U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kathy Surratt-States rejected a request from supporters of the former staff of Double Helix Corporation’s Variety 88.1 KDHX St. Louis to allow them 90 days to submit a reorganization plan to retain the station’s FM signal and instead approved the $8.75 million sale of the station to Gateway Creative Broadcasting.
The supporters sought to deny Double Helix’s motion to complete a speedy sale of KDHX’s license to allow it time to continue to raise funds for its plan. They said they had raised $550,000 towards the reorganization, with $450,000 since April 1, which if approved would have them to pay off all creditors, make studio repairs, and have immediate operating expenses.
The approval of the sale to Gateway will now allow it to be filed with the FCC for final approval. Judge Surratt-States said the continued operation of the current KDHX brand on an HD subchannel and streaming allows it to continue to fulfill its mission. The station would have around $6 million after paying off its creditors and emergency loans giving it enough funds to sustain the station for six years.
KDHX attorney Tyler Schaeffer told STLPR, ““Doors are going to open for KDHX like never before. This is more money than the humble organization has ever seen.”
Original Report 5/30: Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which owns Christian AC “99.1 Joy-FM” KLJY and Christian Hip Hop “Boost 95.5” KXBS in the St. Louis market, has preliminarily won the bankruptcy court auction for the license of Double Helix Corporation’s 88.1 KDHX St. Louis with an $8.75 million bid.
Double Helix originally agreed to sell the station to K-Love Inc. in a deal announced in March for between $4.35 million and $4.85 million depending on when it closed. Gateway Creative Broadcasting then made a $5.5 million counter-bid, which led to the court ordering an auction for the license. Gateway’s bid beat out K-Love’s $8.5 million offer in the auction. Both bids included a provision to include an HD subchannel to allow KDHX’s current programming to continue with no other parties participating in the auction.
A hearing to approve the sale will be held on June 9.
As part of its original agreement with Double Helix Corporation, K-Love will receive $350,000 plus expenses incurred in connection with the debtor-in-possession financing in an amount not to exceed $300,000.
K-Love Inc. CEO Tom Stultz commented to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “We are a faith-based ministry. We negotiated in good faith a part of our belief that God wants us to have signals and stations in all the top markets in the country. We have that in all but about six, so St. Louis is very strategic for us.”
fieldtech 
Brandon Charles 
It seems like a win win for everyone. The signal stays in local hands with a group that seems to do a lot for their marke…. the KDHX programming will continue to be heard OTA, and K-Love doesn’t get to turn another signal into a cash register zombie signal.
The good news is, they are at least in a great position that most community stations would die to be in. Ask me how I know!
The bad news is, discoverability goes way down. It’s not insurmountable, no one is listening on HD, though, let’s be clear. The best they can hope for is getting a translator, because the next LP FM window will probably open when my generation is filing for retirement., If corporations and the government haven’t laid waste to most of its programming opportunities outside of religion and sports betting by then. I say this to my commercial and non-commercial peers, we need a healthy commercial and non-commercial ecosystem to keep radio around.
Please answer these questions: How many listeners own an HD receiver in the St. Louis radio market? How many people listen to a low power FM station that has a very limited coverage area? Will any local LPFM translator operator donate or sell their frequency for a new KDHX? Will the new licensee of KDHX change the call letters?
A 2024 study said nationally HD Radio is now in 70% of all vehicles on the road, but nearly 100% of people own one device capable of streaming.
LPFM and translators are separate services.
Call letters will likely change.