Thirty-five years ago, one could hear Top 40 programming focused specifically on a Maryland city that was quickly becoming a bedroom community to the greater Washington, D.C., area. It competed, in a way, against a Top 40 FM out of D.C., and a Hot Adult Contemporary FM also serving the National Capital Region. In nearby Winchester, Va., a big FM straddled the line between Top 40 and Hot AC formats.
As of Saturday, each one of these stations will now be targeting Christian audiences, as WTLP-FM 103.9 is abandoning its 20-year simulcast with WTOP Radio.
Starting Saturday (8/1), at 12:01am, the Hubbard Radio station’s 24/7 news programming will no longer be heard on the Braddock Heights-licensed facility serving Frederick County, Md.
That’s because Hubbard has leased the Class A FM’s frequency to K-LOVE Inc.
How K-LOVE will use the station is not yet known. But, what is known is that WTLP joins the former WINC-FM 92.5 in Winchester, Va., and the former WRQX-FM “Mix 107.3” in Washington as stations now under the K-LOVE umbrella.
And, for radio historians, one can add WAVA-FM in Arlington, Va., to the mix, as Salem Media has operated it as a Christian Talk and Teaching station since acquiring it from Emmis on February 14, 1992, and dropping its Top 40 format.
For WTOP listeners in Frederick, due north of Montgomery County via I-270, Hubbard is directing them to 44kw Class B WTOP-FM, which has a formidable in-car signal but not a city-grade contour in Frederick. As such, streaming is being suggested as another option.
“Our main signal on 103.5 FM covers most of Frederick County’s population and with the advent of streaming, listeners can get us anywhere in the country,” WTOP GM and Hubbard DC President Joel Oxley said in explaining the reason the 19-year simulcast is ending.
What was not shared is how much Hubbard will be earning from the lease agreement with K-LOVE and if it presages an all-out sale of the station. Sources tell RBR+TVBR that while Hubbard Radio is privately held and does not disclose its finances, the company’s debt-to-income ratio has increased in reason years, putting pressure on management in Minneapolis to drive revenue — even in a market where WTOP is the nation’s top-billing FM.
WTOP Radio also retains its simulcast on WWWT-FM 107.7, serving Northern Virginia.
Hubbard purchased WTOP in April 2011 from Bonneville International Corp.
