Kindred Communications

What Kindred Communications does

Kindred Communications, Inc. is a privately held, locally owned radio broadcasting and digital advertising company headquartered in Huntington, West Virginia. Founded in 1993, it operates a cluster of six FCC-licensed radio stations spanning mainstream country (WDGG 93.7 The Dawg), classic country (WXBW Big Buck 101.5), mainstream rock (WCMI 92.7 & 98.5 The Planet), classic hits (WMGA 97.9 The River), and two sports talk outlets (WRVC ESPN 94.1 FM & AM 930; WCMI Cat Sports 93.3 FM & AM 1340). The stations collectively cover a tri-state area of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, with signal coverage of Ashland KY, Catlettsburg KY, Kenova WV, Huntington WV, and Gallipolis OH.

Alongside broadcast radio, the company operates Kindred Digital, a digital advertising arm offering geo-fencing (including household-addressable geo-fencing with 3,000+ data variables), website retargeting, cross-device display, social media advertising, CTV/OTT video, email marketing, SEO, and website development. The firm also produces 9th Street Live, a summer concert event series held on Friday evenings from May through August at 555 5th Ave, Huntington, that serves as both a community engagement vehicle and a sponsorship revenue stream.

The business model is advertising-led across three revenue streams: spot and sponsorship sales on the six radio stations, Kindred Digital managed services for local and regional SMB advertisers, and event sponsorships tied to 9th Street Live. Pricing is quote-based and undisclosed publicly, with packages customized by station selection, campaign duration, and service mix. Go-to-market is direct sales-led: an inside/outside sales team prospects and cold-calls local businesses, supported by advertising inquiry forms on kindredcom.net and a dedicated sales inbox at [email protected]. Leadership is family-anchored, with Mike Kirtner (General Manager and CEO) and Reeves Kirtner (Associate General Manager) heading a five-person management team alongside John Bowen (Operations), Joshua Daniels (Business), and Evan Adkins (Director of Engineering).

Name

Kindred Communications

Legal name

Kindred Communications, Inc.

Website

https://kindredcom.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kindred Communications, Inc. operates six radio stations across country, rock, classic hits, and sports formats in the Huntington, West Virginia tri-state area (WV, KY, OH), and through Kindred Digital offers geo-fencing, OTT/CTV, and retargeting advertising to local small and mid-sized businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Radio Broadcasting and Local Media Advertising

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Talk/News/Sports Radio Networks & Syndication (MPAIAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ad Tech for OTT (SSAI/CSAI, Ad Decisioning, Measurement) (MPAHAJAG)

Keywords

• Radio broadcasting
• Digital advertising
• Local media sales
• Radio station operations
• Targeted advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Radio Advertising: Advertising revenue from six radio stations covering various formats: Mainstream Country (WDGG 93.7), Classic Country (WXBW 101.5), Mainstream Rock (WCMI 92.7 & 98.5), Classic Hits (WMGA 97.9), Sports Talk (WRVC ESPN 94.1 & AM 930), and Cat Sports (WCMI 93.3 & AM 1340).
2. Digital Marketing Services: Digital advertising services including targeted display ads, social media advertising, CTV/OTT video, email marketing, SEO, website development, and geo-fencing campaigns.
3. Event Sponsorships: Revenue from event sponsorships through 9th Street Live summer concert series. Local businesses sponsor concert events for brand visibility.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kindred Communications operates six radio stations across country, rock, classic hits, and sports formats in the Huntington, WV tri-state area (West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio), selling on-air advertising to local businesses. The company also runs Kindred Digital, a digital advertising division offering geo-fencing, display ads, social media advertising, CTV/OTT video, email marketing, SEO, and website development, and produces the 9th Street Live summer concert series with event sponsorship opportunities.

