EMF Expands Birmingham Footprint

• While no formal announcement has been made, RAMP has confirmed that Educational Media Foundation’s K-Love, Inc. filed an Asset Purchase Agreement with the FCC on July 8 to acquire 97.3 WPYA/Gardendale-Birmingham, AL from SummitMedia for $2.6 million. The station is currently Top 40 as Today’s Hits 97.3.

K-Love already has a broadcast foothold in the Birmingham market — Christian AC K-Love programming is running on W241AI (96.1)/Gorgas, AL, and the company’s more uptempo Air 1 format is carried on W271BN(102.1)/Birmingham.

In addition to WPYA, SummitMedia Birmingham currently operates Urban AC WBHK (98.7 Kiss), Urban-Rhythmic WBHJ (95.7 Jamz), Country 104.7 WZZK, Classic Rock WBPT, Alternative WBPT-HD2 (X100.1), Urban Gospel WAGG 610 AM, and Triple A WPYA-HD2 (Birmingham Mountain Radio).

We understand that SummitMedia will continue to operate WPYA until final FCC approval, which we are told could take as long as four or five months.