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Post by David on Apr 1, 2022 3:13:58 GMT -6
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Apr 1, 2022 5:54:14 GMT -6
Just a quick reminder that it IS April 1st and any news released today should be given a second look. Unfortunately (to me at least) this one is real, though I think Inside Radio did mess up attribution of ownership of KQMB, KSRR and K244DH.
If the Muellers were going to sell it makes sense it would be to Sanpete since they already had some kind of a relationship with them. Maybe now we might be able to find out what that was. I have a hypothesis but I'll save that for another time.
There was an interesting new tidbit about changes for KQMB and KSRR in the filed contract. "It is understood that the Station Assets do not include leases for the KSRR and KQMB transmitters sites, which Seller holds as lessee, and that Buyer has secured reasonable assurance of the availability of new transmitter sites for KSRR and KQMB, and will file contingent applications with the FCC for consent to the modification of the licensed facilities of KSRR and KQMB (the āModification Applicationsā) while the Assignment Application (defined in Paragraph 4 below) is pending before the FCC." I don't think that's reflected in any of the filings so I'm curious to see how that works out.
It's too bad that the Muellers are selling, but mom and pop shops are at a bigger disadvantage today than ever before. I'm interested to know what's next for them and I wish them well whatever it is.
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Post by David on Apr 1, 2022 7:40:07 GMT -6
If I'm understanding the excerpt of the contract correctly, it sounds like Frank will retain ownership of the tower sites for KQMB and KSRR in order to continue to lease the property to interested parties. If I'm correct, that provision of the contract would give Frank a source of income from leasing fees. That's a wise move, because there's always cell phone providers looking for cell tower sites.
I'm sure that Sanpete County Broadcasting has their own plans for KQMB and KSRR, but it might be a good idea for them to retain the classic hits format on 96.7. I've noticed that a couple of people in Utah County have recommended "Utah's Goat" to disgruntled KOOL 105.5 listeners recently.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Apr 3, 2022 7:14:33 GMT -6
A lessee means the person who controls property through having the lease. For example, a person who drives around a leased car would be the lessee.
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fmdj1
Bronze Level Member
Posts: 143
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Post by fmdj1 on Apr 6, 2022 20:50:10 GMT -6
I'm sorry I have not had time to comment on this sooner. I had actually hoped to post something before it hit the news but got buried and missed it. I could write a book about this experience, and maybe sometime I'll post about our whole adventure, but for this I'll just stick to why we are selling. 3 things led us to the point where we ultimately came to the decision to sell: First, because we wanted to keep as many resources invested in the business as possible, my wife and I both took additional jobs from the beginning to help support our family. This kept us from needing to draw a paycheck from the stations, but also severely limited the time we had to dedicate to them. Second, some investors we had counted on early on didn't pan out and it took us a long time to secure additional funding necessary to build out the other stations (of course, our inability to ever find a suitable property for KSRR also hampered that). Third, and possibly most dramatically, Covid really hurt us. We had just started to build a base of advertisers in the 4 months prior to the outbreak and we lost every single one within 3 months of the outbreak and ran for months afterwards with no advertising, then very little, then finally enough to just break even with current operating costs. Although we have since rebuilt our advertising to well beyond where it was pre-Covid, we have never been able to catch-up with the debt that built up over that time. Unfortunately, because our business was so new, we didn't qualify for any relief funding (believe me, I explored several options).
Because we were never able to close on KWLO (financial stuff), late last year Lee asked if I was ok with him selling to another buyer, which, of course, was a huge relief. Kosy had never taken off and I was fine moving the Goat. At the end of last year, we finally decided we couldn't continue to both work 2 part-time jobs each, plus run the stations, plus take care of our family. I took a full-time gig (not in radio, which is bittersweet, but a good job with benefits, which we've missed sorely over the last 3.5 years) and we put the stations on the market. Over the last 3 years or so, Doug has been a friend and contractor who has helped us with a significant amount of what we built, so he became a natural buyer. And the sale will put us in a position to meet all of our outstanding obligations, which is a major relief.
I can't speak to where they will be taking the stations, other than I don't think listeners will be disappointed. I'm excited to see someone who has both the resources and desire to build media local to Utah Valley take the reins and I hope the stations prove successful for them.
At some point I may jump back into radio, but probably not for awhile. 25+ years in the industry have taught me more than I could have hoped for and I have made some great friends, but right now its time to do something new. I'll still pop on here on occasion and I am so thankful for the encouragement and kindness you all have shown us. Here's to the hope for a bright future for KSRR and KQMB!
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Post by oldiesfunhouse on Apr 7, 2022 9:38:36 GMT -6
Well, Frank, I want to personally thank you and your family for the sacrifices you went through to bring us, particularly, the Goat. My wife and I listened in the car a lot on 96.7 and it seemed like just when a song my wife loved would come on KKEX would win the battle of the frequency, so then I'd pull up the stream on my phone for her just as the song was ending. LOL! It's always been my dream to own and program a cluster of radio stations but, short of a lottery win or some other incredible windfall, that doesn't seem to be something I'll ever get to do. So it has been really neat to be able to read about what you guys have done. You're right. I don't think you could have asked for a better buyer than Sampete/Mid Utah radio. All of their stations are great. I haven't listened to KTMP (945 the Peak) in Heber City lately but, for such a small market, they've put a lot of resources into that. Jingles, personality, and it's a great format. Or was. It's been a couple of months since I've tuned into their stream. I should go check it out. Perhaps I was too pessimistic with my comments about the future of 1400 in the "movin' on up" thread. Best of luck in your future endeavors, Frank, and thank you for the many years of entertainment you gave us and at such a cost. Greatfully, Michael Kendall Harris Aka "oldiesfunhouse".
