Wichita Radio: Rocking M Media's Six Stations Are Silent

The deal for Wichita’s new Allied Media Partners to acquire Salina-based Rocking M Media’s six Wichita-area radio stations has still not closed, and now the stations are all off the air, according to kansas.com.

What happened next depends on which side is explaining it.  What isn’t in contention is that landlord Envision posted a note and locked the door to the stations at its downtown headquarters.

“This is the craziest thing I ever saw,” Rocking M co-manager and co-owner Monte Miller says of the situation.

While the purchase was pending, Allied had an operating agreement with Rocking M to run the stations.  Miller says the agreement ended without Allied coming up with $6.2 million to buy the stations.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Allied CEO Matt Baty. He says Rocking M won’t clear the liens on its assets in order to close the deal.

“I’m not buying someone else’s debt. I’m not buying someone else’s problems.”

Matt Baty

No one with Envision has commented. The nonprofit is involved because of its previous ownership of Country KKGQ 92.3 FM, and its status as the licensee.

In March, it was reported Rocking M planned to sell that station along with Wichita stations KIBB, 97.1 FM, KVWF, 100.5-FM and KWME, 92.7-FM.  Also included in the deal was to be Wellington’s KLEY 100.3-FM / 1130-AM and Winfield’s News/Talk KKLE, 1550-AM.

Miller says when he heard that Envision locked the doors, he then took the stations off the air. He says Envision locked out the stations because their leases expired.

Baty says the lock-out happened because Rocking M defaulted on payments to Envision.

Though the two companies disagree on just about everything related to what happened and what’s holding up the deal, both say they still want the sale to happen.

“Of course, now the purchase of assets agreement has expired, and we are actively out selling the stations,” Miller says.

Rocking M owns 24 other stations across Kansas as well as the Kansas Farm & Ranch Radio network.