Wright buys in his backyard from Backyard

1

SoldDuke Wright’s Midwest Communications is no stranger to operating radio stations in the part of the US it is named for, and now, according to brokerage Kalil and Co., it’s acquiring an intact seven-station cluster in the Sioux Falls SD market.


The seller is Barry Drake’s Backyard Broadcasting. In addition to turning over the stations to Midwest, Drake has agreed to refrain from competing with them for at least three years.

The deal is valued at $13.35M cash.

Wright commented, “We are truly excited to be entering the Sioux Falls SD radio market with the pending acquisition of the stations operated by Barry Drake’s Backyard Broadcasting Group. Sioux Falls is an excellent market and the Backyard stations have provided excellent service to that area for many years. We look forward to continuing that tradition.”

Drake expressed his confidence that he was turning the stations over to an excellent company. “Duke and his group have an outstanding reputation and a true love for local radio,” he said. “Midwest Communications will be a terrific addition to the Sioux Falls community.”

Here’s what Midwest is getting:
* KELO-AM Sioux Falls SD, a Class B on 1320 kHz with 5 kW-U, DAN
* KELO-FM Sioux Falls SD, a Class C on 92.5 MHz with 100 kW @ 1,821’
* KRRO-FM Sioux Falls SD, a Class C2 on 103.7 MHz with 38 kW @ 394’
* KSQB-FM Dell Rapids SD, a Class C3 on 95.7 MHz with 25 kW @ 328’
* KTWB-FM Sioux Falls SD, a Class C2 on 101.9 MHz with 34 kW @ 581’
* KWSN-AM Sioux Falls SD, a Class C on 1230 kHz with 440 W-U, ND
* KXQL-FM Flandreau SD, a Class C2 on 107.9 MHz with 21 kW @ 761’

The two FMs licensed to communities other than Sioux Falls, KSQB-FM and KXQK-FM, both manage to throw a primary contour over the city but are oriented to the northern portion of the market.

1 COMMENT

Comments are closed.