K-Love Buying WLUM & WLDB/Milwaukee
• Major changes are afoot in Milwaukee, as RAMP has confirmed that K-Love Inc., which operates the Christian K-Love and Air 1 networks has filed to purchase heritage Alternative WLUM (FM 102.1) and AC WLDB (B93.3) from the Milwaukee Radio Alliance for a reported $4 million.
This transaction will give K-Love two full-power signals serving the Milwaukee market, side-by-side with its current local affiliate, non-comm Class A 105.3 WLVE, licensed to suburban Mukwonago, WI.
RAMP reached out to K-Love, Inc. for more details and received this statement from a company spokesperson: “We are excited for the opportunity for K-LOVE Radio to have one of the best signals in Milwaukee and bring our vertical worship format, Air1, to the market for the first time. These signals represent an opportunity for us to reach more listeners in the downtown area as well as areas north of the city. The purchase of WLDB-FM 93.3 and WLUM-FM 102.1 is pending FCC approval and should be completed later this fall.”
WLDB-FM operates at 93.3 MHz, with 16.000 kW at 886′ HAAT, and WLUM-FM operates at 102.1 MHz, with 8.800 kW at 843′ HAAT. KALIL & CO., INC. is the exclusive broker for this transaction.
The Milwaukee Radio Alliance will retain Oldies 1290 WZTI-AM (The Fonz) and Country Froggy 100.3/107.3 (WLDB-HD3, W262CJ @ 100.3 & (W297BY @ 107.3).
The larger questions looming over this pending acquisition, naturally, are these: 1) What does the future hold for the many talented professionals who currently work for WLUM and WLDB? And 2) How can we collectively help them? Watch this space for further details.
