Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters is transferring two of its Monterey CA area signals to Classical competitor University of Southern California.
USC operates a six station Classical network on the California Coast based at 91.5 KUSC Los Angeles and 89.9 KDFC/90.3 KOSC targeting the San Francisco and Santa Rosa markets. It will pay Mount Wilson $475,000 for Classic Hits “Q103.9” KBOQ Seaside/Monterey, while Mount Wilson will donate Classical “K-Mozart” 95.9 KMZT-FM Big Sur. Mount Wilson will retain the KBOQ and KMZT-FM call letters and associated intellectual property of both stations, which will both convert to non-commercial status.
Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters will retain its other two AMs, two FMs and two translators it owns in the Monterey market as well as its AM/FM combo in Los Angeles.
This puzzles me–it doesn’t seem to make sense on the face of it.
Mount Wilson Broadcasters is donating Classical “K-Mozart” 95.9 KMZT-FM Big Sur to “Classical competitor University of Southern California.”?
The only way this could make sense is if the sale of Classic Hits “Q103.9” KBOQ for $475,000 to USC is really the price for both stations, but the deal was structured as stated for ‘accounting’ reasons.
If this is not the case, and this was a simple donation of the station to a competitor–an explanation why would be appreciated. km