Cumulus Media and EMF Broadcasting have agreed to swap a pair of stations on the west coast.
AAA 97.5 KRUZ Santa Barbara will go to EMF and join its “K-Love” network in exchange for EMF’s 103.7 KXPC-FM Lebanon OR.
EMF will begin programming KRUZ via Time Brokerage Agreement as soon as Cumulus completes the move of Classic Rock “106.3 The Surf” KRRF south from Goleta in the Santa Barbara market to Oak View in the Oxnard/Ventura market. Cumulus will also retain the rights to the KRUZ call letters.
KXPC-FM has a pending Construction Permit as well that will move the station from Lebanon, midway between Salem and Eugene, to Harrisburg OR directly in the center of the Eugene market. That 103.7 signal will give Cumulus a replacement in the market for 97.9 KNRQ, which is in the process of moving to Portland.
Should any of those moves not take place, instead of swapping stations, EMF will purchase KRUZ directly for $1.25 Million.
K.M. Richards 
*sigh*
I did afternoon drive on the Santa Barbara signal in the late 1980s when it was CHR as KHTY (“Y-97”), and that was the last time that station got double-digit ratings in any daypart.
It’s a damned good signal, being grandfathered at higher power up on Broadcast Peak north of Santa Barbara, and reaches from Hearst Castle to the north to Thousand Oaks on the south, and inland east to Bakersfield when conditions are favorable. The Dickey Brothers are fools to let this go, and it’s a shame to see it reduced to rebroadcasting a satellite-delivered religious format.
I’m sure EMF’s management are congratulating themselves on being able to take advantage of the Dickey’s stupidity.
Cumulus seems to be dismantling its Santa Barbara cluster.
106.3 KRRF is moving to Oxnard, possibly with the KRUZ calls and format which Cumulus is retaining. 103.3 KVYB will be all that is left and they too are focusing on Oxnard/Ventura saleswise.
Swapping 97.5 to Cumulus gives them a replacement signal in Eugene, OR for when 97.7 KNRQ completes its move into Portland.
97.5 and 103.3 have comparable signals (103.3 is grandfathered at a higher power, but it doesn’t do much for their coverage area), so I still can’t fathom Cumulus selling 97.5 and moving 106.3 when 97.5 already covers the Oxnard/Ventura market. They could have left 106.3 where it was and swapped that to EMF; instead they’re going to the expense of moving a lesser signal and swapping a better one.
I remain unconvinced the Dickeys really know what they are doing.