Clear Channel Sells Radio Stations to Rincon for $17.3 Million
By Maria Zate, Santa Barbara News-Press, Calif.
Jan. 11–Seven Santa Barbara radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications will be sold to Rincon Broadcasting LLC, an entity owned by a Ventura-based broadcasting company, for a reported $17.3 million.
Rincon Broadcasting’s majority owner is Point Broadcasting Company, which owns more than a dozen radio stations in California, including the Gold Coast Broadcasting group of six stations that serve Ventura County.
Although Rincon Broadcasting issued a statement confirming it was buying the local Clear Channel stations, it did not disclose a purchase price.
Several radio trade publications have reported the sale price as $17.3 million for the cluster of seven stations. Local radio experts said Clear Channel’s asking price was around $22 million.
Clear Channel’s Santa Barbara radio properties include KTYD 99.9 FM, KIST 1340 AM, KIST 107.7 FM, KTMS 990 AM, KSBL (K-LITE) 101.7 FM, KSPE 94.5 FM and Spanish-language station KBKO 1490 AM.
Executives at Point Broadcasting did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.
John Hearne, president of Point Broadcasting, said in a statement: “This acquisition represents a wonderful opportunity for us to expand into new markets along the Central Coast of California. We are committed to providing the best in local news, entertainment and public service to Santa Barbara County, and we are excited to be in a position to serve its wonderful communities.
“On a personal note, I have surfed the Central Coast for 45 years, and have a great love of Santa Barbara County,” Mr. Hearne, a resident of Malibu, added. “Our stations will be a friendly voice for the ocean and coastal environment.”
Rincon Broadcasting said that it immediately plans to sell KIST 1340 AM to Santa Barbara Community Broadcasting Company once it completes the deal with Clear Channel. No other information was provided on this company, its owners or the sale price.
On Jan. 16, Rincon and Santa Barbara Community Broadcasting Company will begin running the day-to-day operations of the Santa Barbara stations under local management agreements with Clear Channel. The agreement allows the buyers to run the stations while the sale transactions wind through the approval process with the Federal Communications Commission.
“Clear Channel has done a terrific job of building this radio station group and attracting a talented staff of broadcasters,” Miles Sexton, CFO and director of business development for Point Broadcasting, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the staff to continue to grow the stations and their services for the people of Santa Barbara County.”
Clear Channel first announced last November its intention to sell 448 of its 1,150 radio stations nationwide and all of its 42 TV stations. The radio stations to be cast off were those in 90 markets outside the top 100 U.S. media markets as ranked by Arbitron.
Santa Barbara’s media market, which encompasses the South Coast from Carpinteria to Goleta, ranks at number 207 out of close to 300 markets in the nation, according to Arbitron.
Together, the 448 radio stations and the TV group contributed less than 10 percent of the company’s revenue total in 2005, Clear Channel said.
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