Entercom/LFG Deal in Denver: which station will be spun off?

That's the million dollar question. I don't see Entercom spinning off KQKS, KYGO, KOSI, or KALC. Those station are both money makers and do very well ratings wise, which leads us to KKFN and KQMT. Any guesses or speculations?

See my post on the US board. Entercom intends to divest KKFN according to InsideRadio.

Yes, its going to the Pikes Peak Trust,
Which in turn will spin it off to a third party. Makes sense at this point.

Don't forget LFG also owns the sports talker that is AM 1600 too. That's the proverbial "X Factor" in this deal

MY feeling is Crusin' 950 AND KEZW 1430 will become the sacrificial lambs instead (Most likely to Wilks since they already own KXKL 105.1). Entercomm will keep the sports outlets & probably work out a deal with Mile High Sports to put them all under the same umbrella (Mile High Sports - With Entercomm managing the broadcast side of MHS so it can focus on its magazine side)

I include MHS because while MHS broadcasts (VERY) low powered stations on 94.1 & 94.9 (Compared to the old spot at 93.7 which can be heard in MANY places around town), it's main prescence (Even on TuneIn Radio) is under KQKS 107.5 HD2

Just my opinion though

Cheers

Entercom won't be able to sacrifice KRWZ and KEZW instead of KKFN. KKFN makes far more money. I suspect, if any changes are made, KALC will be sacrificed instead. Other stations may be included, but the issue seems to be the female numbers of KOSI and KYGO. Alice is the next highest female station in the cluster, and Entercom isn't going to want to give up KOSI or KYGO.

Kent said:

Entercom won't be able to sacrifice KRWZ and KEZW instead of KKFN.

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I didn't say instead of KKFN but anyway.....

KKFN makes far more money.

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That is does

I suspect, if any changes are made, KALC will be sacrificed instead.

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To who though ?? About the only one who'd be remotely interested in KALC would be Wilks in order to corner the Hot AC listeners BUT would they be willing to put up with two stations beating each other over the head FOR THE SAME LISTENERS though ?? Me thinks not.....

Other stations may be included, but the issue seems to be the female numbers of KOSI and KYGO. Alice is the next highest female station in the cluster, and Entercom isn't going to want to give up KOSI or KYGO.

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And they won't give up Alice either

I think what'll likely happen is the LFG sports cluster will either be sold to Front Range Sports Network (Owner of ESPN Radio affiliate KDSP/KJAC) or placed under the familiar Mile High Sports umbrella (With a company under that name too). This would keep 94.1/94.9 (Who moved there when they were kicked off 93.7 FM / 1510 AM) on KQKS 107.5 HD2 (Which TuneIn has their Internet stream listed under) since neither 94.1 nor 94.9 have a strong enough signal to be easily heard in Denver directly (Though I have no idea why 94.1 doesn't have a very good signal in Denver)

In either case, the programming would remain pretty much the same

JMO though.....

Cheers & 73

JeeperOne said:

That is doesTo who though ?? About the only one who'd be remotely interested in KALC would be Wilks in order to corner the Hot AC listeners BUT would they be willing to put up with two stations beating each other over the head FOR THE SAME LISTENERS though ?? Me thinks not.....And they won't give up Alice either

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If the DOJ says Entercom gives up Alice, KOSI or KYGO or it loses the LFM deal, Alice is toast, and Entercom won't care who buys it. Doesn't mean Entercom will want to do it, but they'll do it if they have to. Remember, Salem bought Alice 15 years ago, and, though they used it for trade bait, who says they won't do it again? Wilks would probably want it, too, but will only make a move if they think it adds enough value to the cluster when they sell it. Wilks is an investment firm and is already cashing out. They bought low and are selling high.

I think what'll likely happen is the LFG sports cluster will either be sold to Front Range Sports Network (Owner of ESPN Radio affiliate KDSP/KJAC) or placed under the familiar Mile High Sports umbrella (With a company under that name too). This would keep 94.1/94.9 (Who moved there when they were kicked off 93.7 FM / 1510 AM) on KQKS 107.5 HD2 (Which TuneIn has their Internet stream listed under) since neither 94.1 nor 94.9 have a strong enough signal to be easily heard in Denver directly (Though I have no idea why 94.1 doesn't have a very good signal in Denver)

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The other sports operators would probably like KKFN, though that assumes Entercom will convince the DOJ that the original deal is in everyone's best interest. I suppose that's not out of the question, though the DOJ doesn't appear to be leaning that way for the moment. It also assumes those operators could afford KKFN. When the LFM deal was first announced, Salem and CPR were rumored to be kicking the tires at 104.3. CPR was probably a long shot and may no longer be interested since it bought 102.3, but, if the price is right, I suppose they could revive their interest.

