• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

KXOS Sold to Meruelo

The official announcement comes more than 1 month after David Eduardo mentioned it in the 1st post:

Meruelo Media Buys KXOS Los Angeles

InsideRadio.com story link:

http://www.insideradio.com/free/mer...cle_3d91cfce-7cd0-11e9-8f1a-e3020c477217.html

This gives Meruelo Media 7 signals in the Greater L.A. area -
although not all of them may count towards the L.A. market.

Clarification needed as to whether KDEY Riverside counts towards the L.A. market
and which of the two TV signals count towards L.A.

*****

One of the interesting side notes from the transaction:

"Working with Mexico-based Grupo Radio Centro, (Otto) Padron said Meruelo Media will launch a Spanish language all-news format on a KXOS HD Radio side channel.
In addition, they will work with the Mexican broadcaster to develop other multimedia content for Meruelo’s KWHY-TV."
 
Last edited:
The next question, frankly, is how much did they sell it for?

Even if it was the same price as KLOS, it wouldn't be enough to repay all of GRC's debts to the Mexican equivalent of the IRS — reported by Mexican media as nearly a billion pesos (on the order of $50 million).
 
Raymie said:
The next question, frankly, is how much did they sell it for?

Even if it was the same price as KLOS, it wouldn't be enough to repay all of GRC's debts to the Mexican equivalent of the IRS — reported by Mexican media as nearly a billion pesos (on the order of $50 million).
Click to expand...

Rumored sale price around $32 million.
 
Notice the reference to HD channels in their quote: "MERUELO MEDIA will team with GRUPO RADIO CENTRO to launch an all-news Spanish-language format using one of 93.9 KXOS’s HD Radio channels. In addition, they will work to develop other multimedia content for MERUELO’s KWHY 22-TV."

This tells me they have other plans for the main channel, affirming the expectation on this board of KDAY sliding up from 93.5 to 93.9, with the HD side channel(s) housing the all-news Spanish-language format referenced.
 
david said:
Notice the reference to HD channels in their quote: "MERUELO MEDIA will team with GRUPO RADIO CENTRO to launch an all-news Spanish-language format using one of 93.9 KXOS’s HD Radio channels. In addition, they will work to develop other multimedia content for MERUELO’s KWHY 22-TV."

This tells me they have other plans for the main channel, affirming the expectation on this board of KDAY sliding up from 93.5 to 93.9, with the HD side channel(s) housing the all-news Spanish-language format referenced.
Click to expand...

And, of course, GRC could not even make all-news work in Mexico City. This sounds like some kind of mutually agreed on effort for GRC to save some face, given their immense problems in Mexico.
 
DavidEduardo said:


And, of course, GRC could not even make all-news work in Mexico City. This sounds like some kind of mutually agreed on effort for GRC to save some face, given their immense problems in Mexico.
Click to expand...

GRC liked being in LA as a prestige play. This is their company profile with the BMV (Mexican stock exchange) in which they tout themselves as the only radio company present in the "four cities with the most Spanish speakers in the world":

"Grupo Radio Centro es concesionario, operador y afiliador de más de 200 estaciones de radio consolidándose como el único grupo de radio en tener presencia en las cuatro ciudades más pobladas por hispanoparlantes en el mundo; Ciudad de México, Los Ángeles, Monterrey y Guadalajara."

That's what that HD subchannel has to be.

Speaking of the BMV, their own announcement says that the company will "monetize other non-strategic assets". I wonder what they'll sell next.
 
Raymie said:
GRC liked being in LA as a prestige play. This is their company profile with the BMV (Mexican stock exchange) in which they tout themselves as the only radio company present in the "four cities with the most Spanish speakers in the world":

"Grupo Radio Centro es concesionario, operador y afiliador de más de 200 estaciones de radio consolidándose como el único grupo de radio en tener presencia en las cuatro ciudades más pobladas por hispanoparlantes en el mundo; Ciudad de México, Los Ángeles, Monterrey y Guadalajara."
Click to expand...

That's bizarre.

LA's Spanish dominant population is less than 3 million.

And they forgot about Lima, Bogotá, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, Madrid and, maybe Caracas. All are larger than Hispanic LA, Monterrey and Guadalajara.

But hyperbole from GRC has become tediously normal.
 
This is a weird transaction, unless GRC gave Meruelo a discount for agreeing to launch the HD subchannel and provide content for KWHY-TV. Helping launch an all-news station in Spanish on an HD subchannel is like throwing a pile of money out of the U.S. Bank Tower building, unless there's something I'm missing...

Also no LMA agreement? Transaction closing in Q3? The Radio Centro format will likely stick around as a lame duck for a few months, given DavidEduardo's insights that the station is flipping to a non-Spanish format.

I don't expect this all-news in Spanish experiment to last more than a few months -- if that. It's not cheap to do news!
 
radiojomo said:
I don't expect this all-news in Spanish experiment to last more than a few months -- if that. It's not cheap to do news!
Click to expand...

"Helping to launch" doesn't mean they're doing the content. It wouldn't surprise me if the content comes from GRC and its simply using the KXOS HD facilities for free.
 
TheBigA said:
"Helping to launch" doesn't mean they're doing the content. It wouldn't surprise me if the content comes from GRC and its simply using the KXOS HD facilities for free.
Click to expand...

Very true - I could see that as the strategy. Although, I will say if they don't throw a ton of resources to GRC on the launch - they're still losing out on some revenue they would be making from leasing out the subchannel. Not sure if that's actually a significant amount of revenue, however.
 
TheBigA said:
"Helping to launch" doesn't mean they're doing the content. It wouldn't surprise me if the content comes from GRC and its simply using the KXOS HD facilities for free.
Click to expand...

The strange thing is that the Radio Centro folks do not have an all news station in Mexico City. The one they had, "Formato 21" with a very good signal on 790 AM was shut down some months ago... and the license turned back to the government.

While they have talk content on several stations, it's 100% about Mexico and, specifically, Mexico City, with a Mexico City attitude, style and diction.

The people in LA are mostly from more rural Mexico and smaller cities. They don't, as a rule, like those from Mexico City. They even have a term for them, "chilangos", which is not always applied in a kindly fashion... as in the sign I saw at the restroom at a Rosarito restaurant: "No dogs or chilangos".
 
radiojomo said:
Very true - I could see that as the strategy. Although, I will say if they don't throw a ton of resources to GRC on the launch - they're still losing out on some revenue they would be making from leasing out the subchannel. Not sure if that's actually a significant amount of revenue, however.
Click to expand...

LA HD channel is worth in the $10 k to $15 k monthly range.
 
Frequency1 said:
As of today 5/23/2019 there is no application on file with the FCC for the sale of KXOS-FM.
Click to expand...


Iy has however been officially announced in the press about the sale of KXOS
 
Frequency1 said:
As of today 5/23/2019 there is no application on file with the FCC for the sale of KXOS-FM.
Click to expand...

The application may take weeks to be filed after an initial agreement is reached. Press release first, filing second.

Some time back I saw an announcement and the filing was not done for about 4 months due to some hold-up in negotiating lease agreement transfers on the transmitter sites.
 
Last edited:
My guess is throwback hip-hop will be moved from 93.5 to 93.9.

A far less likely possibility would be a format not currently available in the market on the FM dial - such as sports/talk.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom