Future of local radio stations still unclear

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The six Yakima radio stations owned by New Northwest Broadcasters will continue operating under temporary control of a receiver company, but they face an uncertain future.

New Northwest Broadcasters, which owns oldies station Cherry 100.9 KARY-FM, newstalk station K-USA Talk 980 KBBO-AM, contemporary hit music station Hot 99.7 KHHK-FM, ESPN sports radio affiliate 1390 KJOX-AM, adult hit music station Bob 105.7 KRSE-FM, and country station 104.1 KXDD-FM, voluntarily entered receivership this month as a way to avoid bankruptcy.

The agreement is not expected to have any immediate impact at any of the stations.

"The stations are on the air; it's business as usual," said Alan Davis, a principal with Revitalization Partners, the Seattle-based receiver company assigned to temporary control New Northwest. "And it will remain business as usual throughout the process."

The way the process works is that a company in arrears with creditors files for receivership as an alternative to bankruptcy. Then a receiver company takes control and restructures the company in an effort to repay those debts.

That often means assets are liquidated, because the receiver company's priority is doing the best thing for the creditors, Davis said. In this case, "liquidation" likely would not mean closing up shop, he said.

"We're really talking about the sale of an asset from one property to another," he said. "It's highly unlikely that somebody would want to buy a radio station and then take it off the air."

There is no formal timetable for the receivership beyond a court order to proceed quickly, Davis said. But there appears to be "significant demand" for New Northwest stations from potential buyers, he said.

"I haven't fully explored that demand," he said. "I can only tell you there appears to be."

It's unclear whether the restructuring process would affect future staffing levels at the local stations.

"It won't at all during the process. ... I can't comment further down the road than that, because it's not my responsibility," Davis said.

A message left at the New Northwest Broadcasters headquarters in Seattle was not returned. The company's Yakima general manager, Reggie Jordan, is out of the office this week. The company owns 31 stations in six Northwest markets.