NorthEast Radio Watch 10/12/2026: Forever Exits, Family Life Grows

In this week’s issue… FLN grows as Forever shrinks in PA – Pamal swallows Galaxy – Taylor out in NYC – Spezzano sets exit date – Cape Cod FMs sold – Canada mourns Marsden – Beasley to move Boston FMs – Mets’ Rose signs off

By SCOTT FYBUSH

(Editor’s note: Yes, it’s been a couple of weeks, and I appreciate the patience my readers have shown as I’ve continued to work through my mobility issues and other health problems, as well as an unusually busy few weeks outside the scope of the column. I’m trying to both get back on a more regular schedule and figure out where the future of NERW is heading as we approach the 30th anniversary of weekly publication, which is a very long time to keep any publication alive, especially one that’s entirely a one-man editorial operation. Stay tuned – and in the meantime, here’s most of three weeks of news, though we’ll keep bringing you up to speed next week on Hall of Fame inductions and some other less timely stories that have been making the news lately. As ever, your subscription payments are always greatly appreciated, but I also understand if you’re expecting a column every week and not getting one, and if you’d like a pro-rated refund, please feel free to contact lisa@fybush.com and we’ll take care of you.) 

*As we get caught up on everything that’s been happening in the region in the last few weeks, there’s one common thread to several stories, and it involves Family Life Ministries, which has been especially aggressive recently in filling out its signal portfolio throughout the region it targets in PENNSYLVANIA and central and western NEW YORK.

On September 22, Family Life completed its $1 million acqusition of the former “Froggy” country WOGI (104.3 Moon Township) and its 105.5 Pittsburgh translator from Forever, with a call change to WCGF and an immediate flip from country to Family Life’s network, bringing the network into the core of the Pittsburgh market for the first time.

For the last few months, Family Life has served Pittsburgh’s northern suburbs and the New Castle area on another former Forever station, after flipping oldies “Pickle” WKPL (92.1 Ellwood City) to its Christian network under the WCGF calls. With the launch of the new, bigger WCGF, the 92.1 signal has temporarily gone silent as it awaits the close of its sale from Family Life to Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting.

The public broadcaster has picked new calls of WESD for its new 92.1 signal, which will be used to extend the coverage of NPR news-talker WESA (90.5) northward up I-376 into the New Castle area once it returns to the air.

*That’s not all Family Life was doing in the last few weeks. It’s also peeling off one station from Connoisseur’s cluster in the Chambersburg/Hagerstown market straddling the Maryland line.

For $300,000, Family Life gets WQCM (94.3 Greencastle), a class A signal that covers the I-81 corridor from Chambersburg into west central Maryland, neatly adjoining its new 106.7 signal from Hershey that covers the Harrisburg market and west into Carlisle.

Connoisseur will keep its two FMs and two AM/translator combos in the market, and we’ll be watching to see if WQCM’s classic rock format migrates to any of the other stations, which include hot AC WIKZ (95.1) in Chambersburg, top-40 WDLD (96.7) in Halfway/Hagerstown and oldies WCHA (800)/WHAG (1410).

*But wait, there’s more: since Family Life was able to get 106.7 (now WCDM) in the Harrisburg market, it didn’t end up needing WCDI (100.5 Elizabethville), a smaller class A station that it had also bought recently and started moving closer to Harrisburg. And so Family Life is selling the 100.5 signal back to Southern Belle/Seven Mountains, also for $300,000. (We’re not clear on whether Seven Mountains will follow through on the signal move to Harrisburg or keep 100.5 where it’s been.)

*Forever’s sale of WOGI also turned out to have a sequel: it’s exiting western Pennsylvania entirely with a sale of its two remaining stations south of Pittsburgh.

Bob Stevens’ Broadcast Communications Inc., now the dominant owner in that area, turns out to be the buyer, paying $995,000 for “Pickle” oldies WPKL (99.3 Uniontown) and country “Froggy” WOGG (94.9 Oliver).

Stevens will add the stations to holdings that include classic rock WKVE (103.1), AC WLSW (103.9) and a string of AMs that mix leased time with oldies and beautiful music, and he’ll switch WXVW (1570 Latrobe) to noncommercial to stay below FCC ownership limits in the region.

It’s not yet know what he’ll program on his new acquisitions – or what happens to the few remaining stations in the Forever portfolio. After selling off most of its extensive holdings in recent years, the latest sales will take Kerby Confer and Donald Alt’s company down to just a cluster in Cumberland, Maryland and three stations in the York market, “Froggy” WGTY (107.7 Gettysburg), “Rocky” WYCR (98.5 Hanover-York) and “Happy” WHVR (1280/95.3 Hanover).

Looking to get into station ownership? Our StationSale division has some great new listings for you, including a major market FM translator opportunity, a profitable Midwest FM, an inexpensive entry into a fast-growing Western market, and a turnkey profitable FM/AM/translator small-market combo that’s ready for a new owner. Drop me a line at scott@fybush.com and I’ll set you up with an NDA and all the details…

And if your noncommercial FM station is ready to think about translators, there’s a filing window coming soon from the FCC and it’s the perfect time to start making plans.