KNTI 99.5 Lakeport – Can you share what you know?
Lakeport was a 3 station market. You had an AM and FM owned by the same owner and you had KNTI. KNTI had a much bigger coverage and I understand it was also heard in Ukiah.
Per Broadcasting Yearbook, they were 2,500 watts from a HAAT of 1,920 feet. That would sure get out there!
KNTI had a couple of owners from it’s inception in 1984. In December 1994 the station sold to a new owner who kept it through most of 1999. It would seem the station did okay to fairly good during it’s run as in 1994 it was purchased for $900,000. Five years later, after Bi-Coastal purchased the other AM & FM in Lakeport, they sold for $1,160,000 (I think) to Bi-Coastal.
From everything I have heard about Bi-Coastal, they are good business people with a trail of success under their belt with their group of stations.
That leaves me to question why KNTI sold. I can only guess Bi-Coastal’s group of stations and expertise was cutting in on revenue for KNTI. Bi-Coastal could work agency deals for several markets and stations adding value to the biggest advertisers who desired reach beyond the local area.
As for format, the whole time KNTI was Adult Contemporary just like the original AM/FM combo in Lakeport. Even when Bi-Coastal came to town, they kept the FM Hot Adult Contemporary and took the AM to Nostalgia. In my mind that is a smart move because an AM/FM simulcast is different from separate formats so they could sell both stations as a combo and command more advertising budget.
What I am curious about is how well KNTI did in billing. I can only guess the $900,000 purchase price in 1994 and the $1,160,000 sale price in 1999 indicates they did pretty well. Might a broker give me an idea of what a station might bill at that price tag (and I know there are so many variables like overhead and value of facility physically).
Broadcasting Yearbook listed their 60 second rate as $19.50. I didn’t check but I recall at some point the rate was supposed to be a 12x rate.
If I had to guess, I’d think the station did around $45,000 a month at an average of about $15 per unit. I have no research to back this up as it’s an out of the blue thought.
Did you work there or have a friend that did. Did you listen to the station? As they had an office in Ukiah and Lakeport, was it purely a Lakeport station or regional FM that served Ukiah and Lakeport and points in between?
Lakeport was a 3 station market. You had an AM and FM owned by the same owner and you had KNTI. KNTI had a much bigger coverage and I understand it was also heard in Ukiah.
Per Broadcasting Yearbook, they were 2,500 watts from a HAAT of 1,920 feet. That would sure get out there!
KNTI had a couple of owners from it’s inception in 1984. In December 1994 the station sold to a new owner who kept it through most of 1999. It would seem the station did okay to fairly good during it’s run as in 1994 it was purchased for $900,000. Five years later, after Bi-Coastal purchased the other AM & FM in Lakeport, they sold for $1,160,000 (I think) to Bi-Coastal.
From everything I have heard about Bi-Coastal, they are good business people with a trail of success under their belt with their group of stations.
That leaves me to question why KNTI sold. I can only guess Bi-Coastal’s group of stations and expertise was cutting in on revenue for KNTI. Bi-Coastal could work agency deals for several markets and stations adding value to the biggest advertisers who desired reach beyond the local area.
As for format, the whole time KNTI was Adult Contemporary just like the original AM/FM combo in Lakeport. Even when Bi-Coastal came to town, they kept the FM Hot Adult Contemporary and took the AM to Nostalgia. In my mind that is a smart move because an AM/FM simulcast is different from separate formats so they could sell both stations as a combo and command more advertising budget.
What I am curious about is how well KNTI did in billing. I can only guess the $900,000 purchase price in 1994 and the $1,160,000 sale price in 1999 indicates they did pretty well. Might a broker give me an idea of what a station might bill at that price tag (and I know there are so many variables like overhead and value of facility physically).
Broadcasting Yearbook listed their 60 second rate as $19.50. I didn’t check but I recall at some point the rate was supposed to be a 12x rate.
If I had to guess, I’d think the station did around $45,000 a month at an average of about $15 per unit. I have no research to back this up as it’s an out of the blue thought.
Did you work there or have a friend that did. Did you listen to the station? As they had an office in Ukiah and Lakeport, was it purely a Lakeport station or regional FM that served Ukiah and Lakeport and points in between?
