Hubbard Swoops In & Buys Sandusky!

[KeithE4]

I am thinking some tweaks are in order for this cluster. I would like to see the following:

KUPD - Transition to a "Everything that rocks" which would include alternative titles

KSLX - Transition to "Everything that is classic" which would include classic alternative tracks

KDKB - Bye bye and make this frequency a sports/talk station using CBS sports

The first one makes sense, the second one doesn't (don't tamper with success), and the third is probably unlikely. If Hubbard flips one of its stations to CBS Sports Radio, my guess is that it would be the one located in the Lumberyard.

But maybe they'll finally change the sign at the Gumpdusky Hubbard Broadcast Complex so that the right call letters for 1060 are on the front of the building. ;D

 

[michael hagerty]

I am thinking some tweaks are in order for this cluster. I would like to see the following:

KUPD - Transition to a "Everything that rocks" which would include alternative titles

KSLX - Transition to "Everything that is classic" which would include classic alternative tracks

KDKB - Bye bye and make this frequency a sports/talk station using CBS sports

The first one makes sense, the second one doesn't (don't tamper with success), and the third is probably unlikely. If Hubbard flips one of its stations to CBS Sports Radio, my guess is that it would be the one located in the Lumberyard.

But maybe they'll finally change the sign at the Gumpdusky Hubbard Broadcast Complex so that the right call letters for 1060 are on the front of the building. ;D

I think the real question is which building (if any of the existing ones) can comfortably hold all five stations? The three separate buildings thing (KDKB in Mesa, KUPD/KDUS in Guadalupe and KSLX/Lamptimer 1440 at 44th & Camelback) is something I'd expect any new owner to resolve fairly quickly.

Of course, if there's any thought of a JSA/LMA or beyond with Bonneville, then you have to ask if they can get 5 more stations into the 16th Street building.

 

[Ford]

I wouldn't hold my breath for a format change on any of the FM signals. While the rim shot stations in town go through formats like the Doc's Gremlin goes through oil, when was the last time one of the big stick frequencies up and flipped format?

If I remember correctly, it was 92.3, but that was a swap, not so much a flip. Power is still Where Hip Hop Lives (if you can get a signal) and KTAR is still the station where the Valley comes to listen to other people talk.

I suspect corporate culture will change quite a bit, though. And why is it that Gumpdusky never consolidated their stations into one building?

 

[michael hagerty]

Here's something you don't see every day...

Tom Taylor's newsletter published a link to the purchase contract. I haven't had time to read it, but Tom's article says real estate and land issues figure big, especially for the AMs, and if costs for improvements are too high, Hubbard can pass on the Phoenix AMs and do the rest of the deal for the FMs and the Seattle cluster:

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101562887&qnum=5040&copynum=1&exhcnum=1

 

[DrAkbar]

And why is it that Gumpdusky never consolidated their stations into one building?

Maybe catfish (lower c) can splain that one. Not being a heavily leveraged company that needs to count every paperclip the staff uses, Gumpdusky probably felt it wouldn't add anything to the bottom line. And given the years the G.M. has in the saddle, the family members back in Ohio probably never questioned it.

Nurse Jeff and I vote for Hubbard to consolidate at the Londen Center (44th & Camelback). We can have a catered picnic at Circle Jack and buy some lottery tix next door at Circle K-slx,azg,upd,dus,dkb.

 

[EricStein]

I wouldn't hold my breath for a format change on any of the FM signals. While the rim shot stations in town go through formats like the Doc's Gremlin goes through oil, when was the last time one of the big stick frequencies up and flipped format?

If I remember correctly, it was 92.3, but that was a swap, not so much a flip. Power is still Where Hip Hop Lives (if you can get a signal) and KTAR is still the station where the Valley comes to listen to other people talk.

I suspect corporate culture will change quite a bit, though. And why is it that Gumpdusky never consolidated their stations into one building?

The last South Mountain FM to make a noticeable flip was 101.5 in 2007.

If Hubbard's culture is anything like Bonneville's, given the management ties, there could be a shift toward a "kinder, gentler" KUPD.

