Whoever said baseball and radio were a dying combination might want to take another look at what’s happening in York, Pennsylvania. The ownership group behind the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is preparing to make a considerably larger investment in its hometown broadcasting business, agreeing to acquire three established radio brands from Forever Media for $3.1 million. Through its On First Media operation, York Professional Baseball will add Classic Rock Rocky 98.5 WYCR, Country Froggy 107.7 WGTY, and Hot Adult Contemporary Happy 95.3, heard on 1280 WHVR and translator W237EN, to an operation that already includes SportsRadio 98.9 and 1350 WOYK. For a baseball organization that first entered radio ownership more than a decade ago, this isn’t simply a case of buying a few additional frequencies. It’s an ambitious expansion that could make the Revolution one of the most interesting local media operators in South Central Pennsylvania.
And I have to admit, I love the possibilities.
There’s something almost wonderfully old-fashioned about a hometown baseball organization expanding its investment in local radio at a time when so much of the broadcasting industry is trying to figure out which assets to sell next.
Most professional sports organizations negotiate with broadcasters over rights fees, promotional commitments, advertising inventory, and how many times the team’s sponsors can be mentioned during a game.
The York Revolution have taken a different approach.
They own the radio station.
And now, assuming the transaction closes, they’ll own several more.
That’s what I call making sure the home team gets plenty of coverage.
Of course, the Revolution’s relationship with broadcasting didn’t begin with this transaction. The organization acquired WOYK in 2014, bringing York’s oldest radio station under the same ownership as the baseball team whose games it carried.
WOYK first signed on in March 1932 as WORK, becoming one of the pioneering voices of York County broadcasting. The station survived the transition from network radio to television, experienced several changes in musical direction, and eventually established itself as a local sports outlet.
In 2019, it expanded onto 98.9 FM, providing an additional way for listeners to hear Revolution baseball, high school athletics, York College sports, and professional sports programming.
The station’s studios are located at WellSpan Park, home of the Revolution.
Think about that for a moment.
A radio station operating from inside the ballpark, broadcasting the games, telling the stories of local athletes, and maintaining a connection to the community throughout the year.
That’s a concept that makes a great deal of sense when it’s executed properly.
And the Revolution haven’t limited WOYK’s identity to baseball alone.
In January 2025, the station brought longtime York broadcaster Gary Sutton back to local morning radio, creating another opportunity for community conversation and local sports coverage.
That was an important addition.
Sutton had already spent decades establishing himself as a familiar voice in the region, and bringing him to WOYK demonstrated that the station’s owners understood the value of personalities who know the community.
Now they’re expanding from one sports-oriented operation into a broader collection of formats serving considerably different audiences.
And that’s where the real programming challenge begins.
Rocky 98.5 has its own history in the York-Hanover region, dating back to the early 1960s. Longtime listeners may remember the frequency’s earlier identity as 98YCR, when it operated as a Contemporary Hit Radio station before evolving through Classic Hits and eventually into its current Classic Rock presentation.
Today, Rocky serves listeners who appreciate the familiar guitar-driven music of artists whose records have become part of rock radio’s foundation.
That’s a very different audience from the sports fans tuning into WOYK.
Then there’s Froggy 107.7.
WGTY is one of the established Country brands serving York, Gettysburg, Hanover, and surrounding communities. Country radio has a particularly strong relationship with listeners throughout this part of Pennsylvania, where local events, agricultural traditions, community festivals, and regional entertainment help define the audience.
Froggy has developed an identity that goes beyond simply playing the latest Country hits.
Its listeners recognize the brand.
They understand the station’s personality.
And they have expectations about how it should sound.
Happy 95.3 adds another dimension, bringing an adult-oriented music presentation to Hanover through WHVR and its FM translator.
That gives On First Media an interesting combination of formats.
Sports.
Classic Rock.
Country.
Hot Adult Contemporary.
Four different programming identities, each with its own audience and advertising opportunities.
And that’s an important distinction because the commercial possibilities extend far beyond selling more baseball tickets.
A local automotive dealer may want to advertise on Rocky.
A regional retailer might find Froggy’s Country audience particularly attractive.
A restaurant or healthcare provider could be interested in Happy’s adult audience.
And a business hoping to reach sports fans already has WOYK.
The ability to offer advertisers several different audience profiles through one local ownership group can create meaningful opportunities.
But it also requires the company to understand that each station must remain a distinct product.
I’ve spent more than thirty years working in programming, and I’ve seen station groups make the mistake of assuming that because several stations share an owner, they should all sound like variations of the same operation.
That’s rarely a good idea.
A successful Classic Rock station has its own personality.
A Country station needs to understand its audience and musical heritage.
And a Hot AC station should deliver a listening experience that fits the expectations of its particular community.
The challenge for On First Media will be preserving those individual identities while taking advantage of the resources that come with operating a larger group.
And I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of that responsibility.
York and Hanover aren’t simply smaller versions of Harrisburg or Lancaster.
They’re communities with their own histories, local businesses, schools, traditions, and civic identities.
Gettysburg brings another distinctive audience, with its historical significance, tourism economy, and connection to surrounding communities in Adams County.
These are markets where listeners still have reasons to care about local broadcasting.
And the Revolution’s ownership already has relationships throughout the region.
The organization works with local sponsors, community groups, charitable organizations, and businesses that support professional baseball in York.
Those relationships could provide a useful foundation for a larger radio operation.
Imagine the possibilities for cross-promotion.
