John and Anne Fredericks’ Disruptor Radio LLC has flipped all of the stations it is purchasing from LHTC Media in northern West Virginia to Conservative Talk “The Torch“.
With significant overlap, especially in Morgantown and Fairmont, the stations will all carry the same programming with the exception of West Virginia University sports not being available on two of the signals. “The Torch” originally launched on 920 WMMN Fairmont/95.7 W239CM Morgantown, 102.7 WGYE Mannington/Fairmont, and 105.7 WHTI Salem/Clarksburg in February 2024 via LMA from LHTC Media. The company agreed to purchase those stations and the now-former Classic Rock “94 Rock” 94.3 WRLF Fairmont, Oldies “Buzz 98.3” 1490 WBKE Fairmont/98.3 W252EF Morgantown, and Variety Hits “100.9 Jack-FM” WZST Westover in November for $650,000 and began operating the remaining three stations via LMA on Monday, January 6. Seven of the nine signals place city-grade coverage over parts of Morgantown.
Fredericks, who also owns Conservative Talk stations heard in Richmond, Lynchburg, and Norfolk VA, Atlanta GA, Nashville TN, and Philadelphia and Latrobe PA, hosts a syndicated morning show heard on all the stations in his portfolio. The remainder of the “Torch” lineup features Michael Patrick Leahy from 10am-12pm, Rob Carson 12-3pm, Del Walmsley 3-5pm, Cats and Cosby from 5-6pm, Mark Levin 6-9pm, Wendy Bell 9-10pm, Rita Cosby 10pm-12am, Dominic Carter 12-1am, and Red Eye Radio overnights.
The stations will also carry Pittsburgh Steelers football, Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, while West Virginia University Mountaineers football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and baseball will air on all of the stations except WGYE and WHTI.
Fredericks commented, “This West Virginia opportunity is key to our growth plan, as it dovetails nicely with our Pittsburgh footprint and reaches a very pro-populist, pro America First and pro-Trump area of America. West Virginian’s voted overwhelmingly -over 70 percent- for President Trump, who also carried Morgantown and the county. We are excited about offering listeners in West Virginia a choice from the stale, woke and warmed over pablum served up every day by the corporatists and conservative Inc. bunch that regurgitate FOX and RINO RNC talking points of the day”
Disruptor Radio CEO Anne Fredericks stated, “We’ve built a burgeoning national legion of devout and dedicated listeners across the country who yearn for the truth and a common sense approach. We don’t rely on click bait for ad revenue and this approach has forged an unshakable bond with our audience. As a result, we are singularly focused on advertiser ROI, over-serving our customers, and a commitment to their economic success and enduring engagement. We outwork our competition. Our unparalleled commitment to quality content, including big-time local and national sports programming are keys to our path forward. We are very excited about operating as West Virginia University’s Flagship radio network, as we have deep ties to the University and their sports teams.”
How does this not violate FCC rules about in-band simulcasts? I would not be surprised if the FCC forces a format change on five of these for violations of the simulcast rules.