 

[DrAkbar]

Tom Taylor's newsletter published a link to the purchase contract. I haven't had time to read it, but Tom's article says real estate and land issues figure big, especially for the AMs, and if costs for improvements are too high, Hubbard can pass on the Phoenix AMs and do the rest of the deal for the FMs and the Seattle cluster

That agreement is almost as many pages as A Day In The Life Of A Lamptimer. YIKES! Looks like there are some title, zoning and environmental issues in Guadalupe and Mesa that concern Hubbard. Just wait til they find out what the xmttr roof on Lumberyard 14~Forty is made of. And where in the contract is the intellectual property value of the dear old lamptimer?

 

[johndavis]

Maybe catfish (lower c) can splain that one. Not being a heavily leveraged company that needs to count every paperclip the staff uses, Gumpdusky probably felt it wouldn't add anything to the bottom line. And given the years the G.M. has in the saddle, the family members back in Ohio probably never questioned it.

In Seattle, even though all the stations are in the same building, they'e grouped by holding company with a common lobby. To go from a Bellvue studio to an Orca studio requires a trip through the lobby. Keeping things separate seems to be in their DNA.

 

[johndavis]

That agreement is almost as many pages as A Day In The Life Of A Lamptimer. YIKES! Looks like there are some title, zoning and environmental issues in Guadalupe and Mesa that concern Hubbard. Just wait til they find out what the xmttr roof on Lumberyard 14~Forty is made of. And where in the contract is the intellectual property value of the dear old lamptimer?

My hunch: the parties writing up the deal didn't have a copy of a recent survey or deed when they wrote this up, so they wrote 6 pages of ways out if something came up. It happens from time to time. The day before one non comm station was to be sold the survey came back and found that one guy wire was on someone else's property and nobody had noticed it had been built wrong for 20 years. It took months before that deal was signed. This lets the rest proceed if someone finds a similar blunder, which is kind of smart.

 

[DrAkbar]

That agreement is almost as many pages as A Day In The Life Of A Lamptimer. YIKES! Looks like there are some title, zoning and environmental issues in Guadalupe and Mesa that concern Hubbard. Just wait til they find out what the xmttr roof on Lumberyard 14~Forty is made of. And where in the contract is the intellectual property value of the dear old lamptimer?

My hunch: the parties writing up the deal didn't have a copy of a recent survey or deed when they wrote this up, so they wrote 6 pages of ways out if something came up. It happens from time to time.

Could be....but our hunch is Hubbard's plan is to sell the land and building in Guadalupe (KUPD/KDUS) and the KDKB building in Mesa so they can pay down debt while they consolidate operations under one roof. Hubbard doesn't want a title or environmental issue gumming up the works when it's time to flip, and it appears they have some concerns about the land KDUS sits on. KSLX/KAZG pays rent at the Londen Center. And the postage sized lot Lumberyard 14~Forty sits on is leased land. The KDUS towers may have to move if Guadalupe is sold and the sticks gotta go.

Some interesting tid-bits in the contract: if Gumpdusky can't resolve the land and title issues, the purchase price is reduced by $2.5m, plus the value of the real estate, and Hubbard can pass on KDUS. An LMA agreement kicks in October 1st if the deal hasn't closed been by then. And the break up penalty is $6.5m, paid by Old Mother Hubbard.

And finally...sorry Wonderful Russ - no broker fees involved in this transaction. A FSBO (sfx -fake studio audience: awhhhhhhhh)

 

[michael hagerty]

I wouldn't hold my breath for a format change on any of the FM signals. While the rim shot stations in town go through formats like the Doc's Gremlin goes through oil, when was the last time one of the big stick frequencies up and flipped format?

Totally from memory...tell me if I'm missing some:

Coyote to Eva....what...two years ago?

Before that, KZON five or six years ago.

And before that, KKLT becoming The Peak nine years ago.

It's a very stable market in terms of format.

 

[Ford]

I wouldn't hold my breath for a format change on any of the FM signals. While the rim shot stations in town go through formats like the Doc's Gremlin goes through oil, when was the last time one of the big stick frequencies up and flipped format?

Totally from memory...tell me if I'm missing some:

Coyote to Eva....what...two years ago?

Before that, KZON five or six years ago.

And before that, KKLT becoming The Peak nine years ago.

It's a very stable market in terms of format.

Your memory is better than mine!

I totally forgot about Eva...but that might have something to do with the fact that she's not exactly memorable.

