The regional Mexican radio specialist headquartered in Ventura County, Calif., has secured an FM translator for an AM station it owns in the San Francisco Bay Area.
There’s just one catch, and it involves Audacy.
With the Law Office of Dan J. Alpert handling the FCC paperwork and filings, Hispanic Family Christian Network, led by Maria Guel, is selling K257GE in San Francisco.
The 99-watt facility uses 99.3 MHz to serve the city of San Francisco; its limited signal scrapes Sausalito and does not reach the majority of the Bay Area.
And, that’s been just fine for Audacy, which has been leasing K257GE for its use as an over-the-air primary signal for its Channel Q LGBTQ+-targeted digital multicast format.
Will that be disappearing from K257GE, with its sale to Lazer Broadcasting?
Not yet. With Lazer, led by Alfredo Plascencia, agreeing to purchase K257GE for $300,000 and paying a 10% deposit to Guel, a plan in place to eventually begin simulcasting an AM in the market Lazer owns.
But, that won’t happen until K257GE gets an upgrade with its move to the Sutro Tower. Once that modification gets the FCC’s OK, HFCN and Lazer will split the cost of the tower’s relocation, with HFCN covering up to $4,000 of the expenses.
And, Lazer is bound by a waiver that saw K257GE relocate from a locale that was within 250 miles of San Francisco in the FCC’s AM revitalization proceeding. K257GE was formerly K271BT, licensed to South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
That agreement requires K257GE to rebroadcast KGMZ-AM 1550 — as of today “Channel Q” — for a period of four years starting Nov. 30, 2020.
Thus, Lazer can’t make a change to K257GE’s originating station until December 1, 2023.
But, the deal sets the stage for a possible asset swap or sale. KGMZ can be sold and/or change its programming, leaving the door open for Lazer to buy it. Alternatively, it can trade KSFN-AM 1510 in Piedmont, Calif. — currently Unanimo Deportes — for KGMZ. Both are Class B AMs with similar daytime signal contours.
Lazer acquired KSFN from Mapleton Communications in October 2019 for $200,000.
