THOUSAND OAKS : Radio Station KNJO Sold for $1.1 Million

A Beverly Hills couple has agreed to purchase KNJO radio in Thousand Oaks for an estimated $1.1 million, officials said.

The radio station was sold by Thousand Oaks-based Comedy Broadcasting Inc. to Flagship Communications Co., said Chester Coleman, San Francisco-based media broker.

Coleman negotiated the deal on behalf of the station’s new owners, Darry and Susan Sragow.

KNJO (92.7 FM) is the first radio acquisition for Darry Sragow, an attorney and political consultant.

The Sragows could not be reached for comment, but Coleman said the deal is awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

Approval of the ownership change is expected in July, station manager Pete Turpel said.

KNJO has no plans to change its broadcast format, which includes soft rock and local news aimed at an adult market, Turpel said.

The new owners have indicated that they plan to retain the station’s staff of eight full-time and nine part-time employees, he said.

Although the station has been profitable, a decline in revenues during the recession last year forced a layoff of five employees, he said.

Turpel said Comedy Broadcasting’s owners decided to sell their two radio stations to concentrate on filmmaking ventures.

In March, the company sold KNJO’s sister station, KMDY-AM, to former football star Daniel D. Villanueva. KMDY, also of Thousand Oaks, has since changed its format from comedy to Spanish-language talk radio and its call letters to KCTQ.

KNJO, one of the county’s oldest stations, was founded in 1963 by Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, Coleman said.

The station has changed hands at least four times since then, the last time in 1986 when it was purchased by Comedy Broadcasting for $1.6 million.