KRDO (95.1 FM) sold to Citadel

Pikes Peak Broadcasting announced Thursday that is would sell KRDO (95.1 FM) to Citadel Broadcasting, which already owns five Colorado Springs radio stations.

Last month, Pikes Peak agreed to sell KRDO/Channel 13 and KRDO (1240 AM), along with Grand Junction TV station KJCT/Channel 8, to the News-Press and Gazette Broadcasting Company of St. Joseph, Mo., for $45 million.

Citadel, a national broadcasting company that merged with ABC Radio in February, owns KKMG (98.9 FM), KVOR (740 AM), KSPZ (92.9 FM), KKFM (98.1 FM) and KKML (1300 AM) in Colorado Springs.

“I think this is a wonderful channel and frequency,” said Harry Hoth, chairman of the board for Pikes Peak Broadcasting. “We feel that we’ve turned it over to people who will uphold that quality.”

KRDO-FM, nicknamed “The Peak,” currently plays a Hot AC format featuring alternative rock and pop. Citadel officials would not say if the company would keep the current format.

UPDATE: This deal was rumored for several months. The big question is what Citadel will do with the format. Country? Update the Hot AC? You can bet that Brenda Goodrich and Bobby Irwin at Citadel have some changes in mind.

It will also be interesting to see where the purchase price comes in. My guess is $8 million, but I'm pulling that out of thin air.