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KAHM Sells Out

J

johndavis

We all knew this was coming.

The rumors were that Riviera would claim the prize, and the KZON call letters were being parked for the acquisition.

But Radio Insight reports this morning that the winner of KAHM Pres-kit is: Radio Campesina.

$1.7 Million for KAHM, 1490 KYCA, and a Prescott translator.

With the move to the KKFR tower in Crown King pending, they won't need 88.3 anymore...
 
Cheer up sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean to a Presskit (soon to be Spring Valley) Dreamer?

Better than 8~Sixty and its translator, but still not as good coverage as 88~Three provides in the Valley. They really need to pick up a rimshot in Pinal County to backfill what 102~one misses. But at least CCF will have a legit commercial FM, instead of fudging the rules on non-comm 88~Three. Speaking of which, do they sell or donate their half to KPHF? Shirley the days of 88~Three being a shared frequency are numbered.

Oh well, if you think this is bad...try a bowl of menudo!
 
johndavis said:
With the move to the KKFR tower in Crown King pending, they won't need 88.3 anymore...
Click to expand...

It's a good match with the 101.9 translator, too. Still will be deficient in the Chandler / Gilbert area.
 
Campesina fired up the 101.9 translator this week and it does put an okay signal on the east side. They're now downplaying their 88.3 frequency and promoting the station on 101.9, and might have quit airing commercials on 88.3.

Still strange to see Cesar Chavez money being handed over to the Ayn Rand Foundation (whom Lou Silverstein specified in his will that the stations would be transferred to).

Now, I take it that CCF will not keep KYCA, and it will probably be sold to Grenax or Sanford Cohen.
 
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EricStein said:
Now, I take it that CCF will not keep KYCA, and it will probably be sold to Grenax or Sanford Cohen.
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Might as well toss in 8~Sixty and be done with Ancient Modulation. Nurse Jeff and I still don't understand why CCF bought that from TMISU - adds nada.
 
DrAkbar said:
Might as well toss in 8~Sixty and be done with Ancient Modulation. Nurse Jeff and I still don't understand why CCF bought that from TMISU - adds nada.
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The AM allows the translator to operate. And, with its site on top of South Mountain, it's a pretty nice translator with coverage essentially equal to the KOY translator.
 
DavidEduardo said:


The AM allows the translator to operate. And, with its site on top of South Mountain, it's a pretty nice translator with coverage essentially equal to the KOY translator.
Click to expand...

Yes...completely forgot about that. Must have been a bad bowl of menudo, or the self medication we've been known to take!
 
DrAkbar said:
Might as well toss in 8~Sixty and be done with Ancient Modulation. Nurse Jeff and I still don't understand why CCF bought that from TMISU - adds nada.
Click to expand...

David hit the nail on the head about 860. I’m sure CCF doesn’t want to run a right-wing talk station with tons of immigration talk that goes against Campesina’s mission, and Sanford would like to upgrade his lineup while adding another signal if he wanted to take KQNA all sports.
 
I first heard KAHM on a visit to Prescott in the early 1980's when the station was a brand new Class A on 103.9. Amazed that the format lasted this long, but Father Time is undefeated when it comes to KAHM's target demos.
 
EricStein said:
David hit the nail on the head about 860. I’m sure CCF doesn’t want to run a right-wing talk station with tons of immigration talk that goes against Campesina’s mission, and Sanford would like to upgrade his lineup while adding another signal if he wanted to take KQNA all sports.
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KYCA comes with a translator that covers Presskit very well. The stations should be easy for CCF to spin.

johndavis said:
I think it's entirely appropriate that the timestamp on this post is 4:20 PM.
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Why, we're just a couple of buds from Buckeye. What do you think we got growin' out behind the Media Hut?
 
