Reviewed by Peter Berk, President and Chief Media Strategist, Berk Marketing · Last updated 31 October 2026

Baltimore

Radio Advertising in Baltimore

A heritage news talk AM that carries both the Ravens and the Orioles, a sports FM built around Maryland, and a market that overlaps Washington along I-95. Berk Marketing buys Baltimore for advertisers and represents no station in it.

Radio since 1978Independent since 1999Certified Radio Marketing ConsultantWe represent advertisers, not stations

Free Baltimore media plan

What’s your story?

Tell us what you sell and what makes it different. If you have a compelling story, we’ll tell it in 60 seconds to the listeners who matter to you. Let’s work to make you famous.

You get back real ideas to consider, and a written plan if broadcast is right for you. No cost, no obligation. Or call (866) 747-4707 and tell Peter Berk directly. Want to see what your competitors are running first? Ask for a free competitive report.

Short answer. Baltimore puts its two biggest teams on one news station. WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and FM 101.5 is the news talk signal and, with 98 Rock, the home of the Ravens and the Orioles. 105.7 The Fan is the sports station and the home of University of Maryland athletics, and WCBM 680 is the other talk option. There is no all-news station licensed here. On the music side 92Q, WPOC, Magic 95.9, 98 Rock, Mix 106.5 and Today’s 101.9 are the big signals. Baltimore and Washington overlap, so some listeners and signals are shared. The practical entry point is about five thousand dollars a week.

Station by station

One station group with both teams

The commercial stations most Baltimore plans start from. Formats and owners as of October 2026.

Station	Dial	Branding	Format	Owner
WBAL-AM	1090 AM / 101.5 FM	WBAL NewsRadio	News Talk	Hearst
WCBM-AM	680 AM	Talk Radio 680 WCBM	Talk	WCBM Maryland
WJZ-FM	105.7 FM	105.7 The Fan	Sports	Audacy
WIYY-FM	97.9 FM	98 Rock	Rock	Hearst
WERQ-FM	92.3 FM	92Q Jams	Urban	Urban One
WPOC-FM	93.1 FM	93.1 WPOC	Country	iHeartMedia
WWIN-FM	95.9 FM	Magic 95.9	Urban AC	Urban One
WWMX-FM	106.5 FM	Mix 106.5	Hot AC	Audacy
WLIF-FM	101.9 FM	Today’s 101.9	AC	Audacy

Stations change formats and owners often, so we confirm every station against the current Nielsen book before a proposal goes out. A plan built for you shows the current audience for each station on it. Our top 100 markets page lists every market we buy.

How Baltimore listens

Three things about Baltimore that change a buy

Hearst holds the two big teams. WBAL and 98 Rock carry the Ravens, under a deal that runs through 2030, and the Orioles. That puts football and baseball in one place and makes Hearst’s two stations the center of most Baltimore sports schedules. 105.7 The Fan fills the rest of the day with sports talk and Maryland athletics.

Baltimore and Washington overlap. Howard and Anne Arundel counties and the I-95 corridor sit between the two markets, and commuters move in both directions. Some Washington signals reach Baltimore and some Baltimore signals reach toward Washington. A plan for the corridor uses that overlap rather than paying for it twice.

The Bay divides the region. The Chesapeake splits the western shore from the Eastern Shore, and coverage differs on each side. If your customers are across the Bay, we check each station’s signal before recommending it.

News, talk and sports

The listener is following a story or a game, so fewer commercials a day do the job. In Baltimore that means WBAL for news and the Ravens and Orioles, and 105.7 The Fan for sports talk.

Music formats

The listener is half attending, so the message needs repeating, which means weight on one station rather than money spread across four. 92Q, WPOC, Magic 95.9 and Mix 106.5 each reach a large habitual audience bought for frequency.

Why format decides frequency, in full, is on the local radio advertising page.

Money

Buying Baltimore: scale, and who does the negotiating

Hearst owns WBAL and 98 Rock, Audacy has The Fan, Mix 106.5 and Today’s 101.9, Urban One holds 92Q and Magic 95.9, and iHeartMedia has WPOC. Each group prices its stations as a package built for its own inventory. We buy the station, negotiate each group against the others, and take remnant inventory where it exists.

The practical entry point for a terrestrial campaign here is about five thousand dollars a week, the same floor as every market we buy, and it needs to run long enough to build frequency rather than a week or two to see what happens. What sets the rate, what moves it and how remnant inventory changes the arithmetic is covered on the radio advertising costs page.

Berk Marketing represents advertisers and holds no Baltimore inventory. We go to the stations and the groups for availability and price, negotiate each against the others, write and produce the commercial in house, place the schedule and track what it returns by station. Where a station has unsold airtime, we buy it as remnant, typically 40 to 60% below the published rate card, and you are refunded or credited for any spot that does not run.

Fit

When Baltimore is the right buy, and when it is not

Worth a conversation

You can serve the Baltimore metro, or you are buying Baltimore alongside Washington
You can fund roughly five thousand dollars a week for long enough to build frequency
You know whether your customers are on the western shore, the Eastern Shore, or both
You have an offer that is genuinely worth responding to
You are prepared to test more than one script

Probably not yet

You want a week or two to see whether radio works
Your service area is one town, where the market is far wider than your customer
You need a guaranteed cost per lead before committing
There is no tracking in place and no plan to put any in
You have already been quoted directly by a Baltimore station, which limits what we can do on that signal

Worth knowing first

Call before you call a station, not after

We work with advertisers who have not already been in contact with a radio station’s sales rep. We are not in the business of taking clients away from stations, and once an advertiser has been quoted directly, our ability to bring remnant pricing on that station is compromised.

The consequence lands on you rather than on us. If Baltimore is on your list and you have not spoken to anyone yet, that is exactly when this is worth a call.

Find out who is already advertising against you in Baltimore

We will run a competitive monitoring report at no charge and with no obligation. It shows which Baltimore stations your competitors are on, at what times of day, how many spots, and it includes the actual audio of their commercials.

In many cases nothing shows up at all, and that is worth knowing too.

Get the Report

Questions

Baltimore radio advertising questions

Which Baltimore radio station is best for advertising?

For a considered purchase, WBAL or The Fan bought properly usually does more than a music station. For a broad consumer offer, one music station with enough weight beats several bought lightly.

Which station carries the Ravens and the Orioles?

Both are on WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and FM 101.5 together with 98 Rock 97.9. University of Maryland athletics are on 105.7 The Fan.

Can one buy cover Baltimore and Washington?

Partly. The markets overlap along I-95, but each is rated separately and most signals favor one city. We plan both together when your service area covers the corridor.

How much does radio advertising cost in Baltimore?

Plan on about five thousand dollars a week as the practical entry point for a terrestrial schedule, run long enough to build frequency. The rate on any one Baltimore station depends on daypart, season and how much inventory is unsold, and remnant airtime can bring it down considerably. What sets a rate is covered on our radio advertising costs page.

Do you represent any Baltimore station?

No. Berk Marketing represents advertisers and holds no inventory on any Baltimore station. We negotiate with every group on your behalf and are paid to get the schedule right for you, not to fill a station’s airtime.

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