Just Curious...

[dbdigital]

There's a guy with an AM station for sale just north of Sacramento. The city of license is Buttonwillow.

The station is a 250 watt daytimer and is run as a non-commercial. It makes no money and the entire staff is volunteer. Most of the signal covers the lettuce fields of Central CA but some of it hits the northern part of Sacramento. There is no land with the sale; the studio and transmitter sites are leased. I have no idea what condition the equipment is in or if the power can be increased.

The guy bought it in 2004 for 250K and he's asking 600K for it now. Is it worth it? Just curious.

db

 

[Squatfm]

No land, No office/studio space, No money incomming plus 600k = Looking for a sucker buyer, stay away from that deal.

> There's a guy with an AM station for sale just north of
> Sacramento. The city of license is Buttonwillow.
>
> The station is a 250 watt daytimer and is run as a
> non-commercial. It makes no money and the entire staff is
> volunteer. Most of the signal covers the lettuce fields of
> Central CA but some of it hits the northern part of
> Sacramento. There is no land with the sale; the studio and
> transmitter sites are leased. I have no idea what condition
> the equipment is in or if the power can be increased.
>
> The guy bought it in 2004 for 250K and he's asking 600K for
> it now. Is it worth it? Just curious.
>
> db
>

 

[wiradioguy]

id say its not worth it..but then what do i know

 

[dbdigital]

> id say its not worth it..but then what do i know
>

I tend to agree with both you and squatFM. I actually contacted the guy and offered him 295K. I figured 300K plus another 200K for operating expenses would be sufficient to run the station, get some engineering studies done to see if it's possible to raise the power and direct the signal more toward Sacramento and get the station back into a condition where it's making some money.

But he just laughed at me.

db

 

[rdalton]

> I tend to agree with both you and squatFM. I actually
> contacted the guy and offered him 295K. I figured 300K plus
> another 200K for operating expenses would be sufficient to
> run the station, get some engineering studies done to see if
> it's possible to raise the power and direct the signal more
> toward Sacramento and get the station back into a condition
> where it's making some money.
>
> But he just laughed at me.

He laughed at you?? $45k on his investment for an AM daytimer is amazing. I'm sure he won't be laughing when he's still trying to sell it years down the road for less than what he paid.

With the kind of money you have, you'd probably be much more successful focusing that in a new FCC FM auction... of course you'd be in a much smaller market, but it would atleast be somewhat viable.

RJD<P ID="signature">______________
http://www.RichardJDalton.com</P>

 

[radioboy]

> There's a guy with an AM station for sale just north of
> Sacramento. The city of license is Buttonwillow.
>
> The station is a 250 watt daytimer and is run as a
> non-commercial. It makes no money and the entire staff is
> volunteer. Most of the signal covers the lettuce fields of
> Central CA but some of it hits the northern part of
> Sacramento. There is no land with the sale; the studio and
> transmitter sites are leased. I have no idea what condition
> the equipment is in or if the power can be increased.
>
> The guy bought it in 2004 for 250K and he's asking 600K for
> it now. Is it worth it? Just curious.
>
> db
>

That is way overpriced for the station you just described. He's asking
$600K for a piece of paper.

You know, some of these owners are delusional. There's an AM 5kw daytimer
for sale in my market that owns its own transmitter building and tower and
a mobile home that's dilapidated. The owner wants 350K for the station with no property involved. The studio equipment has been stolen. Cash flow from programming = $0.

It has also been on the market for TEN YEARS this May. Wonder why?<P ID="signature">______________
Listen to WJJD, The Country Giant, online at any time:http://www.live365.com/stations/alanmccall
_____________________________________________
http://radioboyalan.blogspot.com</P>

 

[clouseau]

Anyone have the Calls on this station??

The FCC doesn't show anything but Translators for that community...

> > I tend to agree with both you and squatFM. I actually
> > contacted the guy and offered him 295K. I figured 300K
> plus
> > another 200K for operating expenses would be sufficient to
>
> > run the station, get some engineering studies done to see
> if
> > it's possible to raise the power and direct the signal
> more
> > toward Sacramento and get the station back into a
> condition
> > where it's making some money.
> >
> > But he just laughed at me.
>
> He laughed at you?? $45k on his investment for an AM
> daytimer is amazing. I'm sure he won't be laughing when he's
> still trying to sell it years down the road for less than
> what he paid.
>
> With the kind of money you have, you'd probably be much more
> successful focusing that in a new FCC FM auction... of
> course you'd be in a much smaller market, but it would
> atleast be somewhat viable.
>
> RJD
>

 

[dbdigital]

> Anyone have the Calls on this station??
>
> The FCC doesn't show anything but Translators for that
> community...
>
> > > I tend to agree with both you and squatFM. I actually
> > > contacted the guy and offered him 295K. I figured 300K
> > plus
> > > another 200K for operating expenses would be sufficient
> to
> >
> > > run the station, get some engineering studies done to
> see
> > if
> > > it's possible to raise the power and direct the signal
> > more
> > > toward Sacramento and get the station back into a
> > condition
> > > where it's making some money.
> > >
> > > But he just laughed at me.
> >
> > He laughed at you?? $45k on his investment for an AM
> > daytimer is amazing. I'm sure he won't be laughing when
> he's
> > still trying to sell it years down the road for less than
> > what he paid.
> >
> > With the kind of money you have, you'd probably be much
> more
> > successful focusing that in a new FCC FM auction... of
> > course you'd be in a much smaller market, but it would
> > atleast be somewhat viable.
> >
> > RJD
> >
>

It is KIQS.

