Yeah the station was sold off to CSN International.
From what I heard they were the highest bidder... Money talks.
I don't even know what this means or is trying to imply...
I'm the one at American Broadcasting of Texas that registered for that FCC's auction and placed the bids for what became KLFK (I selected and requested this call sign).
We thought there was an opportunity in the Lufkin market, but after we won the auction and did a full analysis over the course of a year we decided there wasn't anything we could contribute to the local airwaves as there was a lot of similar programming already on in the area. We then considered some additional format options, which we had less experience in but would provide new programming to the area (one of which was sports). Ultimately, the decision was made that this should be a project for another broadcaster, perhaps either one closer to Lufkin or one who operates on a network level.
Shortly there after the principal of our organization died which prevented any new long term lease agreements or large capital expenditures which would be required to get KLFK on the air. With the clock ticking on the CP, I had no choice but to accelerate the search for a buyer. I personally reached out to several dozen broadcasters of all shapes and sizes. We also listed KLFK on some public websites, including this forum.
Ultimately, CSN made an offer that the estate decided to accept. It wasn't a rich offer and there was no auction, but it did cover our expenses and keep the KLFK allotment alive. The numbers are all public, but here is what they look like... the winning bid in the FCC's auction for what became KLFK was 35k. CSN bought the CP for 45k. Yes, we did receive a bidding credit, but because CSN is larger they did not qualify for that credit and it had to be repaid, which CSN did reimburse.
After you factor in engineering and legal expenses and application and regulatory fees, we broke even. It certainly wasn't a money maker or a buy and flip situation. It was an interesting experience, but also a headache and a distraction.
CSN was a good and honorable partner in the transaction and I am pleased that the station I spent a lot of time and energy on eventually did get on the air.
