How much do local listeners really care about their radio stations? Two stations in a tourist town are about to find out. With a goal of $100,000, so far $1,485 has been donated to a GoFundMe account set up for KRLT-FM and KOWL-AM in Lake Tahoe.
The two stations were purchased by General Manager Steve Harness 5 years ago. Harness now has to make a balloon payment of $100,000. Cherry Creek Radio was the seller.
According to SouthTahoeNow.com revenue at the two stations has declined by 80% and Harness needs to raise the money in order to have a viable chance at extending the term of his loan. He says if he’s unable to do that, it’s likely he’ll have to sell the stations to a national radio company or they will be foreclosed on.
He told SouthTahoeNow.com that the odds are slim that any entity would want to buy the standalone stations in a tourist market and operate them locally. “It would mean the end of local radio in South Lake Tahoe.”
I support local radio, but have to wonder why revenues declined 80% at this station. I think I’m a research what sort of programming they have, and if it is not overly political or crazy, I could see donating something to help the cause.
We’re a Hot AC / Adult Alternative hybrid. Revenue is down from our normal local economy crashing and our tourism marketing getting completely shut down. All of our spring / summer events have been cancelled. And some clients, including a major casino, are not re-opening at all.
Steve…we tried to contact you for this story but got no response. Ed
we tried that, never worked. Go-Fund-Me, is for women that need a hand out or a medical procedure. Aligning yourself with an organization helps. We aligned our stations with a motorcycle club, in 2008, and its helped a heap load. Our station has not lost any money, our revenues are steady with no declines.