The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing a proposed $20 million sale of six St. Louis-area radio stations to the entrepreneur who recently took over the parent company of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In filings submitted Wednesday to the federal agency, Hoffmann Media Group outlined agreements that would allow the purchase from Audacy, a New York-based company that owns hundreds of radio stations nationwide.
David Hoffmann, the profile subject of an article published across his Lee Enterprises newspapers, including the Post-Dispatch, about the millions of dollars in investments he’s making in local news, now plans to purchase a half-dozen of the region’s radio stations. His company announced its intent to purchase two talk stations, KMOX (104.1 FM, 1120 AM) and KFTK (97.1 FM); a hip-hop/R&B format, WHHL (98.7 FM), and three adult contemporary stations: KEZK (102.5 FM), WFUN (96.3 FM) and KYKY (Y98.1 FM).
Hoffmann Family of Companies
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David Hoffmann is the founder and chairman of the Hoffmann Family of Companies.
KMOX broadcasts the games of the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis University men’s basketball team. KYKY carries St. Louis City SC soccer games.
The Missouri-born Hoffmann became the majority shareholder of Post-Dispatch parent company Lee Enterprises last winter. The purchase of the radio stations, if approved, would mark the billionaire’s first venture into broadcasting.
Hoffmann has said he wants to continue to expand his radio holdings alongside his portfolio of 154 newspapers.
“We are building a scaled, multi-platform network that combines print, digital, and broadcast to deliver trusted journalism and meaningful community connection,” he said in a press release. “Talk radio is a natural extension of that vision and a powerful driver of our long-term growth.”
The multisignal deal appears to be a relative bargain compared to another recent local transaction. Community radio station KDHX 88.1 sold for nearly $9 million last year to Christian broadcaster Gateway Creative Media, which operates JOY FM 99.1.
Hoffmann’s radio deal comes a few months after another owner consolidation of St. Louis media. The FCC approved a $6.2 billion deal in March that allows Nexstar Media Group to purchase Tegna, though a judge has halted the merger while an antitrust suit is litigated. The sale would put local TV broadcaster KSDK, formerly a Tegna station, under the same ownership as Nextstar stations KPLR and KTVI.