| Broadcast area | Phoenix metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 98.3MHz |
| Branding | Power 98.3 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Rhythmic contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks United Stations Radio Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KOAI,KMVA,KZON | |
| History | |
First air date | 1985 (at 92.3 MHz) 2006 (at 98.3 MHz) |
Former call signs | KDTK (1992–1996) KKLD (1996–2006) KZGL (2006) |
Former frequencies | 92.3MHz (1985–2006) |
Call sign meaning | K KFiRe (refers to former moniker "92 Fire FM") |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 41462 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 41,000watts |
| HAAT | 852 meters (2,795 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | power983 |
KKFR (98.3FM) is a commercialradio station that islicensed toMayer, Arizona, and serves thePhoenix metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by Riviera Broadcast Group and airs arhythmicradio format. KKFR broadcasts with aneffective radiated power of 41 kW. The station's studios are located on 7th Street inMidtown Phoenix and its transmitter is located inCrown King, Arizona, producing arimshot signal from 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Phoenix. KKFR is theflagship station of the nationally syndicated programBig Boy's Neighborhood.[2]
KKFR primarily competes againstmainstream top 40 stationsKZZP andKALV-FM, and classic hip hop stationKZCE. This marks the first time in many years that "Power" had significant competition with rival stations in the market.
On December 19, 1970, the station at 92.3 FM first signed on with thecall signKXTC, and aired a mix of mainstream and contemporaryjazz music. In 1978, the station switched to adisco format which lasted two years, using the name "Disco 92". Show hosts included Scott Tuchman and Rick Nuhn. In 1980 KXTC began playing "cross-country" as KC92. The music was a combination of country and pop with songs by Christopher Cross, the Eagles as well as Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton. John Wesley Gibson did the morning show, Dennis McBroom middays and program director Eric Fox afternoons. The station never found an audience, In 1982, the station changed its call letters toKEZC and flipped tocountry music with the branding "Easy Country". In 1984, KEZC began simulcasting KJJJ (nowKGME) asKJJJ-FM, a more mainstream country station.
In 1985, KJJJ-FM flipped to a gold-basedtop 40 format known as "The Fire Station, Arizona's 92 Fire FM" with newKKFR call letters. KKFR began shifting towards a morerhythmic/dance direction in the late 1980s. The station also adopted the "Power 92" moniker in 1988 and patterned its direction onKPWR inLos Angeles. KKFR adjusted its branding to "Power 92.3" in 2000. TV personalityDanny Bonaduce worked at KKFR for a few months in 1989 and 1990 as a morning program co-host.
On December 16, 1993, despite high ratings with its rhythmic-leaning direction, KKFR evolved to a mainstream top 40 and leaned slightly towardmodern rock (to less of an extent than other Top 40 stations in other markets). The station's ratings slipped as a result. From January to March 1995, the station re-added rhythmic and dance music tracks to the playlist, and began regaining much of its lost audience. However, the dance songs began to be removed by 1997, leading the transformation towards aR&B/hip hop approach. By the end of the year, the station was no longer a mainstream top 40 outlet.
Chancellor Media (which later became AMFM, Inc.) purchased KKFR in late 1998 from its longtime owners The Broadcast Group, but when the company merged withClear Channel Communications, they had to divest the station to meet FCC ownership regulations.Emmis Communications became its owner in 2000. Beginning in 2005, Power started adding morerhythmic pop tracks into the playlist.
On May 8, 2006, Emmis sold KKFR toBonneville International, which, in turn, announced that KKFR would become the news station for the market asKTAR-FM;KTAR (620 AM) would absorb the sports assets ofKMVP. On July 12, Emmis sold the KKFR intellectual property to Riviera Broadcast Group, which already ownedKEDJ, for use on another radio station. That station was KKLD (98.3 FM); originally licensed toPrescott Valley, it changed itscity of license toMayer and adopted the KKFR call letters on September 1, 2006.[3]
On June 22, 2007, KKFR picked up an unlikely competitor whenKZON dropped itstalk radio format for rhythmic contemporary as "101.5 JAMZ". When KZON made the flip, it aired attack liners towards KKFR such as "The Power's Out", "Where Hip-Hop USED to live", and "100,000 watts of 'Static-Free' Jamz!" However, in a statement made toThe Arizona Republic, KKFR's then-program director Bruce St. James, who joined KZON as its new PD in January 2010,[4] said, "What are they going to do? Play more Hip Hop than us? Really, I think we'll be ok."[5]
On December 1, 2008, KKFR dropped its slogan "Where Hip Hop Lives" in favor of "The Valley's #1 Hit Music Station" but retained its rhythmic direction. Ironically, KZON adopted the latter slogan in November, a month before KKFR changed theirs. This move gave Phoenix two radio stations with the same format and slogan; KKFR decided to drop the slogan after nearly a year. A similar scenario occurred between rivaling top 40 stationsKZZP andKMVA.
On December 4, 2015, KKFR rebranded as "Power 98.3 & 101.9" after adding asimulcast ontranslator K270BZ (101.9 FM) in Phoenix.[6] This changed to "Power 98.3 & 96.1" on March 6, 2017, when the station began simulcasting on translatorK241BQ (96.1 FM) inFort McDowell and shut down K270BZ.[7]
On September 1, 2023, KKFR began playing frequentDrake music, and rebranded as “Drake 98.3 & 96.1” to coincide with theIt's All a Blur Tour with no other notable changes.[8] KKFR returned to the “Power” branding on September 7.
On April 28, 2024, KKFR beganstunting, running a random assortment of departure-themed songs and promoting a "new sound" to debut at Noon the following day. At the promised time, the station relaunched with a rhythmic hot AC format, shifting the already rhythmic-based format to include moreR&B and classic hip hop music, while retaining the “Power” branding; the first song under the relaunched format was "Return of the Mack" byMark Morrison.[9]
34°14′02″N112°22′05″W / 34.234°N 112.368°W /34.234; -112.368