SAN DIEGO — It’s been a sad time for some San Diego sports fans as the Mighty 1090 radio station is officially off the air. Billy Ray Smith was seen cramming 18 years of radio history into his trunk as one Mighty 1090 employee after another walked out of the station with boxes.
"It's over,” said morning show host Steven Woods. “Mighty 1090 is no longer.”
Woods says management called them all into a meeting Tuesday and told them the station was out of money.
"We kind of knew it was coming so we're just dealing with it in our own way,” he said.
The bad news comes just as the Mighty 1090 was showing solid momentum with strong ratings in the male 25 to 54 demographic - a key group for a sports radio station.
"We had a huge, huge, book and that makes it a little harder to stomach, but also makes it easier to hold your head high when you leave,” said Woods.
The station was actually taken off the radio two weeks ago when the station reportedly missed lease payments on its antenna which is based in Mexico. Since then, the station has been streaming online.
Longtime host Scott Kaplan believes the station never properly marketed itself ignoring Orange County and LA even though the signal reached into those areas. So, in its final days, he was working on a plan to save the station.
"It's really unfortunate because I sent a letter to the company and parent company yesterday,” said Kapblan. “[It was] a letter of intent to take over operations of the company starting tomorrow morning, but they said we are out of money and therefore not interested in your offer.”
Management declined News 8's request for an interview but on their website put up a generic note announcing they've ceased operations and thanked listeners for their support.