Metro Atlanta's 104.7 The Fish shutting down after company sells station

ATLANTA - A metro Atlanta Christian radio station is saying its final farewells before signing off for good on Friday.

Athens-based station 104.7 The Fish will have one last day of programming after nearly 25 years bringing contemporary Christian music, stories of faith, and more to listeners.

 104.7 The Fish shutting down

What we know:

The shutdown is part of a sale by Salem Media Group, the station's owner, to the Educational Media Foundation, the owner of the nation's two largest Christian music radio networks in the country.

The company announced the sale of The Fish and other stations across the United States in a press release at the end of the year.

According to company officials, seven radio stations were sold for $90 million to help pay off debt.

As part of the deal, the radio stations will go off the air at the start of February.

What they're saying:

"We have made a strategic decision to exit the Contemporary Christian Music format in order to pay off all of Salem’s long-term debt," said Edward G. Atsinger, Salem Media Group's executive chairman and co-founder. "We could not be more delighted that the buyer is EMF. EMF has demonstrated over many years a unique ability and dedication to creating and distributing the highest quality Christian music content to its listeners in a positive and encouraging way. I am confident that their impact on listeners and their communities will be incredibly effective."

The other side:

Morning show hosts Kevin Avery and Taylor Scott reacted to news of the closure on the "Kevin & Taylor" Facebook page with a tribute to the listeners who stayed with them for decades.

We are so incredibly honored that we had the privilege of bringing you "Good, Clean, Fun" and doing life with you for 24 years.

So many times at radio events, we would meet those of you who grew up listening, and now you have children of your own. That’s so rare in radio, and we are so grateful!

Every day you inspired us with the stories of your lives, to love God and love people better.

Thank you for being there as Kevin kids and Taylor’s nieces and nephews grew up, as we both lost parents for the first time, as Griff got married and became a dad. You, our listeners have been our biggest inspiration.

We’re so grateful for our management who gave us a job most people only dream of.

We also want to say a huge thank you to the incredible companies who made this journey possible. We loved helping you grow your businesses.

We will miss you greatly! We are excited to see what opportunity God has for us next. And if you see us at the grocery store or at a Braves or Atlanta United game, please come say hi. We love you!

What's next:

While 104.7 won't be The Fish anymore, the Educational Media Foundation says the FM frequency will still play Christian music as part of the Air 1 network.

"As Salem has leaned into its talk and information programming, we are honored to carry the torch and keep Christian music flowing over these frequencies," said Tom Stultz, EMF Interim CEO. "These strong stations expand our coverage area and help us deliver on our mission to reach more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We feel it is an incredible opportunity to continue serving listeners with Christian music in these important markets."