HOUSTON (Hispanic Business) August 25, 2006 — Houston based Border Media Partners, the largest privately held Hispanic radio company in the United States, announced Thursday that it has purchased two more stations in the San Antonio area.

BMP is paying $45 million for the two CBS stations, KTSA AM and KJXK FM, and will begin to operate the stations in September before the transaction's expected closure later this year or in early 2007.

The company already owns seven stations in the San Antonio market among the 37 now in its portfolio. Five of those San Antonio stations broadcast in Spanish and the other two in English. BMP said it will keep the English-language formats of its two latest acquisitions.

"BMP is pleased to make this significant acquisition, which is a part of our strategy to serve all segments of the San Antonio audience. San Antonio is a wonderful market, and the acquisition of these fine stations will allow us to serve additional listeners and advertisers. Our expanded San Antonio cluster of stations will bring greater competition to the marketplace," said Tom Castro, BMP president and CEO, in a statement. " ... CBS should be commended for enhancing ownership diversity and preserving independent media voices, which is essential to our democracy."

Mr. Castro outlined his strategy in a June question and answer session with Radio Ink magazine. "My view is that the cluster of the future will be in both English and Spanish radio, because that's what the marketplace is going to be. One is sort of a hedge against the other. Spanish is going to grow much faster, but the majority of the money will be in English radio," he told Radio Ink editor Joe Howard. "... Our business is to serve Hispanic people, not necessarily to do Spanish radio."

As far as the latest additions? "If the format in any station has a 40 to 50 percent Hispanic audience, then we consider it," the San Antonio Times-Express quoted Mr. Castro today. "Whether they speak English, Spanish or Spanglish, the Hispanic population is growing five times faster than any market."

BMP Radio reports it has raised over $290 million in capital since it was founded three years ago by Mr. Castro and RGG Capital Partners LLC. At the time, Mr. Castro was no stranger to Hispanic broadcasting -- in 1993 he founded El Dorado Communications in 1993, a successful chain which owned Hispanic radio stations in Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston.

BMP operates in six Texas markets, including San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, McAllen-Brownsville, Laredo, and Waco.

The sales of the two San Antonio stations are part of a larger effort by CBS to sell radio stations in 10 of its smaller markets. On August 21, Entercom Communications Corp. announced its purchase of 15 CBS radio stations in four markets: Austin; Cincinnati; Memphis; and Rochester, N.Y.