EMF BUYS PROGRESSIVE ROCKER KPRI, SAN DIEGO

Educational Media Foundation (EMF) has opened its billfold again and purchased KPRI-FM, a heritage progressive rock commercial station in San Diego. Nonprofit EMF is likely the most active trader and dealmaker in radio broadcasting. The purchase price was not disclosed but it is rumored to be around the same amount, $21.7 million, EMF paid to American Public Media (APM) for WKCP, Miami [link] last July.

According to press reports, EMF will take over KPBI as early as Tuesday. KPRI began playing songs such as the Violent Fems’ Gone Daddy Gone and REM’s End of the World As We Know It and Loosing My Religion at 11 this morning.

EMF is a noncom money machine that likes to flex its muscles.  We profiled EMF in June [link]. EMF owns two 24/7 national Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) formats: K-LOVE and Air1. We have called EMF God’s Favorite Money Changers because their core business appears to be buying, selling and leasing FCC licenses.

EMF’s windfall is partially the result of two FCC policies: Noncom translators can be operated unattended and fed via satellite. And, since 2010, FM translators are allowed to repeat HD channels. HD-to-FM translators can be leased by noncoms to commercial broadcasters. EMF is currently leasing many of their translators for considerable profit.  We call these INSTANT FM stations [link].

INSIDE EMF

As we reported in June, EMF is perhaps of the fastest growing nonprofit media organization in the nation.

EMF’s IRS 990’s from 2003 to 2013 (the most recent available) show the amazing growth of the nonprofit broadcaster:

	2003	2013	CHANGE
TOTAL REVENUE	40,887,000	141,031,000	+ 100,144,000 (+ 244.9%)
TOTAL EXPENSES	31,380,000	81,574,000	+ 50,184,000 (+ 159.9%)
OPERATING MARGIAN	+9,507,000	+59,467,000	+ 49,960,000 (+ 525.5%)
NET ASSETS	38,013,000	289,822,000	+ 251,809,000 (+ 662.4%)

Data sources: Guidestar.org & Propublca.org Rounded to the nearest 1,000

At a time when religion in general has declining in America life and most noncommercial broadcasters struggle for sustainability, EMF stands alone for noncom profitabilty.

EMF shares the bounty internally:

	2003	2013	CHANGE
OFFICERS & KEY EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION	257,000	3,228,000	+ 2,971,000 (+ 1,560%)
STAFF SALARUES	8,045,000	30,238,000	+ 22,193,000 (+ 276%)

Data sources: Guidestar.org & Propublca.org Rounded to the nearest 1,000

The top three EMF executives, Michael Novak, David Pierce and Alan Mason, took home a whopping combined total of $1.2 million in tax year 2013. This certainly beats passing the collection plate.

MEANWHILE, THE GOD SQUAD LOOSES ONE IN MINNEAPOLIS

Noncommercial KNOF-FM, Minneapolis has been sold to commercial operator Northern Lights Broadcasting for $9.75 million.  If Northern Lights rings a bell it might be because they also operate Go 96.3 a progressive rock station that is directly competing with 89.3 The Current. [link to previous coverage of Go 96.3]

Northern Lights is owned by the Pohlad family and also owns the Minnesota Twins.  Go 96.3 is the flagship of the Twins Radio Network.

We reported on KNOF in April [link] when it was put up for sale. For most of its life, KNOF was an old-school Evangelical Christian station carrying time-brokered preaching and teaching programs. The profit has gone out of airing this sort of programming so KNOF adopted a CCM format. That didn’t work either because KTIS-FM OWNS the CCM market in the Twin Cities. Salem Broadcasting scoops up all the dough from the preachers. 

So KNOF has nowhere to go but out. So they are cashing in now while to price of FM licenses is at record high levels. 

The significance of the sale of KNOF to the owners of Go 96.3 is that they can make it a 24/7 music station.  The marriage between the Twins and progressive rock has been only partially successful.  Go 96.3’s weekly cumulative listeners have greatly increased because of tune-in for the Twins.  But few of the baseball listeners stick around for the music.  So far, Go 96.3 hasn’t even put a dent in The Current’s listening.