The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has decided to cash in its commercial band FM station, KFUO-FM. Ironically, however, it is going to a non-profit broadcaster that itself is already operating in the commercial band. And even though the KFUO belongs to a church, it is a Classical station, a format the Christian buyer will probably change.
The price for the 99.1 MHz facility said to be $26M, with a principal of $18M and $8M in interest payments over the course of a 10-year term.
The buyer is Joy FM, which currently plays a Contemporary Christian fomat over a pair of signals, neither of which covers the entire market. It has 97.7 KHZR-FM Potosi MO and 94.1 KPVR-FM Bowling Green MO.
LCMS is said to be looking for an alternative means of bringing a Classical format to the St. Louis market, possibly using an HD side channel or a collection of translators. At the moment, the possibilities are in the early stages of investigation.
LCMS retains its Religion outlet KFUO-AM.
