Bustos Media L.L.C. is a media corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
Bustos Media specializes in operating Spanish-language, and other ethnic, radio stations in the United States. Most of its stations broadcast in Spanish; however, two of the company's stations have the Portland, Oregon, market's only full-time Russian language formats (KOOR and KGDD).
History
The company, originally headquartered in Sacramento, California,[1] was founded in July 2003 by Amador Bustos and his brother John Bustos, with investments from Providence Equity Partners, Providence, R.I., Alta Communications, Boston, and Opportunity Capital, Fremont, California.[2] The Sacramento-based Bustos Media, a private broadcasting company specializing in Spanish language radio, has over $100 million in private equity.[3] "Amador Bustos has built two radio empires catering to the tastes of America's Spanish-speaking population." Station is currently owned by ADELANTE MEDIA OF CALIFORNIA LICENSE LLC[4]
In 1992, the Amador brothers, with $3 million in private equity investment from Syndicated Communications (SYNCOM), launched Z-Spanish Radio Network, Inc. Over a period of eight years they acquired 32 radio stations.[3] In 2000, Z-Spanish sold the chain to Entravision Communications at a total valuation of $475 million.[5]
In May 2006, Bustos Media gained approval from the Federal Communications Commission to launch a Spanish-language television station in Milwaukee with programming from Azteca América.[6] As of 2009, Bustos Media had 25 radio stations across the U.S. and several television stations.
In January 2010 Bustos Media revealed that it was in technical default with its lenders.[7] On June 30, 2010, Bustos Media announced that the stations would be transferred to NAP Broadcast Holdings LLC, a company named for and controlled by its senior lenders, pending FCC approval. As part of the agreement, Amador and John Bustos resigned, effective immediately.[8]
In September 2010 NAP Broadcasting closed on the merger and announced that they would proceed under the name "Adelante Media Group".[9]
The Bustoses were able to keep some stations in Oregon, California and Texas.[10] In 2011, Bustos Media repurchased the Adelante stations in Portland.[11] Bustos reacquired several radio stations in Washington from Adelante Media Group for $6 million in 2014;[12] the following year, the company bought back WDDW in Milwaukee from Adelante for $1 million.[13]
