Tucson’s nearly 4-year-old independent radio station KDRI The Drive will become part of Portland, Oregon-based Bustos Media on Saturday, April 1, in a deal signed this week between the two entities.
The Drive joins Bustos’s four other Tucson stations — 106.3 FM The Groove, which plays old school R&B; 1030 KVOI AM The Voice talk radio; 92.5 FM Urbana, which plays Latin and Spanish pop and reggaeton; and the Spanish-language station KZLZ “La Poderosa” 105.3 FM.
No details about the sale were reported in the news release Tuesday, March 28, announcing the deal.
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KDRI co-owner Fletcher McCusker said the move could better position the station to build its advertising revenue.
“The biggest challenge we’ve had is that we’re a stand-alone station,” said the Tucson businessman and community activist who owns the station with longtime Tucson radio personality Bobby Rich and veteran Tucson broadcaster Jim Arnold. “Everybody else is a package like Cumulus and iHeart. Even though we’ve risen to No. 2 in the market, we’re not going to get anywhere without a budget.”
The Drive, on the FM dial at 101.7 and 830 on the AM frequency, has consistently ranked in the top five Tucson radio stations since it went live on Aug. 6, 2019. And while the station has garnered a loyal listener base, advertisers have been less welcoming, McCusker said, explaining that advertisers like to spend their money on outlets that have more than one station.
“Hopefully this makes us all more competitive,” he said.
McCusker and Bustos Tucson General Manager Patty Ruiz said there are no plans to change the station’s format, which targets baby boomers between the ages of 45 to 64 — a niche market that McCusker and his partners say has long been overlooked by Tucson’s other radio stations.
Ruiz said the addition of The Drive adds another layer of diversity to Bustos’s Tucson portfolio.
“I’m so excited about that,” said the Bisbee native and lifelong Tucson resident, whose broadcast career goes back to 1974. “I love that music. I’m a baby boomer, too.”
Ruiz will be the GM for the combined stations and KDRI will continue operating from its downtown studios.
The Drive’s on-air personalities also will remain, McCusker said.
Bustos Media entered the Tucson market in 2018 when it bought KTGV 106.3 FM The Groove from Lotus and KVOI 1030 AM from Good News Communications. It acquired Urbana in early 2021 in a $450,000 deal and followed up last April with the purchase of “La Poderosa” for $1.4 million, according to published reports.
Bustos, an independent Hispanic-owned media company, operates more than 25 stations in Oregon, Washington State, California, Arizona, Wisconsin and Texas, including stations that broadcast in Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and English.
The company is owned by Amador Bustos, who Ruiz said has a home in Tucson and spends quite a bit of time here.
“We’re excited being probably the only locally-owned stations,” Ruiz said.
Researchers analyzed the music choices of guests on the British radio program ‘Desert Island Discs’. They found that the music we listen to between the ages of 10 and 30 defines us for the rest of our lives.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at [email protected]. On Twitter @Starburch
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