The Mighty 1090, the highest-rated sports talk station in San Diego and a fixture in the market for the last 16 years, went off the air just before noon Wednesday. The president of the company that operates the station said officials were trying to remedy the problem, but a program host said “there’s not a lot of optimism about our future as a sports radio station.”

“We have lost our connection in Mexico and are working to get this resolved,” said Mike Glickenhaus of JMI-owned Broadcast Companies of America, which operates 1090-AM.

“As you can imagine, this has my full attention, and there is nothing more to say at this time.”


Glickenhaus said the station was available via its website and mobile app, although ESPN Radio programming was airing Wednesday instead of the usual local shows. However, it was announced late in the day that the station’s morning show will be back online and on the app Thursday. Whether the station’s two afternoon shows will follow was not known. (Update: Both shows were scheduled to follow what the morning show did.)

🚨BREAKING🚨



We ARE doing a show tomorrow morning, damnit! And our beloved @BenHigginsSD will be back with us. 6am on The @Mighty1090



*We will be streaming the show on our app and website so plan accordingly*



Link: https://t.co/EpAAv2x48s



App: https://t.co/YFIuhrSM9F pic.twitter.com/CLOLQ154o9 — Ben & Woods (@BenAndWoods) April 10, 2019

Darren Smith, who has been a host at the station since its founding in 2003, initially posted a meme on Twitter that showed a cartoon character with its lips zipped. Then about 1:45 p.m. he posted a 21-minute message with co-workers Marty Caswell and Jordan Carruth.


According to Smith, who normally goes on the air at noon, Glickenhaus told employees at about 11:30 a.m.: “We have been taken off the air by the people who own our tower (in Mexico), which transmits on 1090-AM.”

Added Smith: “Though it is surprising to hear somebody say that, I will tell you the two people at least who were sitting here in the studio, myself and Marty, we were aware this was a possibility.”

That’s because in December, an issue between two other BCA stations in San Diego and a business partner in Baja California, Jaime Bonilla Valdez, resulted in 105.7-FM going off the air and 1700-AM switching from ESPN and local sports play-by-play to Spanish-language content.

The lease with 1090 is with a different signal operator, Andreas Bichara.


Glickenhaus, according to Smith’s post, told employees the owners “have decided that they no longer are interested in being partners with BCA Radio.”

Smith said the issue was an ongoing contract negotiation “that did not go well.”

Said Smith: “There’s a lot of stuff that I think will come out in time and stuff I’m not prepared to talk about today. There are legal reasons why I cannot share some of the stuff that was said. Suffice it to say it is incredibly disappointing.

“I’m sure you are wondering if this is it for The Mighty 1090. We are wondering if this is it for The Mighty 1090. I will tell you that there is not a lot of optimism about our future as a sports radio station. ... It’s heartbreaking.”


Later, Smith added: “None of us know what is happening tomorrow. None of us know if this is it when we walk out of this building today on this Wednesday afternoon if there will be a Thursday or a Friday or a next week or a next month. And it’s a really, really crappy position to be in. ... I don’t want to go out like this. I’ve been here too long to go out like this.”

At mid-afternoon, about the time he normally would have been on the air, host Scott Kaplan went on Twitter and said he was “planning to put a group together” and hoped to “build a really kick-ass modern-day media company. But I need time. Negotiations (regarding the transmitter) have been going on for months, something broke down, and I’m new to the game.”

Kaplan did not return a message seeking further comment.

Ratings for 1090 — the Padres’ flagship station from 2004-16 — have declined since the Chargers left for Los Angeles in 2017. There is competition from two other stations, 1360-AM (flagship for SDSU) and 97.3-FM (Padres), but 1090 remains the highest-rated among the trio, with the gap between them widening recently.

