Update 6/28: With Stephens beginning an LMA of the two Shamrock stations much of the existing staff has been let go.
Out are Paul Krieger, who was PD of both Classic Hits “94.1 The Sound” KTSO and Alternative “Z104.5 The Edge” KMYZ-FM, KTSO morning host Jason Taylor, and Production Director/KTSO afternoon host Randy Young. Edge morning host Tara and night host Mikey B departed on their own last week.
KTSO will be debuting a new format. 941TheBreeze.com was transferred to Stephens servers yesterday and there are social media accounts for parked for the brand.
Meanwhile, ABS Communications has closed on its acquisition of 94.5 KEMX Locust Grove and 100.7 KTFR Chelsea which were simulcasting KXOJ, and Christian CHR “100.3 The Kross” KCXR Taft, OK from Stephens. The trio are now running their own independently programmed Christian AC format. The divestiture of those stations were necessary for Stephens to add KMYZ-FM and KTSO.
Update 5/17: While still not official, we have further indications that Stephens Media Group will acquire Times-Shamrock’s duo in Tulsa.
Stephens has placed a job posting for a cluster Promotions Director for their “four station cluster” including “Contemporary Christian, Sports Talk, Classic Hits and Alternative Rock”.
A number of potential domains were registered earlier this month for the Times-Shamrock pair. 941KXOJ.com, 941KXOJTulsa.com, 941Legends.com, 941LiteFMTulsa.com, 941OldiesTulsa.com, 941TheSportsAnimal.com, Warm941Tulsa.com, 1045KXOJ.com, 1045TheKross.com, and 1045TheSportsAnimal.com join the domains reported earlier for potential use. 941KXOJ.com has hidden text stating “Did you just hear a sound? I thought I heard something moving…“, while 1045TheKross.com merely states “Under Construction“.
Original Report 4/25: Stephens Media Group is expanding its cluster in Tulsa with the acquisition of a pair of stations.
In a deal not publicly announced yet, RadioInsight has learned that Stephens has agreed to acquire Classic Hits “94.1 The Sound” KTSO Glenpool and Alternative “Z104.5 The Edge” KMYZ Tulsa from Times-Shamrock. The duo will join a Stephens cluster that includes Christian AC 100.9 KXOJ Sapulpa, and the regional “Sports Animal” simulcast of 1550 KYAL Sapulpa, 1490 KBIX Muskogee, 96.1 KITO-FM Vinita, and 97.1 KYAL-FM Muskogee.
Concurrently, Stephens Media has agreed to sell 94.5 KEMX Locust Grove and 100.7 KTFR Chelsea which both currently simulcast KXOJ, and Christian CHR “100.3 The Kross” KCXR Taft, OK to the Roger Chasteen led ABS Communications for $500,000. As those three stations were considered part of the Tulsa market, Stephens needed to divest them in order to fit KTSO and KMYZ under the ownership cap.
When Stephens takes over the duo, a format change is likely at KTSO. Recent domain registrations for 941LiteFM.com and LiteFMTulsa.com have been transferred to the RadioServers.com servers owned by KXOJ PD Bob Thornton. Thornton’s company designs and hosts the websites for most of Stephens Media’s stations along with other independent Christian broadcasters.
Stephens Media also owns stations in Vinita, OK, and Massena, Ogdensburg, Rochester, and Watertown, NY. The sale leaves Times-Shamrock with stations in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Reno, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and an unbuilt CP near Las Vegas.
