Will SLC Blaze orphan a kitty?

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The end result of a complicated deal in the Salt Lake City Arbitron market will send KHTB-FM The Blaze to Citadel Broadcasting, which in turn will have to spin it’s Orem UT station KKAT-FM into a trusteeship pending sale to a third party. KHTB currently has legal and operational ties to not one but two troubled companies. Here’s the deal. Back in 2003, Chris Devine’s 3 Point Media bought KENZ-FM and KHTB-FM from Clear Channel, with Citadel acting as guarantor for a $26M loan from Wachovia in favor of 3 Point. 3 Point defaulted. Citadel had to pay Wachovia upon its demand, and is accepting KHTB license under an involuntary transfer, which in turn will force it to spin off KKAT-FM. Meanwhile, 3 Point had KHTB-FM in the care and feeding of Millcreek Broadcasting under an SSA, and Millcreek is now in Chapter 11.


RBR/TVBR observation: Welcome to the broadcast economy of the 21st Century.