LAKELAND, FLA. — As 2025 began, a radio broadcasting company headquartered in this Central Florida city with properties here and across New England attracted attention for saying goodbye to the Program Director and morning co-host of its Adult Hits FM in its home market, with his on-air companion also relieved of his duties.
Now, Hall Communications is parting ways with “MAX 98.3,” and the buyer just happens to be the Lakeland-based broadcast ministry led by President James Campbell.
An asset purchase agreement was finalized on July 3 that will see Hall sell Class C2 WWRZ-FM, licensed to Fort Meade, Fla., to Radio Training Network.
That’s the parent of The Joy FM, a leading Christian Contemporary Music noncommercial network that dominates the Tampa-St. Petersburg market via its WCIE-FM. In Polk County, it has used a collection of FM translators — fed by MAX 98.3 — to serve listeners. Further to the south in Highlands County is WFLJ-FM, licensed to Frostproof; and WJFH-FM in Sebring.
WWRZ will give the Lakeland-Winter Haven-Bartow region a full-market signal for “The Joy FM,” and nearly full-DMA coverage of the service as it gears up for a competitive battle against K-LOVE. That’s because Beasley Media Group has sold WPBB-FM 98.7 in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market to the CCM Goliath. Today, K-LOVE has no over-the-air presence in the Tampa DMA.
To obtain WWRZ, The Joy FM parent RTN will pay Hall Communications a sum of $4.25 million. A $212,500 deposit has been paid and retained by Fowler Media Consulting. Fowler and broker Todd Fowler represented RTN in this deal.
For Hall CEO Arthur A. Rowbotham, the focus will now be on home market stations comprised of Country WPCV-FM 97.5, which enjoys one of the biggest broadcast signals in Florida; Talk WLKF-AM and FM translator W244BJ; and WONN-AM 1230 and FM translator W296CS, the market’s home for “FOX Sports Radio.”
Hall’s legal counsel in this transaction is Susan Marshall of Shainis & Peltzman; the buyer’s legal counsel is A. Wray Fitch of Gammon & Grange.
