Report: CC Selling KBAC, KSFQ/Santa Fe

[KTMCDO]

http://tinyurl.com/r6923
Oct. 02, 2006


Clear Channel Santa Fe, N.M., properties triple A KBAC (Radio Free Santa Fe) and sister smooth jazz KSFQ (Smooth Jazz Now) could soon be sold to an as yet unnamed Christian broadcasting group, according to a report in The New Mexican.

[EDIT].”

CC has owned the station for six of those years, the paper stated.

[EDIT-wholesale citations from a copyrighted source constitute both a violation of fair use protocol as well as radio-info's TOS. Please click on the poster's provided link at the top of the page to read the rest of the story]

 

[Mediafrog+]

If either or both dump their current formats, it might also mean the end of the Chill format on KLBU, which lost half of its 12+ numbers between Spring 2005 and Spring 2006. Wonder if they can keep going, being a standalone operation, or would sell out and possibly become a replacement for KBAC or KSFQ?

 

[JMpstar]

Gee, I hope that Clear Channel won't go through with that.

What really gets me is this: KSFQ seemed to be off the air...I couldn't resist, so I called to ask what was going on. I was told that KSFQ was getting a new transmitter installed today, as their old transmitter was aged (hope their new transmitter is HD-capable). It just seems kind of weird to me that CC would invest in a new transmitter for the station if it was getting ready to sell it off. Then again, I guess weirder things have happened.

 

[MightyFrenchman]

If the station or stations are bought by K-Love, which simply feeds a satellite-fed contemporary Christian music format to its stations, how will that affect long-time CCM station KLYT in Albuquerque, one of the first stations in the country to go all CCM music in the mid '70s?

 

[bobeeboxer]

K-Love is already on at 105.5 in Albuquerque. KLYT fired 95% of their staff months ago and just plays the sat from their corp in Arizona

 

[goriajk]

VERY DEPRESSING. I'm from SoCal and when I visited Santa Fe back in 2000 I was glued to Radio Free Santa Fe throughout my stay. It's a station with true passion for the music that I love and the respect they give to their audience. I will sincerely miss it. Joe

 

[Gnarlodious]

This is very bad news. KBAC has been a Santa Fe cornerstone for a decade, and before then KIOT. Some local shows, like Transitions Radio Magazine, have been on for 16 years.

This is exemplary of the sad sad condition of Corporate Radio, the quality gets worse and worse while community interests are not being served.

 

[Skye Rivers]

This is Skye Rivers, Friends of KBAC... IF ANYONE is reading this and wants to get involved in the letter writing campaign to help save KBAC, you can contact Friends of [email protected]. It is true that the stations are potentially being sold, BUT, nothing has been signed and the application has NOT hit the FCC docket. Once this application does, we as a community have 30 days to respond which goes on record. For more information, you can contact me at the above email address. Now that Clear Channel is selling over 400 of their smaller market stations, you would think Mr. Dick Jenkins, CEO, of EMF Broadcasting out of Rocklin California might consider other options, especially since the Santa Fe Community opposes this sale. This sale will not only affect the community at large, but all ALL the non profits that KBAC has been working with over the past 11 years. KBAC is THE LOCAL Community Radio station, so as a community, let's show our support and start writing It is not whether Clear Channel will go through with this sale, but will EMF go through with buying this station.

 

[JimmyJames]

KBAC is a true original and I love their music. It would be a shame to lose a station as diverse, and uniquely local as Radio Free Santa Fe.

 

[EDwalker]

This is Skye Rivers, Friends of KBAC... IF ANYONE is reading this and wants to get involved in the letter writing campaign to help save KBAC, you can contact Friends of [email protected]. It is true that the stations are potentially being sold, BUT, nothing has been signed and the application has NOT hit the FCC docket. Once this application does, we as a community have 30 days to respond which goes on record. For more information, you can contact me at the above email address. Now that Clear Channel is selling over 400 of their smaller market stations, you would think Mr. Dick Jenkins, CEO, of EMF Broadcasting out of Rocklin California might consider other options, especially since the Santa Fe Community opposes this sale. This sale will not only affect the community at large, but all ALL the non profits that KBAC has been working with over the past 11 years. KBAC is THE LOCAL Community Radio station, so as a community, let's show our support and start writing It is not whether Clear Channel will go through with this sale, but will EMF go through with buying this station.

EMF doesn't buy radio stations to keep their present formats. If EMF buys it, you can kiss Radio Free Santa Fe buh-bye. Its just their mission.

Ironically, EMF's Dick Jenkins does have a backround in rock/free-form radio - at least early in his career:

http://www.rockininquad.com/where%20are%20they%20now.htm - scroll down you'll find him.

But that was then....this is now.

It seems that Santa Fe has an over abundence of eclectic alternative radio and given the other signals in the market, it seems as if there's plenty of room (and maybe some revenue to be had) with one of the other signals picking up a lot of what KBAC does.

Petition drives never work in cases like this. The only hope would be for a group of interested parties to make an offer to Clear Channel to purchase the station to save it from the format options of any other potential buyer, be it EMF or anyone else.

 

[Kent]

I agree that a petition drive isn't going to work in this situation. However, I also noticed in Clear Channel's press release that Santa Fe wasn't listed as one of the "departing markets." So, maybe they intend to keep the Santa Fe stations? As I understand, the list of stations for sale isn't final, but it looks like there may be a glimmer of hope for KBAC/KSFQ fans. Also, if the FCC determines this to be a change of ownership, Clear Channel will have to divest at least one, possibly two, FM's in Albuquerque.