KFNS 590 in St. Louis remains on the market, but maybe not for long as station ownership reportedly has a deal in place.
According to Dan Caesar of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, current owner Randy Markel is nearing an agreement to sell KFNS to Morning After co-host Tim McKernan. It’s not the first time McKernan, who owns insideSTL Enterprises, has been in talks to buy KFNS. In 2017 McKernan was mentioned as a candidate to assume full control of the station, and again last summer. Markel has owned KFNS since 2015 when he purchased and rejuvenated the station.
Recently, Caesar says Markel had a deal in place to sell 50% of KFNS to two Metro East businessman, but negative economic impacts caused by COVID-19 put the transaction on hold. Now it appears McKernan has returned as the leading candidate to buy KFNS from Markel, a decision that could be finalized as soon as July 1.
What’s also interesting about the pending sale, is the potential inclusion of NHL player and St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup champ Pat Maroon as an investor. It’s not unprecedented to see teams own sports radio stations. The Dodgers own AM 570 LA Sports in conjunction with iHeart. WTEM 980 in Washington DC was previously owned by Dan Snyder and the Redskins, there are multiple examples. But a current player purchasing a sports radio station would be a unique venture.
“I always wanted to do something in this industry,” Maroon told McKernan in an on-air conversation last month according to Caesar. “Obviously I want to play as long as I can. A lot of people retire and have nothing to fall back on…This is something to fall back on and start a new career.”
Currently, Maroon plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but at 32-years old his career could certainly add a few more years. And who knows, he might even find his way back to the Blues at some point. An athlete, owning a sports radio station in the market they play in would create a unique journalistic dynamic.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
Comments are closed.