Parent company of KUIC files for bankruptcy
(File photo by Solano NewsNet)
The parent company of Solano County’s only commercial broadcast media outlet filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.
The bankruptcy filing made by Alpha Media Holdings was carried out as a pre-emptive measure to offset an anticipated declined in commercial advertising revenue and other economic difficulties brought on by the ongoing coronavirus health pandemic, the company said in court documents.
The Chapter 11 filing comes with a framework bankrolled by an unnamed investor that will allow Alpha Media to reduce more than $267 million in debt while reallocating capital in its mid-market radio stations and associated digital products for future growth.
“We have made significant progress in aggressively deleveraging our business in recent years,” Robert Proffitt, the chief executive of Alpha Media, said in a statement. “As we proceed with our financial restructuring to improve our capital structure and manage through the ongoing downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the agreement we reached today will leave Alpha Media well-positioned for a market recovery as a stronger and even more competitive company.”
Alpha Media currently operates more than 200 radio stations across the country, including KUIC (95.3 FM), a hot adult contemporary-format radio station that broadcasts from Vacaville to all of Solano County and the greater Sacramento Valley.
No one answered the phone at KUIC’s studios in Vacaville when Solano NewsNet attempted to call on Monday. Phil D’Angelo, KUIC’s senior vice president and market manager, has not yet returned an e-mail message seeking comment.
Alpha Media joins a long list of broadcasters and other media organizations that have sought bankruptcy protection in the face of declining advertising revenue as listeners switch from traditional forms of media to more on-demand choices provided through online offerings. Over the last few years, some broadcasters like iHeart Media have re-structured their operations through a series of layoffs and bankruptcy filings, while others like CBS Radio and Entercom have fought against declines by consolidating their operations.
But Alpha Media is an outlier in the radio industry: It operates mid-market stations with a skeleton staff and on shoestring budgets that maximize resources based on cost. Its stations often compete against those with higher ratings in bigger markets that geographically overlap, but it trades on the fierce loyalty of its listeners who foster sentimental attachments with its on-air talent, behind-the-scenes staff and radio brands.
In a recent profile for a regional business magazine, D’Angelo said KUIC’s mission of delivering hometown news and information combined with its community-based talent was a winning recipe for the station, a model that was franchised at other outlets owned by Alpha Media. (KUIC’s moniker, “Your Hometown Station,” was eventually adopted by its nearby sister-stations, KKDV-FM and KKIQ-FM.)
“Nobody can cover the area like we can,” D’Angelo said at the time. “Nobody can talk about this community with traffic, with weather, with community events, with lifestyle, with the connection that we can.”
That apparently still holds true today, and the bankruptcy documents filed in federal court this week suggested from the very top that Alpha Media was still in a position to dominate the airwaves.
“Our core business continues to perform well despite current market challenges,” Alpha Media CEO Proffitt said. “We will continue to invest in our talented teams to foster the unique culture that has been key to Alpha Media’s success in delivering dynamic, diverse and exciting content to our communities.”
None of the stations operated by Alpha Media are at immediate risk of going off-the-air — the company says it remains committed to “operating its stations without interruption” — and other day-to-day business dealings at its stations and digital properties are expected to continue on as normal while the company works to re-emerge from bankruptcy.
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