What would Salem want with 104.3 ?? I don't get that.....

Aside from having a better signal than 94.7 (And maybe one of their AM sticks), I just don't see them jumping at it. OTOH Salem DOES have people who know & understand RADIO (Unlike Crawford, who only understands the pulpit :evil: ) & DOES own the Classic Hits station in Hawaii, so I suppose anything is possible.....

And did I read that right when you said CPR - Colorado Public Radio had an interest in 104.3 ?? If that's true - WOW !!! In that case (And if they really did have an interest), they could easily bring Smooth Jazz/NAC back to Denver (This is where 93.7 The Rock should've went IMO but alas they didn't & HAD to BLOW it IMO)

JMO though.....

Cheers & 73

JeeperOne said:

What would Salem want with 104.3 ?? I don't get that.....
Aside from having a better signal than 94.7 (And maybe one of their AM sticks), I just don't see them jumping at it. OTOH Salem DOES have people who know & understand RADIO (Unlike Crawford, who only understands the pulpit :evil: ) & DOES own the Classic Hits station in Hawaii, so I suppose anything is possible.....

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Salem has run all sports stations before (and ran them for several years), though they've sold or traded all of them since their big acquisition boom about 15 years ago. Salem might also have an interest in doing "The Fish" in Denver. Denver is one of the most successful markets for EMF's K-Love network since it acquired 91.1.

And did I read that right when you said CPR - Colorado Public Radio had an interest in 104.3 ?? If that's true - WOW !!! In that case (And if they really did have an interest), they could easily bring Smooth Jazz/NAC back to Denver (This is where 93.7 The Rock should've went IMO but alas they didn't & HAD to BLOW it IMO)

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CPR was mentioned in one of the trades I read as having kicked the tires there. Like I said, that seemed like a longshot at best. It may not have been any sort of serious inquiry either. When a station goes up for sale, broadcasters talk to each other, and it rarely hurts to pick up the phone.

Just now: The Justice Dept. is making Entercom sell three stations: KYGO (country), KOSI (AC) and KKFN (sports). Maybe they could go to CBS, since it has a TV station in Denver. A trade for St Louis, perhaps?

Here's the story:
https://radioinsight.com/blog/headl...ercom-acquisition-of-lincoln-financial-media/

It looks like KYGO, KOSI, and KEPN are being traded to Bonneville in exchange for KSWD/Los Angeles. This move does make sense since the three stations would fit in nicely with Bonneville's portfolio.

You have to think this working on this deal is what delayed the settlement with the DOJ. Entercom will be in a worse position revenue-wise in Denver after this deal than today. KOSI bills a lot more than KS-107.5.

Yes it will hurt Entercom, but at the same time gives them a strategy to use by making KALC and KQKS flanker stations on the FM side while attracting the older demos with the KRWZ/KEZW combo. Only time will tell if this was worth it.

It's definitely worth it. Entercom is in a worse position in Denver, but it got the fastest growing station in the nation's #2 market, and its revenue should grow a lot faster because Entercom will take the casino ads Bonneville won't. That's not even including the other markets Entercom is getting. My main point was that there was no way Entercom was going to dump KOSI without getting something big for it, and it likely negotiated this deal when it found out the DOJ was holding the LFM deal up and presented it to the DOJ, not the other way around.

This also isn't the first time Bonneville has used a standalone in market #2 to strong arm another company. You might remember Bonneville got Emmis to give up WIL in St. Louis for KZLA in Los Angeles in 2000. All accounts said, when it got Sinclair's St. Louis stations, Emmis wanted to add WIL to its WKKX and sell or swap some of the rock stations. Bonneville made it give up the two country stations.

You're probably correct that Entercom will likely try to bundle Alice and KS-107.5. Time will tell how well that works. Alice skews a little older than KS-107.5, and KS-107.5 skews male to Alice's female lean. There's probably a way to make money there, but it could involve forcing people who want to buy Alice or The Mountain to also buy KS-107.5.

BTW - Larry Patrick seems to think Entercom and Bonneville will try to grow their clusters. With Wilks looking to get out of the business, seems like each could add at least one station to their portfolio.