KOY - The New Coyote

[Bill Drake]

.....1400 is a puppy fart in the breeze..... never been anything. 

but it was co-owned by Dick Van Dyke. And Ppppreston Westmoreland was one of the Boss jocks there, Mr. Yarbrough! 

I find it difficult to believe that Presty could wind a Rolex, let alone handle the Drake format.

And Dr. Akbar, NEVER use my real name in public or I'll have your Regent University Diploma revoked!   

[landtuna]

There are quite a few instances of Ancient Modulation stations selling at ridiculous prices in the Seventies, only to see their values go down faster than a streetwalker on EVB 

But WAIT!  Isn't EVB the sensational new backdrop for 12 Noooz? 

Oh.....wait.....<^nevermind>.

[Dr. Akbar]

I find it difficult to believe that Presty could wind a Rolex, let alone handle the Drake format.

And Dr. Akbar, NEVER use my real name in public or I'll have your Regent University Diploma revoked!   

The Nurse and I heard Ppprestonian on the Heywood tribute Lovable Jaybird did a while back and he sounded quite good. That PMD pendulm has swung in the opposite direction with Dumber and Dumbest rolling 3-7, 3-7, 3-7 on KT'R.

Sorry 'bout the name thing Mr Y Drake. What happens in Buckeye, stays in Buckeye is our policy!

[johndavis]

As I seem to recall.... Doubleday wanted to buy a station somewhere else - and that being the good ol' days when the ownership limit was capped at SEVEN  -  gawd that seems but a faint memory  -  as does having real people in real studios with time checks and local weather and... Oh, excuse me.... Anyway, Doubleday dumped the smallest <coverage area> station they had. Which was KRIZ.

I always heard the story told that Doubleday dumped KRIZ when it decided to get out of the radio business completely, but that's not the part of the story that will make you cry.

The cash that changed hands was a mere pittance - a fraction of the station's value. The difference between the cash and the value of the station was considered a charitable contribution, which Doubleday took as a tax write-off. That tax loophole has since been closed. But that's why they sought out somebody like FLR.

[Dr. Akbar]

I always heard the story told that Doubleday dumped KRIZ when it decided to get out of the radio business completely, but that's not the part of the story that will make you cry.

The cash that changed hands was a mere pittance - a fraction of the station's value. The difference between the cash and the value of the station was considered a charitable contribution, which Doubleday took as a tax write-off. That tax loophole has since been closed. But that's why they sought out somebody like FLR.

Nurse Jeff and I recall Doubleday wanted into larger markets when Gary Stevens took over and Phoenix at that time was small potatoes. The tax write off angle makes a lot of sense as FLR couldn't afford to pay market value for KRIZ knowing the format would not be retained. Gary Stevens came up through programming and became head of Doubleday Radio. He's also been involved in station brokerage and is currently on the board of Saga Communications.

[DavidEduardo]

As I seem to recall.... Doubleday wanted to buy a station somewhere else - and that being the good ol' days when the ownership limit was capped at SEVEN  -  gawd that seems but a faint memory  -  as does having real people in real studios with time checks and local weather and... Oh, excuse me.... Anyway, Doubleday dumped the smallest <coverage area> station they had. Which was KRIZ.

Now Eddddddduardo can come in and rewrite history with his unique South of the Border flavor.

The sale was for $700,000 and listed on May 1, 1978.

http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/78-OCR/1978-05-01-BC-0051.pdf#search=%22kriz%22

At the time, Doubleday only owned 4 other AMs so they did not need to sell anything to add new properties.

Phoenix was, though, one of only two markets where Doubleday did not have an FM, and Gary Stevens proceeded to push the FM side, including the acquisition of what would become WAPP.

Probably a factor was the issue that Phoenix at the time was only about 1.3 million in population, ranked, IIRC, below San Juan in SRDS. Bad AM signal, smaller market, desire to move to FM properties.

[DavidEduardo]

I always heard the story told that Doubleday dumped KRIZ when it decided to get out of the radio business completely, but that's not the part of the story that will make you cry.

No, Gary Stevens took Doubleday to great heights using FMs... ones they had, like KDWB... and acquisitions like WAPP... following his appointment as head of the company.

The cash that changed hands was a mere pittance - a fraction of the station's value. The difference between the cash and the value of the station was considered a charitable contribution, which Doubleday took as a tax write-off. That tax loophole has since been closed. But that's why they sought out somebody like FLR.

The price, $700 k, for a class IV, was not out of a reasonable valuation back then. It's close to what Larry Mazursky paid Lotus for KRUX a couple of years later and in line with what Mazursky paid for his FM in '83.

[DavidEduardo]

 I seem to recall when KRIZ was sold by Doubleday to the Amerikan Taliban, it was listed as the highest grossing class iv in the nation.  how times have changed.....

That title was held among WVON 1450 in Chicago, WJMO 1490 in Cleveland, WOL 1450 in DC, WJLB 1400 in Detroit and KGFJ 1230 in LA in the 70's. 1340, WHAT in Philly and the 1490 in St. Louis were close contenders, too, as was WMBM in Miami and still, KNUZ 1230 in Houston.

By the time KRIZ was sold, it was waaaay down in ratings. From an average of a 9.3 in '73 it fell to a 4.4 in '74 and was down in the 2's prior to the sale, so it was probably not billing much at all.

[flashman1]

Well, I'm 55 (yes, really;) and actually enjoyed KOY with that old (REALLY old) stuff.  I have a soft spot for Mathis, Andy Williams, Sinatra, etc., along with the metal and classic rock from the 70s and 80s.  Might be a terrible idea, but I always thought that had that station been on FM, it would have found an audience.  There are a lot of us oldsters out there, and it might have earned some decent ratings--probably more than a crappy low power AM signal would accomplish.  But then again, I love radio--rarely watch TV during the day--and appreciate a variety of programming.  I'm a layman with no radio experience except for building a SW receiver with my dad in high school--but still love DXing and SWL.

Point is, with all the crap on radio anymore, is there an audience for these old standards on FM? AM seems to have been taken over by right wing talk, religious stations, and Spanish language programming, so for any music outside of satellite, you have to go to FM.  Frustrating for those of us in the civilian world who appreciate radio.

[landtuna]

Well, I'm 55 (yes, really;) and actually enjoyed KOY with that old (REALLY old) stuff.  I have a soft spot for Mathis, Andy Williams, Sinatra, etc., along with the metal and classic rock from the 70s and 80s.  Might be a terrible idea, but I always thought that had that station been on FM, it would have found an audience.  There are a lot of us oldsters out there, and it might have earned some decent ratings--probably more than a crappy low power AM signal would accomplish.  But then again, I love radio--rarely watch TV during the day--and appreciate a variety of programming.  I'm a layman with no radio experience except for building a SW receiver with my dad in high school--but still love DXing and SWL.

Point is, with all the crap on radio anymore, is there an audience for these old standards on FM? AM seems to have been taken over by right wing talk, religious stations, and Spanish language programming, so for any music outside of satellite, you have to go to FM.  Frustrating for those of us in the civilian world who appreciate radio.

I'm 12 years older than you are Flash but I agree with you.  I'd love to have the old KOY on a good FM signal.  Probably even enough to make me forget about the old Coyote and smooooooth jazz.