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Post by David on Apr 7, 2022 11:45:57 GMT -6
Frank, if I understand you correctly, you haven't been able to find a permanent tower site for KSRR. I suppose that Sanpete County Broadcasting could just diplex KSRR off of one of its existing AM towers, assuming the FCC would approve a COL change.
I hope that the new owner of KQMB will keep the oldies format, but I know you can't predict what their plans for the stations are. With the demise of KOOL 105.5, the choice of radio stations for 50 plus listeners along the Wasatch Front is pretty slim now. I'm not even sure the KOOL FM HD2 channel will survive until the end of the year. Thanks for updating us, and best of luck in your future endeavors!
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fmdj1
Bronze Level Member
Posts: 143
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Post by fmdj1 on Apr 7, 2022 22:35:41 GMT -6
Thank you Michael and David both! David, to answer your questions, I believe they already have a plan they are moving on to get KSRR back on a tower and I know they are cognizant of the demise of Kool as well as both the audience and advertising we've been able to capture up to this point. I'm hopeful that will play into the future plans, but it's not a decision I can make or predict. Also, I noticed I failed to answer your earlier question about the tower site. We have been leasing our sites, which is why they aren't in the deal. We don't own them.
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fmdj1
Bronze Level Member
Posts: 143
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Post by fmdj1 on Apr 7, 2022 23:19:05 GMT -6
Oh, I have to comment on the "win the lottery" comment from Michael. It reminds me of something I read awhile back that is comical but can also be true: "You can make a small fortune in radio...you just need to start with a large one"  |
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Post by oldiesfunhouse on Apr 8, 2022 9:59:15 GMT -6
I love that Frank. That reminds me of the musician joke. How do you get a musician three million dollars? Start him out with four million. Or what do you call a musician without a girlfriend? Homeless. I know Mid Utah streams mosts of their stations anyway. Do you know if the stream path for KQMB will stay the same or are those your servers?
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Post by amanuensis on Apr 8, 2022 11:42:16 GMT -6
Every time I go to the GOAT's website and click on the button to start the audio player, I get a popup advertisement that is extremely deceptive. It might incorrectly suggests that my computer has malware. And that I am supposed to click on the ad to download software to fix the malware. I am certain that if I did download that software, it would give me malware. Or it might tell me that I have won a big prize and "click here" to claim it.
SO I AM CERTAIN THAT THE MUSIC PLAYER THAT FRANK USES HAS A MALWARE INFECTION. HE SHOULD HAVE AN EXPERT LOOK AT IT WITH SOFTWARE LIKE FIDDLER TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT CALLS THE SITE MAKES TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Apr 8, 2022 12:02:18 GMT -6
Frank, I appreciate everything you've done in giving us as much insight as you could into your stations, as well as running the stations themselves. I'm sad that it didn't work out but I'm optimistic about them given what you've said. Of course I'm with the others in wishing you well in whatever you do, and of course you will always be welcome here.
The application for the new facility for KSRR was filed Monday. It's 1kW full-time non-directional from the KEYY tower, which has the same parameters. There's also an application for K244DH opening up the pattern considerably in every direction except the northwest. That will hugely improve its coverage into Provo/Orem/etc.
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Post by David on Apr 8, 2022 13:40:34 GMT -6
Every time I go to the GOAT's website and click on the button to start the audio player, I get a popup advertisement that is extremely deceptive. It might incorrectly suggests that my computer has malware. And that I am supposed to click on the ad to download software to fix the malware. I am certain that if I did download that software, it would give me malware. Or it might tell me that I have won a big prize and "click here" to claim it. SO I AM CERTAIN THAT THE MUSIC PLAYER THAT FRANK USES HAS A MALWARE INFECTION. HE SHOULD HAVE AN EXPERT LOOK AT IT WITH SOFTWARE LIKE FIDDLER TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT CALLS THE SITE MAKES TO EXTERNAL WEBSITES.
This has been a problem with the Utah's Goat website for several months now. Since KQMB is now on the Simple Radio app, I'd skip trying to stream via the website and just use the Simple Radio app to avoid any issues with malware. I think the problem with the popups stems from the software used to create the Utah's Goat website, which is Wordpress, IIRC. |
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Apr 8, 2022 14:44:37 GMT -6
I checked the Goat website and I couldn't get it to give me any popups at all, either malvertising or not. The problem may be elsewhere. If anyone who is seeing this wants to send me a screenshot, you can. Use the messages link at the top of the board.
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fmdj1
Bronze Level Member
Posts: 143
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Post by fmdj1 on Apr 8, 2022 20:06:02 GMT -6
I love that Frank. That reminds me of the musician joke. How do you get a musician three million dollars? Start him out with four million. Or what do you call a musician without a girlfriend? Homeless. I know Mid Utah streams mosts of their stations anyway. Do you know if the stream path for KQMB will stay the same or are those your servers? It's currently on a server I lease. I imagine they will eventually convert it over to match their other stations Regarding the reports of popups, I have been unable to duplicate any popup messages from the player on our website. I'll check again. Again, thanks for the well-wishes. I'll keep you posted if I land back in radio again. |
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