Padres, KFMB Presidents Buy 2 Utah Radio Stations

Ballard Smith, president of the Padres, and Paul Palmer, president and general manager of KFMB radio, said Tuesday that they have purchased two radio stations in Salt Lake City for $4.8 million.

For the last year, Smith and Palmer were discussing the purchase of KLZZ AM and FM in San Diego. They had hoped eventually to shift the broadcast of Padres baseball games from KFMB to KLZZ.

“We weren’t able to come to terms” with KLZZ owner Tom Shadek, Palmer said in an interview Tuesday. “Both Ballard and I are interested in owning a broadcast property, (and) the first place to look was San Diego.”

Smith and Palmer are partners in Sun Mountain Inc., which bought the Salt Lake stations--KISN AM and KLUB FM--from Carman Corp. The Smiths own more than half of Sun Mountain, Palmer owns “between 25% and 35%” and an unidentified partner is now negotiating an option to buy the rest.

Palmer recently signed a five-year contract with KFMB AM and FM that includes “permission” for him and Smith to buy radio stations outside the San Diego region. Had Smith and Palmer purchased a local station, Palmer would have resigned from KFMB, he said.

KFMB AM and FM (known as B-100) ranked first and second in terms of total advertising dollars in the 25-54 age group, according to the latest Arbitron ratings for January, February and March.

The new Salt Lake stations ranked sixth and 10th, respectively, in overall audience among the 24 stations in the Salt Lake region, which includes Ogden and Provo.

Smith and Palmer are also engaged in another business deal, although on opposite sides.

KFMB’s three-year, $900,000-per-year broadcasting contract with the Padres expires at the end of this season, and the station and the club are now discussing terms for the next contract. The annual broadcast fee, according to industry sources, will be significantly higher in light of the Padres’ National League championship in 1984 and its success so far in 1985.

Palmer said Tuesday that his negotiations with the Padres are “not a conflict.” Rather, he insisted, his ties with Smith “make the negotiations even tougher because we’re sensitive about the (appearance of a conflict).”

The purchase of the Salt Lake stations requires approval by the Federal Communications Commission. Palmer said his firm will assume control of the stations in early September.