KCPW can be yours, if the price is right

[CAwasinNJ]

Per this RadioInsight article, KCPW will be on the auction block on October 9 at 10AM with a minimum bid of $350,000.

The question then becomes, who might bid on it?  These days when you're talking about station acquisitions the first thought that comes to many people's minds is EMF.  EMF's primary service is K-Love and that's handled by 107.5 KKLV and there's no way that's going anywhere.  Their secondary service, Air1, is on 89.7 K209CJ and 88.7 KUAO.  K209CJ recently moved and now is covering the Salt Lake County area.  KUAO covers north of Salt Lake up to the Idaho border.  The only area that KCPW could cover that K209CJ and KUAO don't is the Tooele Valley if KCPW's construction permit is built out, and that's the area that Air1 gave up recently with K209CJ's move.  While it's possible that EMF might take an interest in KCPW, it doesn't seem likely to me.

An organization that I suspect would very much like to get back into the Salt Lake area is Utah State's KUSU.  They haven't had a meaningful presence in the capital city for almost 20 years now and they should.

It might be possible that KUER could take an interest to expand what they're currently running on their digital subchannels to an analog signal.  They have the BBC World Service full-time on HD2, classical music on HD3, and Radio Bilingue on HD4.  I could see the BBC or classical being compelling enough to invest in buying 88.3 to increase the potential listening audience.  Going way out on a limb, they could bring back jazz music, but that I really doubt.  Jazz would be a full-time format that isn't currently available on the air that I know of though.

So those are my thoughts of who might be in the running.  I'm sure there are others.  Maybe an angel investor might step in and buy it just to keep it the way it is?  Being a non-comm does limit the pool of buyers and the money it could fetch, but it is what it is.  What do you think might happen?

[amanuensis]

Could KPCW want to resume ownership, perhaps so that the Park City signal will have a place on the SLC dial for those who commute between Park City and SLC?

[CAwasinNJ]

It's certainly possible, but I wouldn't think so. Park City Wireless obviously spun off KCPW for a reason. Don't forget they also owned 1010AM from about 2003 till 2009 and ended up selling it. Weren't they airing the BBC on 1010 back then?

[amanuensis]

Yes, it was the BBC.

Is Mike Summers still streaming his "The Mountain" format that used to be on KUMT? I tried just now to find a link but failed. Perhaps he would want to find a radio home again -- one that he owned outright this time.

[CAwasinNJ]

The Mountain site I think was 1079themountain.org but that domain is no longer active.

Mike Summers was also programming a station in Billings MT for a while but that's owned by religious operator CSN now. It looks like the company Summers was working with (Wasatch Community Media) was trying to buy the station but it never happened. Instead CSN bought it for $70,000. With the minimum bid for KCPW at $350,000 that seems like a problem unless Wasatch Community Media's fortunes have improved over the past few years. That would be cool though.

[CAwasinNJ]

The utahsmountain posts now have their own thread.

[fmdj1]

Not sure if Mike Gerdes, AKA Mike Summers, is looking for a second station. He did just buy one in Washington County area radioink.com/2023/08/08/utahs-kcay-finds-new-licensee-after-sale/

[CAwasinNJ]

Are you sure Mike Gerdes and Mike Summers are the same person?

[fmdj1]

Fairly certain they are but I could be wrong. AllAccess tied them as a single person back with KUMT here www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/175393/kumt-randolph-ut-needs-music-service but AllAccess has made mistakes in the past too. When I met with Mike Gerdes some years ago on a proposal to put the Mountain on 96.7 I didn't clarify it though, so I could be wrong, but he didn't mention anyone else besides himself working on the project at the time.

[CAwasinNJ]

I'm guessing that at least the phone number on that page is wrong. 802 is Vermont. 801 would make more sense.

Doing a Google search on both names does turn up a result from Facebook (bleh) that seems to say they are two separate people, but I can't find the page that Google indexed. Oh well. It probably doesn't matter.

[kenglish]

Did anyone bid on it?

[newsmark]

On their Facebook page, a comment from Brad Wheeler says the auction is delayed until Thursday. The creditors gave them a few more days to see if the existing staff's plan can be sustainable. www.facebook.com/kcpwfm

[seattlefollower]

Via the GoFundMe page that Brad Wheeler was operating:

We were informed today that KUER significantly outbid us in the pursuit to purchase KCPW. Thanks to everyone who donated or shared this fundraiser's links. I asked GoFundMe to return all donations this morning. I've been very moved by some of the emails from community partners and individuals encouraging our pursuit of the station and the idea that public airwaves should be for the public. I'm very grateful to be a part of this community. Even though our efforts were unsuccessful, I'm encouraged by this endeavor. God Bless You All, and Thank You for your support.

Now the question is - what will U. of Utah do with the frequency? I suppose they could finally give K-Ute an over the air home, though its website hasn't updated since 2021 and I don't know if it remains an active program:
K-Ute Radio