A station-sponsored concert at the ballpark.
A Country music event involving Froggy.
A Classic Rock promotion tied to a special night at WellSpan Park.
A community fundraiser involving all four radio brands.
A youth sports initiative bringing together local advertisers, the baseball team, and WOYK’s existing sports coverage.
Those aren’t announced plans, but they’re examples of what an operation with both entertainment venues and broadcasting assets could explore.
And frankly, they’re the kinds of opportunities I’d want my sales and promotions departments discussing.
Because this is where the transaction becomes more interesting than simply acquiring three stations for $3.1 million.
The Revolution aren’t just buying radio signals. They’re potentially building a larger hometown entertainment and advertising operation.
There’s value in that.
A baseball team needs community support.
Local radio needs advertisers, listeners, and opportunities to connect with the people it serves.
When those interests complement one another, the possibilities can be considerable.
But I also think there’s a responsibility here.
The new owner shouldn’t look at Rocky, Froggy, and Happy as nothing more than promotional vehicles for the Revolution.
Those brands already have audiences.
They have histories.
They have employees who understand their formats.
And they serve listeners who may or may not be particularly interested in baseball.
Preserving that independence of identity will be important.
Nobody tuning into Rocky for Classic Rock wants to discover that every other break has suddenly become a discussion about the Revolution’s bullpen.
And Froggy listeners probably don’t need the seventh-inning stretch interrupting their favorite Country record.
There’s a balance.
And finding that balance will determine whether the acquisition becomes a stronger local broadcasting operation or simply a collection of additional signals.
The other side of this transaction involves Forever Media, which has been steadily reducing its radio holdings across Pennsylvania and neighboring states.
For years, Forever operated a substantial regional broadcasting portfolio with familiar brands serving communities throughout the state.
Its continued divestitures reflect the changes occurring in an industry where ownership strategies, financial considerations, and the economics of operating local stations are being reassessed.
The sale of the York-Hanover properties is another significant step in that process.
But for listeners, the immediate question is simpler.
What’s going to happen to the stations?
As of the announced agreement, there have been no confirmed wholesale format changes associated with the transaction.
That’s worth emphasizing.
A new owner doesn’t automatically mean an established brand is disappearing.
And with Rocky, Froggy, and Happy already serving recognizable audiences, On First Media has reasons to consider the value of maintaining what listeners know.
I’ve always believed that one of the smartest things a new owner can do is spend time understanding why people listen before deciding what needs changing.
Talk to the personalities.
Talk to the employees.
Talk to the advertisers.
Find out which community events matter.
And understand that the relationship between a station and its audience may be worth considerably more than any piece of equipment in the building.
That’s the kind of knowledge that doesn’t always appear in an acquisition spreadsheet.
But it matters.
There’s another element to this deal that I find encouraging.
Local ownership.
We’ve watched enormous changes in radio ownership over the past several decades, with companies combining operations, centralizing programming, and managing stations from offices hundreds of miles away.
Some regional consolidation has created efficiencies and access to resources smaller broadcasters couldn’t easily afford.
But it has also raised legitimate concerns about whether stations remain connected to the places they’re licensed to serve.
Here, we have a local organization already invested in York choosing to expand its involvement in the region’s media landscape.
That’s an opportunity worth recognizing.
It isn’t a guarantee of success.
Owning radio stations involves far more than enthusiasm, community relationships, and a love of broadcasting.
There are technical responsibilities, programming decisions, staffing requirements, regulatory obligations, and the daily challenge of generating enough revenue to support the operation.
And operating a baseball team doesn’t automatically make someone an expert at programming Country radio.
But the Revolution have already spent more than a decade operating WOYK, so this isn’t an organization entering broadcasting without any experience.
They understand at least some of the realities involved.
Now they’ll have an opportunity to demonstrate whether that experience can translate into a successful multi-format operation.
And I hope they do it well.
Because I like seeing people invest in local radio.
I like seeing broadcasting companies try something creative.
And I particularly enjoy stories where the future of a local station isn’t automatically being decided by somebody sitting in a corporate office three states away.
The York Revolution have made a name for themselves on the baseball field.
Now their ownership group is stepping up to the plate with a much larger broadcasting lineup.
Rocky 98.5.
Froggy 107.7.
Happy 95.3.
And SportsRadio 98.9 and 1350 WOYK.
That’s a pretty interesting roster.
The $3.1 million agreement will still need to work through the applicable regulatory approval process before ownership changes are completed.
And the real work will begin after the transaction closes.
But the concept is certainly worth watching.
A hometown baseball organization expanding into a multi-format radio group, with the potential to connect sports, music, advertising, and community events under one local ownership umbrella.
There’s something refreshingly different about that.
And if On First Media can preserve the personality of these stations while developing opportunities that benefit listeners, advertisers, employees, and the York community, it could become a very interesting example of how local broadcasting and local sports can strengthen one another.
Congratulations to the York Revolution and On First Media on the planned expansion.
I’ll be watching to see how the new lineup develops.
Because baseball and radio have shared a special relationship for generations, and there’s something satisfying about seeing a team invest more deeply in the medium that helped make America’s pastime part of the national imagination.
The Revolution already know how to put a team on the field. Now they’re assembling one on the radio dial.
And if they manage this acquisition as carefully as they manage a baseball roster, York could have a pretty interesting broadcasting season ahead.
Just remember, gentlemen, in radio you don’t get three strikes before the audience changes stations.
Sometimes you barely get one.
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