Cox Radio buys
4 Oahu stations
for $16 million

The company is a newcomer
to the isle market

Star-Bulletin staff

Atlanta-based Cox Radio, Inc. today said it agreed to pay $16 million for four Honolulu radio stations owned by New Planet Radio, formerly Ohana Broadcasting.

Pending regulator approval, Cox would take over ownership of stations KRTR-FM (Krater 96); KXME-FM (Xtreme Radio 104.3); KGMZ-FM (Oldies Radio 107.9) and KGMZ-AM, by the end of the year.

Cox President Robert F. Neil said the stations target different demographics and will give the company -- a newcomer to the local market -- nearly a 20 percent share of the total radio market in Hawaii.

"Our goal is to leverage our extensive experience and resources to improve ratings, revenue and cash flow across this station cluster," Neil said.

Cox Radio is the fifth-largest radio company in the United States based on net revenues. It owns or is in the process of buying 62 stations -- 47 of them FM and 15 AM stations -- in 13 markets.

The company reported net revenues of $138.9 million in the first six months ending June 30, 1999, up 14.6 percent over the same period last year. Cox has bought and sold radio stations across the country in recent years. The company in January traded station WSUN-AM in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., plus $17 million, for WSUN-FM in the same market. Other recent purchases include stations in Tulsa, Okla.; Louisville, Ky.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Athens, Ga. and Dayton, Ohio.