FL Radio: MARC Media To Acquire 5 More Stations

MARC Media Group is buying five radio stations just north of metro Tampa along Florida’s Gulf Coast, pending FCC approval. 

The company will acquire Hits 106 WGHR 106.3 FM, Citrus 95.3 WXCV 95.3 FM, Nature Coast Country simulcast partners WXCZ 103.3 FM and WXZC 104.3 FM, and classic hits WXOF 96.7 FM “The Fox” from licensee WGUL-FM, Inc.  Industry reports put the deal at $2.5 million. 

Two of the stations fall in the Tampa market; the other three are counted in Gainesville-Ocala, where MARC already owns a cluster and has asked the FCC for an ownership-cap waiver. 

The signals serve Florida’s Nature Coast, a stretch known for outdoor recreation, close-knit communities and natural landmarks including Crystal River, Weeki Wachee Springs and Homosassa Springs. Combined, the stations reach north toward the Panhandle.

Scott Miller

The purchase continues MARC’s strategy of buying stations next to larger metros it sees as primed for growth. About two weeks earlier, the company announced it had secured three stations on Florida’s Atlantic coast. Recent deals have focused on areas adjacent to Fort Lauderdale/Miami, Orlando/Lakeland and now Tampa/St. Petersburg. 

“MARC Media is continuing on our path to identify and secure stations that are market adjacent to metropolitan areas that we’ve identified as primed for growth,” Chief Operating Officer Scott Miller said. “The recent completion of Florida Turnpike’s new Suncoast Parkway now links three strategic access roads north of Tampa that are already spurring residential and commercial growth along both its existing and even its planned phases.”

In 2026, MARC more than doubled its Florida radio holdings, adding 16 stations to the 11 it owned last year. With this transaction, the company’s portfolio is expected to reach 27 radio stations in Florida and Texas, plus two local news organizations, an outdoor advertising operation and a digital marketing agency. “When opportunity knocks, you answer,” Miller said. “Some may refer to our purchases as secondary markets. We prefer to call them our future.”