An enigma in Hispanic radio remains the group called Hispanic Target Media, Inc. out of Yuma Arizona. We’ll just call it HTM here.
HTM participated in FCC Auctions 37, 62, 79, 91, 93, 94, and 98, amassing licenses in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and Virginia.
Targeting smaller markets and rimshotters, the outfit shelled out an amazing $4,648,700 in successful auction bids over the years, including some $184,000 in now-FCC-cancelled station permits including defunct KHMQ in King City, California ($84,000 gone). HTM’s largest outlay was $1,145,950 for their core station, KUKY, in Wellton, Arizona under the Auction 37 framework.
More amazing, it appears HTM has a marginal track record when it comes to keeping their current stations on the air. At least four of their California properties (KPQS, KZQT, KEGT, KQQH) now have been silent for quite some time despite the lack of required silent STA filings. (HTM spent $556K just to win auction bids for those four licenses.) Per this website’s Texas forum entries, it sounds like HTM operates their Lone Star State properties in a similar fashion, i.e., plenty of dead airwaves.
For programming HTM seems to have two major national feeds (Roswell and Wellton) but some stations break out for local time blocks. If you travel along US Route 13 in Virginia you may hear WFAJ with area-focused call-ins, but then again, their airwaves might include advertisements for grocery stores in Northern California or car dealerships in Yuma. The whole HTM arrangement remains bizarre and certainly not worth the huge cash paid to the FCC.
Much of the original backing was from Francisco Enrique San Millan who at one time controlled 19% of now-KLLI in Los Angeles. There is a minority foreign ownership component (Mexican nationals) but that’s allowed anyway under the FCC rules.
The real question: “What is the business strategy here?” The whole HTM project seems like a big financial sinkhole.
HTM participated in FCC Auctions 37, 62, 79, 91, 93, 94, and 98, amassing licenses in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and Virginia.
Targeting smaller markets and rimshotters, the outfit shelled out an amazing $4,648,700 in successful auction bids over the years, including some $184,000 in now-FCC-cancelled station permits including defunct KHMQ in King City, California ($84,000 gone). HTM’s largest outlay was $1,145,950 for their core station, KUKY, in Wellton, Arizona under the Auction 37 framework.
More amazing, it appears HTM has a marginal track record when it comes to keeping their current stations on the air. At least four of their California properties (KPQS, KZQT, KEGT, KQQH) now have been silent for quite some time despite the lack of required silent STA filings. (HTM spent $556K just to win auction bids for those four licenses.) Per this website’s Texas forum entries, it sounds like HTM operates their Lone Star State properties in a similar fashion, i.e., plenty of dead airwaves.
For programming HTM seems to have two major national feeds (Roswell and Wellton) but some stations break out for local time blocks. If you travel along US Route 13 in Virginia you may hear WFAJ with area-focused call-ins, but then again, their airwaves might include advertisements for grocery stores in Northern California or car dealerships in Yuma. The whole HTM arrangement remains bizarre and certainly not worth the huge cash paid to the FCC.
Much of the original backing was from Francisco Enrique San Millan who at one time controlled 19% of now-KLLI in Los Angeles. There is a minority foreign ownership component (Mexican nationals) but that’s allowed anyway under the FCC rules.
The real question: “What is the business strategy here?” The whole HTM project seems like a big financial sinkhole.