MMTC Broadcasting and Brokerage has closed on the sale of an FM station near Phoenix that it had received through donation.
The buyer of KRPH is Jeff Chang, owner of Chang Media. This appears to be the first FM station that has been donated under the MMTC’s program; prior radio stations have been AMs.
The Class C2 station, licensed to Morristown, Ariz., was donated to the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council by Junan Carlos Rodriguez, owner of Deportes y Música Comunicaciones.
MMTC seeks to promote minority and women entrepreneurship in broadcasting.Its donation program offers broadcasters who might otherwise close a station an alternative with tax benefits that also helps another operator.
“We are incredibly proud of the donation of KRPH(FM). It is a significant addition to the MMTC roster of major-market donations,” said Suzanne Gougherty, president of MMTC Broadcasting and Brokerage.
“We now have Phoenix, Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul, all in the top 15 radio markets.”
MMTC President/CEO Robert Branson called it a double win because in this case a minority owner donated his station to MMTC, which was able to transfer it to another minority owner.
Broadcasters that have donated stations in the past include Entercom, Gray TV, iHeartMedia and others. In 2021 Asian-American entrepreneur Jeff Chang also purchased an AM station in Barstow, Calif., from the MMTC brokerage. In that case the station had been donated by Lazer Broadcasting Corp.