The property is listed with a media broker. Although the listing is vague about who and what the station is, it wasn't hard to figure out thanks to Radio-Locator and the FCC's amazing database (where every transaction and scrap of paper is scanned and available for public viewing).

You're probably right about the FM auctions. However, for Auction 62, bidders were paying insane amounts of money, way out of my league, for CA CP's that were in sparsely populated areas.

db

 

[radioranch]

Basic rules.

The station is worth what someone will pay for it. If some idiot will pay 600K, then that's what it's worth.

All owners are extremely over-proud of their stations. Particularly with AM's, there are seldom any buyers at the price they think it's worth, so therefore it's not worth that price.

Finally, remember with AM's, when the windows open up every few years, you can move that puppy anywhere it will fit, anywhere in the country, as long as there is still a radio station left behind. People have filed to move stations from Abbeville, SC to Las Vegas, southern Illinois to Chicago, Adel Georgia to Atlanta, etc. So just having an AM license with no carrier has some value if there is another station in that market to leave behind.

 

[Tom_Desmond]

> You're probably right about the FM auctions. However, for
> Auction 62, bidders were paying insane amounts of money, way
> out of my league, for CA CP's that were in sparsely
> populated areas.

Likewise, here in North Texas and adjacent areas of Oklahoma. Some good CPs were up for auction (along with some turkeys like Antlers, OK), but the prices paid just don't seem economically viable.

The problem is that auctions seem to attract a speculation fever attitude that bids prices way too high. It may maximize revenue that the government receives, but isn't going to result in the best service to the public.

 

[dbdigital]

> > You're probably right about the FM auctions. However, for
>
> > Auction 62, bidders were paying insane amounts of money,
> way
> > out of my league, for CA CP's that were in sparsely
> > populated areas.
>
> Likewise, here in North Texas and adjacent areas of
> Oklahoma. Some good CPs were up for auction (along with
> some turkeys like Antlers, OK), but the prices paid just
> don't seem economically viable.
>
> The problem is that auctions seem to attract a speculation
> fever attitude that bids prices way too high. It may
> maximize revenue that the government receives, but isn't
> going to result in the best service to the public.
>
That is so true. And if you have been monitoring any of the radio station broker's websites, some of the Auction 62 buys are starting to appear, either as CPs or as soon-to-be built stations for sale. So, obviously, speculators were very active during the bidding. For me this is proof that the whole auction process is a disaster for community radio. It will be interesting to see how this will work for LPAM, should that service ever materialize.

In California, the only CP sold that is in a community that's growing is Coalinga. And the only reason for the town's growth is that the state is expanding the men's correctional facility there.

db

 

[JasonW]

> In California, the only CP sold that is in a community
> that's growing is Coalinga. And the only reason for the
> town's growth is that the state is expanding the men's
> correctional facility there.
>
> db

The ultimate captive audience! Sorry, but nature abhors a pun vacuum. -- Jason

 

[dbdigital]

> > In California, the only CP sold that is in a community
> > that's growing is Coalinga. And the only reason for the
> > town's growth is that the state is expanding the men's
> > correctional facility there.
> >
> > db
>
> The ultimate captive audience! Sorry, but nature abhors a
> pun vacuum. -- Jason
>

Very funny. And Coalinga's official website proudly brags about the expansion.

Now how pathetic is that?

db

 

[wyattcox]

> There's a guy with an AM station for sale just north of
> Sacramento. The city of license is Buttonwillow.
>
> The station is a 250 watt daytimer and is run as a
> non-commercial. It makes no money and the entire staff is
> volunteer. Most of the signal covers the lettuce fields of
> Central CA but some of it hits the northern part of
> Sacramento. There is no land with the sale; the studio and
> transmitter sites are leased. I have no idea what condition
> the equipment is in or if the power can be increased.
>
> The guy bought it in 2004 for 250K and he's asking 600K for
> it now. Is it worth it? Just curious.
>
> db
>

I don't see you as being able to make it into a Sacramento station especially with KFBK @ 1530 and KCVR @ 1570. $100K tops, strictly satellator with local news and city council meeting live, etc...

Are you sure the guy isn't growing something else between the lettuce rows and smoking it???
<P ID="signature">______________
http://www.wyattcox.net
http://www.americansunriseradio.com
http://www.wyattsfavoriteradio.com</P>

 

[OldAkronite]

KIQS

> It is KIQS.
>
> The property is listed with a media broker. Although the
> listing is vague about who and what the station is, it
> wasn't hard to figure out thanks to Radio-Locator and the
> FCC's amazing database (where every transaction and scrap of
> paper is scanned and available for public viewing).

KIQS puts a nice, listenable signal...into the town of Willows and a small section of nearby I-5. That's about it.

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KIQS&service=AM&status=L&hours=D>http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KIQS&service=AM&status=L&hours=D</a>

If I remember right, it puts no appreciable signal into Chico due to its high frequency, low wattage and terrain.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>