 | |
| Broadcast area | Battle Creek -Kalamazoo metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 103.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 103.3 KFR |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Subchannels | HD2:WBXX simulcast (Urban adult contemporary) |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WKMI,WRKR | |
| History | |
First air date | June 11, 1963; 62 years ago (1963-06-11) |
Former call signs | WELL-FM (1963–1964) |
Call sign meaning | Keener Fourteen |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 14658 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 147 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°21′20.1″N85°20′28″W / 42.355583°N 85.34111°W /42.355583; -85.34111 |
| Translator | 102.5 W273AR (Paw Paw) (relays HD2) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | wkfr |
WKFR-FM (103.3MHz103.3 KFR) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toBattle Creek, Michigan. It airs acontemporary hit radioformat and is owned byTownsquare Media. The studios and offices are on Jennings Drive inKalamazoo.
WKFR-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000watts, the maximum for most stations in Southern Michigan. Thetransmitter is on North 44th Street at East E F Avenue inAugusta.[2]
The stationsigned on the air on June 11, 1963.[3] Its originalcall sign was WELL-FM and it broadcast at 96.5 MHz. WELL-FM and itssister station,WELL (AM),simulcast their programming for most of the 1960s, but that changed in 1964 when both WELL-FM and WELL became WKFR-FM and AM. The AM station becameTop 40 outlet as "Keener 14", while the FM station moved to 103.3 MHz. And by the late 1960s WKFR-FM had broken from the simulcast of WKFR and was airing anautomatedBeautiful Music format, playing quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental songs.
In 1972, WKFR (AM), changed its call letters to WKNR after that call sign was dropped bythe former WKNR in Detroit but their FM station remained WKFR-FM. By the end of the 1970s WKFR-FM had evolved fromMOR "good music" to anAC format. Then in 1981 WKFR-FM inherited the nowTop 40/CHR format from WKNR and has been keeping and retained it ever since.
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in whichTownsquare Media would acquire 53Cumulus Media stations, including WKFR-FM. The price tag was $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition ofDial Global. Both Townsquare and Dial Global were controlled byOaktree Capital Management.[4][5] The sale was consummated on November 14, 2013.
42°21′22″N85°20′28″W / 42.356°N 85.341°W /42.356; -85.341