Travel up Highway 14 from Santa Clarita, Calif., and you’ll reach Lancaster, Palmdale and other small cities that comprise the Antelope Valley, sandwiched between Bakersfield to the west and Victorville to the east. Here, Los Angeles FM radio reception is sketchy.
This could explain why Educational Media Foundation is agreeing to purchase a 3kw Class A facility that is presently offering Country music to listeners.
An asset purchase agreement submitted by EMF’s legal counsel, Wilkinson Barker Knauer partner David Oxenford, shows that the nation’s dominant noncommercial Christian Contemporary Music radio programmer has agreed to purchase KTPI-FM 97.7 in Mojave, Calf.
The station, once “KVVS-FM” and a simulcast partner of KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, is being sold by RZ Radio LLC, led by Davy Rosenzweig.
With Mark Denbo of Smithwick & Belendiuk serving as RZ’s legal counsel, the parties have agreed to a $300,000 purchase price. A $15,000 deposit has been made by EMF to RZ Radio, with full payment due in cash at closing.
The Exline Company and MCH Enterprises jointly represented RZ Radio in this deal.
Following the closing of this deal, RZ will continue to own KTPI-AM in Mojave and KAVL-AM in Lancaster, Calif. RZ acquired these stations along with KTPI-FM in December 2011 from the Aloha Stations Trust — an entity formed in 2008 as a result of Clear Channel Communications’ ill-fated privatization effort, which led to a bankruptcy restructuring in billions of dollars in debt.
What is EMF’s plan for KTPI? Chances are that the “KLOVE” CCM network will be placed on the facility, as KLXP-FM in Ridgecrest, Calif., only has a fringe signal in the Antelope Valley and KKLQ-FM in Los Angeles’ fringe signal is particularly weak in this region.