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Wow. This is the biggest blow to Arizona radio, probably ever. One of the last easy-listening stations left bites the dust, and it had a huge audience with 55+ and retirees in northern Arizona and even in parts of Phoenix. Rest in forever peace KAHM 102.1!
I bet KNAI's 102.1 will get a 0.0 or 0.1 in the ratings. And only 8.1% of the Prescott population is Hispanic. Campesina only wants the $$$, like EMF.
I wonder if CCF will discontinue the time-sharing and give KPHF 24/7/365 on 88.3? They will have this and 101.9.
 
crainbebo said:
Wow. This is the biggest blow to Arizona radio, probably ever. One of the last easy-listening stations left bites the dust, and it had a huge audience with 55+ and retirees in northern Arizona and even in parts of Phoenix. Rest in forever peace KAHM 102.1!
I bet KNAI's 102.1 will get a 0.0 or 0.1 in the ratings. And only 8.1% of the Prescott population is Hispanic. Campesina only wants the $$$, like EMF.
I wonder if CCF will discontinue the time-sharing and give KPHF 24/7/365 on 88.3? They will have this and 101.9.
Click to expand...

I think the biggest blow to Phoenix radio was moving the KOY call letters to 1230, but the management was forward-thinking and probably knew that AM and KOY’s format in general was going to be on the decline.

102.1 is moving it’s signal to reach a bigger portion of the Phoenix market, and they’re definitely won’t get “hash marks” in Phoenix. It will upset the remaining (mainly elderly) audience the station has, so the letters to the Prescott Daily Courier will be interesting for a week or two. CCF may just turn the 88.3 license in, paving way for Family Radio to operate 24/7 on that frequency, and move their relatively new transmitter up the mountain (given that it could be returned from 88.3 to 102.1).
 
crainbebo said:
Wow. This is the biggest blow to Arizona radio, probably ever. One of the last easy-listening stations left bites the dust, and it had a huge audience with 55+ and retirees in northern Arizona and even in parts of Phoenix.
Click to expand...

Until Nielsen was dropped in the Prescott/Flagstaff market, KAHM had good numbers in 55+, but a look at them showed the listening almost entirely in 65+. The format was almost pure 55+ a quarter century ago when it had pretty much completely died.

The format survived for this long due to the huge percentage of retirees in the Prescott area, But today, there are few advertisers who specifically targeted the ultra-geezer demos of folks in their 70's and beyond.

Considering the price it went for, it's likely it was making little or no money.

I bet KNAI's 102.1 will get a 0.0 or 0.1 in the ratings. And only 8.1% of the Prescott population is Hispanic. Campesina only wants the $$$, like EMF.
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The César Chávez Foundation bought the station because it has a CP to go to a site used by several other "theoretically Prescott" stations to serve Phoenix. The new signal has so much trouble reaching Prescott itself that they even filed for a translator to serve it adequately!

KNAI has frequently been the #1 Spanish language station in Phoenix, with shares in the 4 range and occasionally in the top 10... an amazing feat considering that it only operated part of the day and the non-operating hours were included in the average! Combined with the 860 AM and the 101.9 FM translator on South Mountain, KNAI will be able to sell advertising rather than its decades-long practice of pushing the underwriting rules. They will be a major force in Phoenix.

By the way, do you really think that nearly 10% of the Prescott market does not deserve a Spanish language station? Such stations routinely survive in markets with far lower percentages and provide a valuable service.
 
I just listened to KAHM a bit the other day. Between the interference and the cadence of its announcers, it felt like receiving a radio signal from the heyday of beautiful music that had strained 30 years to get here.

Ultimately, you knew KAHM was going at some point. Since the 90s, adjacent radio rimshot facilities have only risen in value, and that's often drained nearby areas of their own radio stations. I'm reminded of the story of 105.5 KFAS/KKER Casa Grande. The station became too valuable to stay in CG. It promptly was lassoed by some owners who quickly handed it over to EMF. The rest is history. (The AM that went with it *became* history as a result.)

CCF has been on the hunt to get the noncom monkey off its back nationwide. This sale is part of that picture.
 
DavidEduardo said:


By the way, do you really think that nearly 10% of the Prescott market does not deserve a Spanish language station? Such stations routinely survive in markets with far lower percentages and provide a valuable service.
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No, I do not think that the Hispanics DESERVE a spanish language station. KAHM has provided invaluable service to Prescott and much of Northern Arizona for over 35 years. Their PSA's inform and educate their listeners frequently on an hourly basis. This is the United States and ENGLISH is spoken here.....For those that do not speak ENGLISH, I suggest they learn it, the way all the other immigrants have.....
 
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