Bozeman Radio: Desert Mountain Acquires 5 Silent Stations

 

A Billings broadcasting company has bought five radio stations in Bozeman that went off the air in 2018 with the hopes of restoring the stations.

The Bozman Daily Chronicle reports Desert Mountain Broadcasting closed on the five stations, formerly owned by Reier Broadcasting Co. on Jan. 31. It’s now working to build brand-new studios for the five stations as they come back on the air.

The stations are KBOZ 99.9 FM, KBOZ 1090 AM, KOBB 93.7 F, KOBB 1230 AM and KOZB 97.5 FM. Desert Mountain Broadcasting also owns 104.1 FM/1490 AM in Bozeman.

The five stations closed, in part, due to financial woes, the Chronicle reported in 2018.

Cameron Maxwell, the president and CEO of Desert Mountain Broadcasting, had been looking to buy the stations since they went dark.

Cameron Maxwell

“This is really a big deal to me to be able to get a chance to buy, take over and rebuild these stations,” Maxwell said. “They were such a great set of radio stations it was sad to see them go away.”

Restoring the stations is personal for Maxwell, who got his start in the radio business in Billings and later worked for the Reier Broadcasting Co. in Bozeman.

Maxwell, 51, started working at a radio station in Billings at 15 years old as a board operator.

In 2005, Maxwell became a general manager for six radio stations in Billings owned by Connoisseur Media — a broadcasting company that now mainly operates on the East Coast.

In 2019, Maxwell bought out the radio stations in Billings from Connoisseur Media and founded Desert Mountain Broadcasting.