. The other half is me selling in person. I had a client say he tells others if you won't bother to come by like KGAF I'm not buying. He spent $475 with me today.

I'm not saying things are rosy out here but I don't think there's no juice in them lemons. I could visit 25 towns and maybe I'd find a good one. Some go real fast. I visited Honey Grove and there was only 1 space on the square boarded up. 6 or 7 years later only 1 space was occupied and the remainder of the square was a ghost town.

The problem, as I see it, Monte sold all his towers. I'd rather not be writing checks for the tower in the backyard.
 
b-turner said:
How so? The station I work for is currently sold out. Town of 16,000. 50 sttions you can receive.

Lots of people here see lemons. I happen to see lemonaide but I'm not squeezing in towns with boarded up dowtowns. Lots of towns are dead compared to a couple of decades ago. Some aren't and happen to have a strong sense of community. Got some fresh squeezed lemonaide here.
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I'm glad you and Steve are successful doing what you're doing. I can remember hearing Steve on KVIL and KLUV in the 80's and 90's, and he was one of the people that made me think radio was interesting. When I eventually worked at a station that used some ABC/SMN programming in nights and overnights, I always enjoyed introducing jocks I used to listen to during my days in DFW, though Steve was never one of them as no station where I ever worked used Star Station.

While your station is successful, do you really think total listening is up on the whole in Gainesville from where it was in 2010? If it's up from that time at KGAF, that's great, but you'd be swimming against the current. I can't imagine the younger residents are big radio listeners.

I've never believed radio is in a death spiral, though, as I mentioned, some small towns might be and might take their stations with them. While I don't know what the next generation is going to think, easy and free beats out a paid service that requires work from me. I'd like to think people my nieces' ages will come to the same realization once their appreciation for new music dries up, which it eventually will, but I can't see the future.
 
In fact, listening is up per the Neilsen County by County. I've seen them (12+; 18+ and 35+). About 1 in 6 in the county. Record sales the past few years, likely for 2025 or pretty darn close.

Steve runs a great station. Funny thing, I knew DFW stations so well, I listened to KIKM 950 in Sherman/Denison heading home from work at Sound Town Records in Valley View. I never connected I was listening to Steve until I got to KGAF.

I admit we are seeing radio decline but it ain't dead yet in some places.
 
I'm just going to say it... It's STUPID to sell your towers. I have little sympathy for anyone who does something so foolish. And I own towers. The majority of my income is from being a tower landlord. In 30+ years, I've seen both sides. Monte low balled me on one of my stations, many years ago. He came in acting like a big shot. I declined his offer.

As for NW Arkansas, I thought it was supposed to be a new retirement destination. Sounds like I heard wrong.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
YEARS ago when i worked in the NW MS Delta and after, i heard a nickname for Jerry Russell's company.. Miserable Radio stations
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Did you ever have the displeasure of meeting Councilman Russell, SRG? It wasn't just his stations that were miserable, I assure you. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but he sure caused a heap of collateral damage around this neck of the woods.
 
rosecitymedia said:
Did you ever have the displeasure of meeting Councilman Russell, SRG? It wasn't just his stations that were miserable, I assure you. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but he sure caused a heap of collateral damage around this neck of the woods.
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Nope, but what I do remember is the guy i was working for bought or was operating a station Larry Fuss owned.... and mailed a check intended for Larry and i dont remember if it was mailed to the wrong address or it was mailed to a station... but Russell got it and cashed it and wouldnt give the money back.

This was nearly 25 years ago so some details may be a bit fuzzy.. but general idea is on track.
 


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