K-Love Inc. is set to acquire WZBA Westminster/Baltimore, a major market milestone for the Christian AC brand. The deal with Shamrock Communications has not yet been filed with the FCC.
What We Know: Staff at Classic Rock “100.7 The Bay” learned of the sale on Thursday. Rumors had circulated for months, particularly after Shamrock’s Milwaukee Radio Alliance sold most of its cluster to K-Love last summer. Following this deal, Shamrock retains only its Scranton/Wilkes-Barre cluster and a potential Las Vegas move-in signal.
What’s At Stake: Baltimore loses its only dedicated Classic Rock outlet after 26 years of The Bay brand. Hearst’s “98 Rock” WIYY and iHeartMedia’s “102.7 Jack-FM” WQSR stand to gain listeners directly. Meanwhile, K-Love enters a market where Christian AC “95.1 Bright-FM” WRBS-FM currently holds a 5.4 share — more than double WZBA’s April 2026 rating of 2.1.
What Remains Unclear: The FCC filing timeline has not been announced. Additionally, the fate of two WZBA translators — 100.1 W261CD Baltimore and 107.5 W298CG Bel Air — is still undetermined. No format launch date for K-Love in Baltimore has been confirmed.
What It Means: This deal fills a significant gap in K-Love’s national footprint. With Baltimore secured, St. Louis and Orlando remain the only top-30 markets without a K-Love signal. The WZBA signal struggles in Baltimore’s northeast suburbs, creating some redundancy with K-Love’s existing 107.3 WLVW Washington D.C. station to the south. However, the inherited Bel Air translator — 107.5 W298CG — should help bridge that northern coverage gap more efficiently.
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David Hill serves as a Music Radio Editor, Columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. A radio lifer with more than 30 years behind the mic, in the control room, and in the program director’s chair, David’s career spans influential stops at brands such as WIYY 98 Rock, WBAL-AM, and 99X. He has worked across multiple formats and ownership groups, including iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media, developing talent, breaking music, and navigating every major industry shift from diary to PPM and terrestrial dominance to streaming disruption. When he’s not writing or analyzing the industry, Dave runs The Tune Farm, a marketing firm built to help artists and brands grow audience the same way great radio always has—by creating connection, not just impressions. He can be reached at David@BarrettMedia.com.
