Details on Educational Media Foundation Houston buy

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SoldKHJK-FM La Porte TX isn’t the sharpest knife in the Houston FM drawer, but it does provide entry into a top ten radio market for buyer Educational Media Foundation. And EMF can’t argue about what’s happened to the facility’s price tag.


The noncommercial religious broadcaster, operating under the guidance of Mike Novak, is getting the former Cumulus station from AR Broadcasting, headed by W. Lawrence Patrick. The price is $5M cash.

As is its practice, EMF will be taking the station noncommercial.

It’s a Class C on 103.7 MHz with 94,860 Watts @ 1,936’. Its primary contour actually blankets the two cities that make up the Beaumont-Port Arthur Arbitron market east of Houston. Its primary only gets about half of the Houston urbanized area, with the second-ring fringe contour picking up the western side.

If EMF has a little league team, they may hail this acquisition with the cheer “two, four, six, eight, who do we depreciate?” The station has indeed fallen prey to the drop in valuation that has gripped the industry for most of the new millennium.

Cumulus bought the station in 2004. At the time it was KVST-FM, a Class C3 licensed to Willis TX, with a CP for its current La Porte facility. The seller was New Wavo Communications Group, headed by Benjamin B. Amato. The original deal for the station wound up being the subject of litigation that was eventually settled and memorialized in an amended contract.

The price: $32.2M.

That makes the EMF discount a hefty $27.2M.