Product overview

Kindred Communications operates a portfolio of six radio stations and a digital advertising division, all under local ownership in Huntington, WV. The radio stations span multiple formats—mainstream country (WDGG), classic country (WXBW), mainstream rock (WCMI), classic hits (WMGA), and two sports talk stations (WRVC and WCMI)—targeting different audience segments across West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. The company complements its broadcast operations with Kindred Digital, which provides hyper-targeted digital advertising solutions including display ads, social media advertising, CTV/OTT video, email marketing, and SEO/website development services. Additionally, 9th Street Live is a live concert event series held during summer months. Together, these offerings provide businesses with integrated radio and digital marketing solutions across multiple platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 93.7 The Dawg (WDGG-FM): Mainstream Country radio station
• Big Buck Country 101.5 (WXBW)
• 92.7 & 98.5 The Planet (WCMI-FM)
• 97.9 The River (WMGA)
• ESPN 94.1 FM & 930 AM (WRVC)
• Cat Sports 93.3 FM & 1340 AM (WCMI-AM)
• 9th Street Live

Products and services

• WDGG 93.7 The Dawg Mainstream country radio station offering on-air advertising inventory to local businesses targeting country music listeners in the Ashland, KY market area.
• WXBW Big Buck Country 101.5 Classic country radio station offering on-air advertising inventory to local businesses targeting classic country music listeners in the Gallipolis, OH and surrounding tri-state area.
• WCMI 92.7 & 98.5 The Planet Mainstream rock radio station offering on-air advertising inventory to local businesses targeting rock music listeners in the Ashland, KY and Catlettsburg, KY markets.
• WMGA 97.9 The River Classic hits radio station offering on-air advertising inventory to local businesses targeting classic hits music listeners in the Kenova, WV area.
• WRVC ESPN 94.1 FM & AM 930 Sports talk radio station offering on-air advertising inventory to local businesses targeting sports listeners in the Huntington, WV market.
• WCMI Cat Sports 93.3 FM & AM 1340 Sports talk radio station offering on-air advertising inventory to local businesses targeting sports listeners in the Ashland, KY area.
• Kindred Digital Digital marketing services for local businesses including geo-fencing campaigns, household addressable targeting with 3000+ data variables, cross-device display advertising, OTT/CTV video streaming ads, website retargeting capturing 98% of non-converting visitors, social media advertising, email marketing, SEO, and website development.
• 9th Street Live Summer concert series held weekly in Huntington, WV featuring local and regional musicians, offering event sponsorship packages to local and regional businesses for community brand activation and visibility.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.5X higher brand recall when radio and digital advertising are paired together
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Lamar Advertising Company: Lamar is a major out-of-home advertising operator with national scale. Although it does not operate radio stations, it competes for the same local advertiser budgets through alternative media channels and is referenced as a comparable multi-format local media peer.
• The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is a leading programmatic advertising platform offering CTV/OTT, geo-fencing, and retargeting capabilities. It represents the broader ad-tech competitive set whose products Kindred Digital's geo-fencing and OTT stack must be benchmarked against.

Broad incumbents

• iHeartMedia: iHeartMedia is the largest U.S. commercial radio broadcaster with hundreds of stations and a national digital audio ad platform (iHeartRadio). It is the dominant broad incumbent competing for the same local and regional advertiser budgets that Kindred targets.
• Gray Television: Gray Television is a leading U.S. television broadcaster operating local news and digital properties in mid-sized markets. Useful as a broader broadcasting-incumbent comparable for cluster-based local media rollups.
• Cumulus Media: Cumulus Media operates a large portfolio of AM/FM radio stations across the U.S. and a digital ad platform (Westwood One). It is comparable to Kindred's broadcast-plus-digital model at greater scale.
• Audacy: Audacy is a major U.S. radio operator and digital audio publisher running stations nationwide alongside the Audacy streaming app. It competes directly with Kindred for regional and national advertiser dollars and serves as a benchmark for multi-market radio plus digital strategy.

Direct peers

• Emmis Communications: Emmis Communications owns a small portfolio of major-market radio stations and publishes regional magazines. Like Kindred, it pairs broadcast assets with adjacent media properties for local advertisers.
• Alpha Media: Alpha Media operates a portfolio of regional radio stations in mid-sized U.S. markets with integrated digital advertising services. Its multi-format cluster strategy and SMB advertiser focus make it a close comparable to Kindred's tri-state operation.
• Townsquare Media: Townsquare Media is a mid-market radio broadcaster with a portfolio of stations in small and mid-sized U.S. markets plus a digital marketing services arm (Townsquare Interactive). Its cluster-based, local-SMB-focused business model closely mirrors Kindred's.
• Salem Communications: Salem Communications operates radio stations and digital media properties, with particular strength in talk and niche formats. Comparable to Kindred's format-diversified local broadcasting model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kindredcomm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kindred-communications

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kindred Communications