Mighty 1090, where are you?

Welcome to the sounds of silence. Like stars disappearing in a black hole, one of San Diego’s leading radio stations suddenly disappeared just after noon Wednesday, April 10 with a whisper, then white noise rather than a bang.

The Mighty 1090 had been the top-rated San Diego sports talk station for the last 16 years.

“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.

Glickenhaus told the San Diego Union-Tribune 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.)

“As you can imagine, this has my full attention and there is nothing more to say at this time,” said Mike Glickenhaus of Broadcast Companies of America, which operates 1090-AM.

BCA, based in San Diego, operates The Mighty 1090, classic alternative station 105.7 MAX FM, and 1700AM as an ESPN Radio affiliate. It was founded in 2003 by John Lynch, father of former Torrey Pines High School football standout and ex-NFL strong safety John Lynch Jr.

Scott Kaplan, host of 1090’s Scott and BR Show, told his Twitter followers that despite past challenges after the San Diego Chargers relocated to Los Angeles, “things have been going remarkably well…but we’re in a complicated business.”

A “relationship issue” and a break down in negotiations between the “owners of the signal and the parent company of the radio station” led to Wednesday’s abrupt end, Kaplan explained.

Kaplan stopped short of giving the full scoop citing a non-disclosure agreement.

The station plans to continue putting together shows Thursday, broadcasting shows online on the station’s website and social media channels.

?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

A message from @DSmithShow, @MartyCaswell and @JordanCarruth. https://t.co/Oi3XjA9dJZ

— Darren Smith (@DSmithShow) April 10, 2019

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.”

Mighty 1090 is off the air, only broadcasting online for now due to a transmission tower dispute./KGVT-10 screenshot

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.”

Scott Kaplan, who hosts 1090 AM’s afternoon show “The Scott and BR Show,” said, “We do it because we love it and because we impact the community in a lot of positive ways, so that’s what’s most critical for us to get back on the air.

“To all the fans out there — the listeners, the sports fans of San Diego — stick with us on all the platforms. I’m going to be on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify; I’m going to be on platforms people haven’t invented yet,” Kaplan said.

As of Thursday morning, there was no official word on when — or if — Mighty 1090 will be back on the radio airwaves.