Updated with sale price and details: Radio One has announced it will acquire Service Broadcasting’s Hip Hop “K104” 104.5 KKDA-FM Dallas and Adult R&B “105.7 Smooth R&B” KRNB Decatur TX while selling Adult R&B “Majic 94.5” KZMJ Gainesville to Encouragement Media Group’s Fuzion Dallas LLC.
Radio One will pay $22 million for KKDA-FM and KZMJ. The deal includes a $3.3 million down payment in escrow and $18.7 million due at closing minus some existing company accounts, loans and debt payments. Service Broadcasting owner Hymen Childs and CFO Dustin Howard will enter into three-year non-competes preventing them from owner more than 5 percent in any radio station whose 1mV/m contour overlaps with KKDA-FM or KRNB for three years.
Fuzion Dallas will pay $6 million for KZMJ. While Managing Partner Ken Lackner and one other board member Jetre Schuler also serve on the Board of Directors for the Tyler TX based Encouragement Media Group’s parent Educational Radio Foundation of East Texas, the remainder of the Fuzion Dallas board, the remainder of the board’s members of Fuzion Dallas are unique to this licensee.
Original Report 5/1: Radio One also owns Hip Hop “97.9 The Beat” KBFB Dallas. Radio One says, “The acquisition marks a significant expansion of Urban One’s reach in the Dallas community and reinforces the company’s commitment to providing high-quality, local content to the market. The acquisition will elevate influential urban voices and allow them to operate from a more powerful and expansive platform.”
President/CEO Alfred Liggins stated, “This transaction is accretive and advances our consolidation strategy by scaling our presence in high-growth regions where our target audience is most concentrated. By bringing these stations into our portfolio, we aren’t just growing our footprint; we are elevating our ability to serve our audience and our advertising partners with unmatched scale and local expertise.”
Urban One Regional VP/Doug Abernathy commented, “Our people are the heart of our success. By aligning our best-in-class team with these new platforms, we are securing the future of local radio in Dallas and ensuring we remain the primary source for news, entertainment, and connection for the communities we serve.”
Encouragement Media Group will flip KZMJ to its Spanish Christian “Fuzion” network heard in Tyler/Longview and Lufkin TX, Shreveport LA, Albuquerque NM, Las Vegas, and multiple signals in California.
President/CEO Troy Kreichbaum said, “Several years ago God put it on our heart to expand Fuzión to Dallas/Fort Worth to share the love of Jesus with the growing number of Hispanics. DFW is one of the most strategic markets in the country, serving as a major hub of Spanish media and spiritual influence, with the power to shape culture across the nation. We give glory to God for this incredible opportunity to share His love in the ‘heart language’ of Spanish through Fuzión in DFW!”
