It was less than a month ago when I found myself at the Forecast 2025 Conference in New York City, wondering what I was hearing on stage. The session – “Prospects for Broadcast Media as an Investment in 2025 – The Real Street Talk” – was a session devoted to the financial value of radio and TV stations in the coming year. And the panel’s descriptor asked the key question – and then responded to it:
Q. So, is there still value in transmitters and towers?
A. You may not like everything (the panelists) say, but you need to hear it.”
Sometimes, conference sessions actually live up to the hype. Moderated by Randy Michaels, the session featured three media brokers: Jeff Haley (former RAB CEO), Tom Castro, and Dick Kozacko, and these guys minced no words about lower valuations for broadcast properties in the coming year – and beyond.
Kozacko – in his eighties – and ostensibly the panelist who reaped the biggest rewards of radio and TV stations sales in decades past – reminded today’s attendees that back in the day, Wells Fargo had a division devoted to broadcast transactions.
L-R: Michaels, Haley, Castro, Kozacko via R+TVBR
That ship has sailed, and as covered the next day in Radio + Television Business Report, today’s environment is much less fertile if you’re in the market for a radio station. In fact, Kozacko suggested you’d have better luck cultivating a relationship with a local banker with whom you already have a relationship.
The operative phrase? “Cyclical decline,” according to Haley. And he might as well have said “in the tank.” When asked about today’s multiples – that is, how many times a station’s cash flow today’s radio operations are worth – the audience heard estimates of 5 or 6x. Compare that to the go-go ’80s and ’90s when strong stations were garnering 18 or 20x, and you get a little perspective.
Of course, the lowball estimates might have been music to a certain Maine radio station owner who announced last week his cluster of two FMs and an AM will “go dark” at the end of the year. No 5x here. This well-known owner is handing over the keys at the end of the year “after pouring millions” into the place.
The owner of this truly scary radio mess is none other than America’s preeminent horror author, the great Stephen King. He bought Bangor’s AM 620 WKLZ back in the early ’80s, renaming it “The Zone” after one of his classic horror novels, The Dead Zone. Over the years, King acquired two FMs, WZLO and WKIT.
King broke the news on social media’s Threads:
In a recent New York Times story, King explained his post:
“While radio across the country has been overtaken by giant corporate broadcasting groups, I’ve loved being a local, independent owner all these years.”
Now, full disclosure: I’ve never been to Bangor, I know nothing about the radio market, or King’s stations. But all that said, even in a depressed marketplace for radio stations, walking away seems like an extreme decision.
In a news release, King noted his advancing age (77) combined with the need to “get his business affairs in better order” led to the decisions to shut the cluster down. 
You can almost hear a financial advisor admonishing the author, “Stephen, you have simply got to rid yourself of that money pit radio operation if you want to have a clean portfolio.”
But still….
….these properties are worth nothing?!
This is at a time when we often hear the radio market may be ripe for independent owners if/when the big boys and girls have to divest some of their smaller market operations. But apparently not in this case. The Times article talks about King’s love of rock ‘n roll, easily apparent in his writing. But as we know, music passion doesn’t qualify you to run a business, much less a group of radio stations.
So, here’s a story about Stephen King’s radio stations that you don’t know – because I’ve never told it. In the early, early days of marketing the Classic Rock format to any owner that would give it a try, I contacted King when he bought The Zone. It was one of those “Hail Mary” letters that you just hope against hope the guy in power actually reads and takes to heart. I don’t have a copy of it, but I recall channeling a number of his books, from Carrie to The Shining.
You know the rest of the story. Crickets.
It’s amazing in many ways King has been a radio owner for more than four decades. Cluster manager Ken Wood leaves us with this disheartening conclusion:
“Independent, locally owned radio stations used to be the norm. There’re only a few left in Maine, and we’re lucky we had these three as long as we did.”
Is that truth or rationalization?
Thanks for the assist, Cameron Coats! – FJ
Originally published by Jacobs Media
