Bustos Media has closed on its $400,000 purchase of three stations in Chico CA triggering an additional deal and five format changes.
In a deal not yet filed with the FCC, the Chico Enterprise Record reports that Bustos will trade two of its new acquisitions (93.9 KFMF Chico and 96.7 KZAP Paradise) to Deer Creek Broadcasting for 97.7 KHHZ Gridley. The deals will lead to this domino effect of programming changes:
Bustos will convert “Radio Mexico” 97.7 KHHZ to its Regional Mexican “La Gran D” network and CHR “107.5 Now-FM” KQPT Colusa/107.9 K300AD Chico will flip to Spanish CHR “La Z” under new KZSZ call letters..
Over at Deer Creek, the company has flipped Classic Rock “93.9 The Hippo” KFMF to a simulcast of News/Talk 1290 KPAY Chico. That simulcast will last one month before the News/Talk format finds a new permanent home on 93.9 and 1290 KPAY/102.9 K275CO Paradise will flip to Sports as “KPAY Sports” in September. The new KPAY Sports will feature Fox Sports Radio network programming.
Classic Hits 96.7 KZAP has also been revamped as it moves from satellite fed programming to local and inherits more of a Rock lean with the demise of KFMF’s prior format. Longtime Chico personality Marty Griffin joins the station as Program Director and Steve Michaels as afternoon host.
And one other Chico format change separate from this deal. Sometime this summer Huth-Penney Broadcasting quietly dropped Alternative “101.7 The Edge” KEGE Hamilton City in favor of Hot AC “Hot Hits 101.7“.