 

[MC]

Re: So long, Gumpdusky!

Gumpdusky? bet he is related to BabinskY.

 

[johndavis]

Could be....but our hunch is Hubbard's plan is to sell the land and building in Guadalupe (KUPD/KDUS) and the KDKB building in Mesa so they can pay down debt while they consolidate operations under one roof. Hubbard doesn't want a title or environmental issue gumming up the works when it's time to flip, and it appears they have some concerns about the land KDUS sits on. KSLX/KAZG pays rent at the Londen Center. And the postage sized lot Lumberyard 14~Forty sits on is leased land. The KDUS towers may have to move if Guadalupe is sold and the sticks gotta go.

That makes sense, but Hubbard can't sell any of it until they take possession. All they can do is make sure they're given clear title to the land and ensure they're not buying a toxic waste dump (which more than one AM site has become over the years). These are things you want to know about before you buy, whether you plan to hold it or flip it.

Of course, flipping requires someone else being interested in the property. How much interest is there in I-10 frontage that requires winding through a run-down residential neighborhood to access?

 

[EricStein]

Totally from memory...tell me if I'm missing some:

Coyote to Eva....what...two years ago?

Before that, KZON five or six years ago.

And before that, KKLT becoming The Peak nine years ago.

It's a very stable market in terms of format.

I absolutely forgot about the Eva flip. It shows how much I care about the station.

 

[justthenumbers]

I absolutely forgot about the Eva flip. It shows how much I care about the station.

It's an easy one to forget, since it was really more of an evolution as opposed to a full-fledged flip. KYOT had begun phasing in Rhythmic Oldies at least a year (I'm almost certain it was much longer than that) prior to the official change.

 

[johndavis]

It's a very stable market in terms of format.

I think that's a product of the Telecomm act. Once you build a cluster and carve the appropriate chunk of the audience you're aiming each station for, it really pays to leave everything alone. There isn't much benefit to belonging to the Format of the Month Club.

 

[buster2]

As for the land on which the KDUS towers set, I would be surprised if there were any zoning issues there. I think John Davis' thought that it's boilerplate to make sure a guy wire didn't accidently get anchored into someone's back yard, etc., makes sense.

Also, am I losing it, or weren't those towers moved to that location from a spot about a half mile north within the last 20 years or so? I know at one time the KUPD studios (actually a mobile home - really)were at the north end of the town of Guadalupe and I thought the towers were right there, too.

if they were moved, one would think there wouldn't be zoning issues.

 

[DrAkbar]

As for the land on which the KDUS towers set, I would be surprised if there were any zoning issues there.

There's zoning in Guadalupe? Do a satellite search of Guadalupe & I-10. YIKES!!

Who knows...maybe the land KDUS sits on is a former AMC dealership and all kinds of toxic wastes from Gremlins, Pacers, Classics, Marlins, Ambassadors, Hornets and Ramblers oozed into the soil! Hubbard has written a CYA clause in the agreement to allow for a Phase 1 environmental inspection and title review. It's usual and customary when purchasing commercial or industrial property so the new owner isn't stuck with a big mess and an even bigger clean up bill. Gumpdusky is committed to $500,000 to correct the problem. After that, Hubbard has the right to bail on 10~Sixty and reduce the purchase price by $2.5m and the value of the land. Good thing Lumberyard 14~Forty is on leased land. The Nurse and I can only imagine what the Goldminers have left down there!

 

[EricStein]

As for the land on which the KDUS towers set, I would be surprised if there were any zoning issues there. I think John Davis' thought that it's boilerplate to make sure a guy wire didn't accidently get anchored into someone's back yard, etc., makes sense.

Also, am I losing it, or weren't those towers moved to that location from a spot about a half mile north within the last 20 years or so? I know at one time the KUPD studios (actually a mobile home - really)were at the north end of the town of Guadalupe and I thought the towers were right there, too.

if they were moved, one would think there wouldn't be zoning issues.

From the archives of historicaerials.com and the FCC, it appears that 1060 moved its towers to its current location (and studios to the adobe hut at 1900 W. Carmen) circa 1986. Prior to that, the towers were near I-10 and Baseline. This was during Melton/Norris ownership, so they could have used the current tower site for storing hazardous materials. They may have to declare the adobe hut a Superfund Site!