KBLA-AM filed to sell to Smiley Radio Properties for $ 7,150,000. The sale was filed in November 2, 2020 and the FCC approved it on January 8, 2021. Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Licensee, LLC filed for three extensions of the sale on 04/06/21, 08/02/2021 and 11/01/2021. There have been no more filings since then, either for the non-consummation of the sale or any more extensions. The license is still under Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Licensee, LLC.
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KBLA-AM sale never consummated
- Thread starter Frequency1
- Start date
There is a Program Time Contract on file that expired 7/29/2022.
Will be interesting to see what happens next Wednesday (the 2 year anniversary of the original agreement)
It has not "made the book" ever since the format was introduced.
I knew that he was never gonna come up with 7 million. This was just a fantasy station that automatically was going to generate all kinds of buzz and listeners in the politically progressive community and all the revenue would flow from that.
What say you now , Mr. Smiley?
You're kind of jumping to conclusions, since we don't know the details yet. But personally I think radio needs dreamers, people who are willing to take risks on an AM radio station.
Dreamers who know what they’re doing
His biggest problem appears to be money, which is not an unusual problem for minorities who want to buy media.
The FCC has been talking about improving minority ownership for 20 years, yet don't address the main issue.
Or anybody else for that matter. I would love to own a radio station of my very own, but somehow that 9 to 5 job I have doesn't seem to generate enough income to "dream" that big.
...And station ownership more difficult with the dismal advertising revenues available to smaller, local stations depending on the market. If an individual with an average income and savings wants to buy a station of their own, there seem to be 3 primary avenues: 1) Get an LP station if available, make it community oriented, mostly automated and enlist help from volunteers. Of course, this only works if you can continually fund it, or get enough underwriters to cover operating costs. 2) Find a station which is selling at a fair price and will pull in enough ad revenues to cover all costs and hopefully turn at least a small profit. 3) Go with option 2, but find partners to help invest and who are willing to put as much time and sweat equity into the station as you are. Ensure a lawyer drafts solid documents and put all agreements in writing in case questions about the operation, responsibilities or agreements come up in the future, especially if the excitement about owning a station together somehow turns sour in the future.
The main issue here is that no intelligent person of any ethnicity or race would buy a stand-alone AM today. No matter what government program is offered, that is a losing proposition.
Seriously? On AM stations?
You feeling okay?
Then the government should stop perpetuating the useless fraud of minority ownership.
I said "dreamers," did I not? I didn't talk about shrewd investors who seek a return on investment. Any form of broadcasting is a terrible investment. Ask David Field.
Isn't the actual lesson here ,"You can sell your struggling AM station for $ 7.1 million to some dreamer (sucker), but actually collecting the money is a whole 'nother matter."
Exactly. Replace 'dreamer' with 'sucker'.
Then I guess there are lots of suckers around the country. A lot of them post on this site. You have a former Entercom sales man who bought an AM in Buffalo and it's now a Top 10 station. You have John Catsimatidis, who bought WABC from Cumulus. There are a few former radio employees who retired and bought small AM stations in their home markets to operate mainly as hobby stations, playing the music they want to play regardless of the ratings or revenue. I think it's fantastic. I wish there were more of them. Perhaps that's where you put Tavis Smiley.
Witness Mr. Levine and AM 1260 in Los Angeles...
Did anyone on your list recently pay $7M to LMA a stand alone AM? That's the sucker part.
As far as we know, Tavis hasn't paid yet.
Levine was a dreamer before a lot of us were born. The real dreamer part for him was buying 105 before FM was big.