"The Noise You Can't Ignore" Clear Channel to Buy Jacor by Gary Stigall, KFMB-TV Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE: CCU) and Jacor Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: JCOR) announced October 8 a merger agreement valued at approximately $4.4 billion. If approved by Federal regulators, the combined entity will be, according to Jacor, "the country's second largest radio company in terms of radio stations and third largest ranked by total radio revenue as well as the worlds largest out-of-home advertising company. The combined company will own and/or operate 454 radio stations in 101 domestic markets. In total the combined company will have operations in 117 domestic markets. " In the San Diego market, Jacor owns eight radio stations, including KOGO (600 kHz), KSDO (1130 kHz), KPOP (1360 kHz), KHTS (93.3 MHz), KMCG (94.1 MHz), KMSX (95.7 Mhz), KGB (101.5 MHz), and KIOZ (105.3 MHz). Jacor operates three Mexican-licensed stations: XETRA-AM (690 kHz), XETRA-FM (91.1 MHz), and XHRM (92.5 MHz). They also own Air Watch traffic, and heavily use syndicated shows produced by Premiere Radio Networks. Those shows include The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Dr. Laura Schlessinger Show, Dr. Dean Edell and Art Bell's overnight programs, Dreamland and Coast to Coast. Clear Channel owns a 29% stake in Heftel, who run Spanish language outlets KLQV (102.9 MHz) and KLNV (106.5 MHz). Director of Engineering for Jacor in San Diego, Kevin Douglass, said the deal should have no bearing on technical operations here, especially because Jacor will remain a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clear Channel. Jacor will remain based in metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio. Says Jacor, "Under the Clear Channel umbrella, we will continue to acquire strong stations, develop the stick portfolio and produce state of the art programming through our brand management team." Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is a global diversified media company. Including pending acquisitions, the Company operates, or is affiliated with, 625 radio stations, 19 television stations and approximately 220,000 outdoor advertising displays in 25 countries worldwide. The Company also owns 29% of Heftel Broadcasting Corporation (NASDAQ: HBCCA), the largest Spanish-language radio broadcaster in the U.S. According to business reports and the companies' own statements, Clear Channel will probably be required to relinquish radio stations in Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida. They do not forsee being required to disinvest in Heftel. More information can be found in the Jacor press Release, Clear Channel press release, or this story in the Cincinnati Courier.   Previous Story | Back to Top | Home Page | Next Story Web site contents ©1998 Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 36 San Diego. For more information, to become a member or a sponsor, or to make suggestions or comments, e-mail sbe36@broadcast.net   P.O. Box 710702, San Diego, California 92171-0702.   Edited by Gary Stigall. Updated 28-Oct-98.