KINL was my first paid job in radio back in 1978. We went all Top 40, I think, in October 1978. By 1980 our spot load was incredibly high but the price per spot was cheap. In fact, it was more expensive than the heritage #1 station across the river, but at $2 a spot, you had to run a bunch to make any money.
About 1992, they wanted me to come back as GM of KEPS and KINL. I did for a few weeks. By then the top 40 format was running on the AM and FM. Billing was nothing compared to about 1981 through 1984. KINL and KEPS were billing around $70,000 a month back in the early 1980s but by 1992 it was struggling to hit $16,000. The building was run down, equipment was still pretty much original and selling was so tough. The number of stations in Piedras Negres, across the river from Eagle Pass had doubled. I was shooting for $3 to $4 spots and most clients opted for a station across the river with more listeners at half the price.
Uvalde had always been pretty steady. I doubt that has changed. I know in the early 1980s, when I worked for the licensee that had most of these stations, the combined Uvalde/Eagle Pass billing would have easily been about $90,000-$100,000 a month. In fact, it would have been more but the FM at that point was an automation system in the next room that wasn't sold as a combo with the AM station then, so it only billed about $600 to $800 a month. Even adding the newer FMs in Uvalde that barely put a dent in the market, another $10,000 was possible monthly between the two.
You might say I am shocked to see all 5 stations sell for a mere $800,000. Either the stations have really suffered over the years in billing or maintenance or both. These towns are not hurting either. They are both major shopping hubs for a large area and support a robust business community although per capita income is nothing to write home about. And of what I have been told of MBM, they're not bad operators.
