D&H Broadcasting, the owner of hot AC “93.9 The Lake” KRLT and news-talk “The Owl 1490” KOWL in South Lake Tahoe, CA, has told a federal bankruptcy court that it has lined up a buyer for the two stations. Rothschild Broadcasting has agreed to pay $275,000 for the AM/FM combo. The deal still needs court approval, with a hearing set for Aug. 29. According to court filings, it is still possible another bidder will emerge to buy the two stations. If that happens, the winner will be decided by a court auction, with any new bidder willing to pay at least $10,000 more in order for the Rothschild deal to be put into jeopardy.
Robin Rothschild does not currently own any radio stations, but she is not new to the business. She has previously owned stations in the Salisbury-Ocean City, MD market on two separate occasions — most recently selling off her stations in 2017. Rothschild is also producer and host of the weekly “Riding Around Delmarva” television program on WRDE-TV.
The current sale price will come up short based on what D&H Broadcasting owes. According to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno, NV, D&H has between $500,000 and $1 million in outstanding debt, and assets worth $316,422 — including an estimated $250,000 value for the two radio station licenses.
D&H Broadcasting filed for bankruptcy protection in December. Among its biggest creditors are Jerry Edwards Broadcasting, which is due $298,000. It also owes $198,000 to the Small Business Administration for outstanding loans, and $50,000 to Harvey’s Tahoe Management for rental of its transmitter site. Each of the performance rights organizations are also owed money in unpaid music licensing expenses.
General Manager Steve Harness said in a Facebook post in December that he had found a broadcasting veteran that wants to take over as owner and “revitalize” the station with a fresh start. “It means everything to me to keep this station live and local like it’s been for over 50 years, and this is the only way I can do that,” he wrote in the post.
D&H Broadcasting bought KRLT and KOWL in 2015 from Cherry Creek Radio in a $650,000 deal. D&H is a partnership between Harness, KRLT evening personality Stacy Driskill, and Jay Harness.
“We didn’t really survive that COVID economy. It buried us in debt and now it’s all catching up to us,” Harness said on Facebook. He said the SBA loans allowed the stations to remain on the air, pointing out it is why he began hosting afternoons in 2020.