Bay Area losing its only country radio station after sale
Country music fans may want to grab a beer and put Trace Adkins' “You're Gonna Miss This” on repeat because San Jose's KRTY — one of the last country stations to serve the Bay Area — will sign off the FM airwaves in June after three decades.
Educational Media Foundation, a Christian broadcaster that operates the “K-LOVE” and “Air1” formats nationwide, bought the 95.3 FM signal for $3.138 million from KRTY. The sale was filed with the FCC this week and first reported by country music and radio trade media.
“It's the end of an era,” KRTY Vice President and General Manager Nate Deaton said Friday. “We've had quite a run for 28 years and the loyalty and love that our listeners have for a locally owned and operated radio station has never been lost on us.”
Deaton emphasized that it would be business as usual for KRTY until June 1, with favorites such as morning hosts Gary Scott Thomas and Julie Stevens and nighttime host “Indiana Al”
Breiten staying on the air. The station's 13 full-time employees, including eight who have been there for more than 25 years, will receive a “respectable” severance package, Deaton said.
It's the latest blow for Bay Area country music fans, following the closing of the Saddle Rack in May 2020 after 44 years in San Jose and Fremont.
Shocked KRTY listeners have shared their sadness on social media about losing their beloved country station.
Krista Thomas, a San Jose graphic designer who won tickets to see a Garth Brooks show, said she's been listening to the station as long as she can remember.
“I've always loved country music and KRTY holds a very special place in my heart,” she said. “I have such good memories of riding in the car with my mom and dad to school, listening to Gary and Julie's show. Sometimes I wouldn't even want to get out of the car because I wanted to hear the end of their story or game or the next hit song.”
KRTY, which switched to a country music format in 1989 when it was known as KYAY, was acquired in 1993 by Empire Broadcasting President Bob Kieve and was one of the few remaining locally owned stations in the Bay Area. In 2019, Empire Broadcasting left its longtime headquarters on Story Road in San Jose for a new home on Monterey Road, and its sister station, the former all-news KLIV, went silent. Kieve, a former speechwriter for President Dwight Eisenhower, died at age 98 in May 2020.
Deaton said that Kieve had expressed his intention to sell KRTY and hoped it could be purchased by its employees and remain local. While some attempts were made to create a local ownership group, Deaton said, the station's shareholders accepted EMF'S bid last fall.
“I think Bob would be disappointed that because of the economic situation in media the last couple of years and because of COVID, we were unable to keep it in the hands of the employees,” Deaton said. “But the days of single ownership have passed, and that would break his heart.”
KRTY has become a country music powerhouse in the Bay Area. Deaton has won several industry awards, including the Crs/country Aircheck General
Manager of the Year award in February. The station also has been responsible for bringing massive country artists to shows in the South Bay, including a “Dive Bar Tour” stop by Garth Brooks at San Jose's Club Rodeo in December and a May 2 show by Lady A at Clos La Chance vineyards in San Martin that's sold out. KRTY'S February ratings were the highest in the station's history.
“It's entirely possible, perhaps probable, that somebody else — perhaps an underperforming station — picks up the country format in the Bay Area and builds upon the success we've had,” Deaton said.
And that could even be … KRTY. While EMF bought the frequency, KRTY is holding onto all its intellectual property, including its call letters, branding, website and various shows and events, including concerts booked through October.
“We're not selling any of that, and after June we will still do something as KRTY in the digital space,” Deaton said. “So we're not saying goodbye, we're saying, `What's next?'”