David Rowell’s Bay and Beyond Broadcasting LLC has closed on its $100,000 purchase of Country 102.5 KMKS Bay City TX from Sandlin Broadcasting Co. and flipped the station on Monday to AC “102.5 K-Bay“.

Operating under new KBBB call letters, the move takes the station out of competition with new sister station “96 Country” 96.1 KIOX-FM Edna. Bay and Beyond recently acquired KIOX-FM and Classic Hits “Happy Radio 92.5” KKHA Markham from Globecom Media for $600,000.

In a Facebook comment explaining the change, Rowell wrote, “When KMKS and KIOX were separately owned, I guess it made sense for them to compete with similar formats. But it makes little sense for us to have two similar country stations under common ownership, competing for much the same listeners, when we can instead have three different music formats, offering choices to three different groups of listeners. That’s more choices for more people, and while clearly not everyone agrees, overall it should mean more people find more to like. I do understand that KMKS had its own version/flavor of country music. We will be tweaking the music on KIOX – 96 Country – to try and include some of the newer, “red dirt”, type Texas country music as well as strengthening its core big classic songs.”