Larry Wilson’s Alpha Media has inked a deal with Buckley Communications for a four station cluster in Bakersfield and an FM duopoly in Merced. Wilson sees both locations as excellent additions to his group’s western footprint. Broker: Richard A. Foreman Associates (Buckley).
Terms of the deal were not released.
The stations in Bakersfield are: KKBB-FM, KLLY-FM, KNZR-FM & KNZR-FM.
The Merced stations include: KHTN-FM & KUBB-FM.
Wilson said, “The Buckley clusters in California will be a great addition to the west coast footprint. Merced is a unique city with a thriving arts scene and adventurous community. As one of the fastest growing regions in the nation, Bakersfield is a rich and vibrant city full of live and local opportunities.”
Buckley President/CEO Joseph Bilotta said that the stations were wonderful, and added that they would “…benefit from the energy and considerable resources of this multi-dimensional media and entertainment company headed by Larry Wilson.”
Here’s a closer look at the stations:
Groove KKBB-FM is an Oldies Class B1 on 99.3 MHz with 10 kW @ 390’ licensed to Bakersfield
KNZR-AM is a Talk Class A on 1560 kHz with 25 kW-D, 10 kW-N, DAN, licensed to Bakersfield
KNZR-FM is a Talk Class A on 97.7 MHz with 4.1 kW @ 397, licensed to Shafter
Kelly KLLY-FM is a Hot AC Class B1 on 95.3 MHz with 12.5 kW @ 463’, licensed to Oildale
KUBB-FN is a Country Class B on 96.3 MHz with 1.9 kW @ 2,096’, licensed to Mariposa
KHTN-FM is a Hip Hop Class B on 104.7 MHz with 1.95 kW @ 2,080’, licensed to Planada
RBR-TVBR observation: This just about completes the disbanding of the Buckley radio group. It closed on the sale of KSEQ-FM Fresno to Lotus, and the sale of WDRC AM-FM Hartford to Connoiusseur, back in July.
In September, it announced the sale of KWAV-FM in the Monterey-Salinas market to Mapleton.
After the sale of these stations, unless we’re missing something, the last station left will be KIDD-AM, also in Monterey-Salinas.
