Ironton station may get swapped in radio deal: WLRX “107.1 The Bear” may become part of K-Love’s company
Published 9:00 am Wednesday, May 15, 2019
An Ironton radio station may soon have new owners.
According to RadioInsight, IHeartMedia is going to swap WLRX “107.1 The Bear” and three other stations from the Aloha Stations Trust to Educational Media Foundation for six translator stations it is already leasing.
No cash will change hands as part of the trade, which is still awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
Aloha Stations Trust was formed in 2007 after Clear Channel Communications had to get rid of some radio stations to comply with FCC ownership limits.
The Aloha Station Trust will still hold nine licenses including WIRO AND WZZW in Huntington, West Virginia.
The Ironton station got its start at WITO in 1973 and has gone through several name changes and formats before becoming a country music station in 2014.
Educational Media Foundation is a nonprofit Christian radio organization that broadcasts contemporary Christian music on 415 stations nationwide and is known for its K-Love, K-Love Classics and Air1 formats. It is unknown if the station will switch format.
K-Love is already broadcast locally on WPYK 104.1 in Portsmouth and WHKU 91.9 in Huntington, West Virginia.
iHeartMedia operates nine other radio signals in the Huntington/Ashland/Ironton market, including WKEE-FM 100.5; WTCR-FM 103.3; and Fox Sports 1230 WIRO-AM, which is also licensed to Ironton.