A radio station owned over the last 50 years by Hyman Childs, and later by Ken Dowe and programmer Michael Spears, will soon become the property of the Washington, D.C.-founded publicly traded multimedia company founded by Cathy Hughes and led today by Alfred Liggins III.
The same is true for this station’s Adult R&B sibling, which results in a related deal brokered by Greg Guy‘s Tideline Partners LLC — one that sees a regional broadcast ministry prepare to launch a Spanish-language Christian FM serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
For Urban One, an agreement is in place that will see it acquire 99kw Class C KKDA-FM “K104” in Dallas and 93kw Class C sibling KRNB-FM 105.7 in Decatur, Tex., located in the northwest corner of the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth market.
The KKDA tower is located in Cedar Hill, to the southwest of downtown Dallas.
The acquisition, says Urban One, “marks a significant expansion of Urban One’s reach in the Dallas community and reinforces the company’s commitment to providing high-quality, local content to the market.”
Deal terms were not immediately disclosed by Urban One, which said the deal with Service “will elevate influential urban voices and allow them to operate from a more powerful and expansive platform.”
Liggins added that the purchase of KKDA and KRNB is accretive “and advances our consolidation strategy by scaling our presence in high-growth regions where our target audience is most concentrated. By bringing these stations into our portfolio, we aren’t just growing our footprint; we are elevating our ability to serve our audience and our advertising partners with unmatched scale and local expertise.”
The acquisition, Urban One added, “is designed to offer a more comprehensive solution for local businesses, providing them with a broader reach and deeper community engagement.”
Urban One Regional VP Doug Abernathy commented, “Our people are the heart of our success. By aligning our best-in-class team with these new platforms, we are securing the
future of local radio in Dallas and ensuring we remain the primary source for news,
entertainment, and connection for the communities we serve.”
Concurrently, Urban One has signed an agreement that will see it sell KZMJ-FM 94.5 — a 100kw Class C FM serving North Texas from Gainesville, Tex., well within the Sherman-Denison, Tex., market north of Dallas and in Ardmore, Okla., as well.
The buyer of KZMJ is 42-year-old Encouragement Media Group (EMG), operator of six non-secular audio brands. In its own press release, EMG said KZMJ will drop its “Majic 94.5” branding and become the home of Spanish-language Christian brand “Fuzión.”
With the addition of KZMJ, Fuzión will broadcast on 18 radio signals across the Southwest, with this property poised to serve as its flagship. Fuzión can also be heard on signals in Las Vegas, Southern California, Albuquerque and East Texas.
Troy Kriechbaum serves as EMG’s President/CEO. “Several years ago God put it on our heart to expand Fuzión to Dallas/Fort Worth to share the love of Jesus with the growing number of Hispanics,” he said. “DFW is one of the most strategic markets in the country, serving as a major hub of Spanish media and spiritual influence, with the power to shape culture across the nation. We give glory to God for this incredible opportunity to share His love in the ‘heart language’ of Spanish through Fuzión in DFW.”
EMG VP of Spanish Ministries Brenda Águila added, “Our desire is to bring the hope of the Gospel, unite the Hispanic community across DFW and North Texas, and point hearts to Jesus Christ. Through heartfelt Christian music in Spanish coupled with inspiration from the Bible, Fuzión is a warm, welcoming home for Hispanics who need encouragement as we spread God’s blessings even further and unite more hearts in His love.”
Greg Guy tells RBR+TVBR that an asset purchase agreement and Form 314 filing is forthcoming, with details regarding the KZMJ purchase by EMG appearing in the LMS early next week.
