WKFR-FM

WKFR-FM (103.3 MHz 103.3 KFR) is a commercial radio station licensed to Battle Creek, Michigan. It airs a contemporary hit radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. The studios and offices are on Jennings Drive in Kalamazoo.

WKFR-FM

Battle Creek, Michigan
Broadcast area	Battle Creek - Kalamazoo metropolitan area
Frequency	103.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	103.3 KFR
Programming
Format	Contemporary hit radio
Subchannels	HD2: WBXX simulcast (Urban adult contemporary)
Affiliations	Compass Media Networks Westwood One
Ownership
Owner	Townsquare Media (Townsquare License, LLC)
Sister stations	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″N 85°20′28″W
Translator(s)	102.5 W273AR (Paw Paw) (relays HD2)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	wkfr.com

WKFR-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum for most stations in Southern Michigan. The transmitter is on North 44th Street at East E F Avenue in Augusta.^[2]

History

The station signed on the air in June 11, 1963; 62 years ago (1963-06-11).^[3] Its original call sign was WELL-FM and it broadcast at 96.5 MHz. WELL-FM and its sister station, WELL-AM, simulcast their programming for most of the 1960's, but all that change in 1964 when both WELL-FM and WELL-AM becomes WKFR-FM & AM. The AM station became Top 40 outlet as "Keener 14", while the FM station moved to 103.3 MHz. And by the late 1960's WKFR-FM had broken from the simulcast of WKFR-AM and was airing an automated Beautiful Music format, playing quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental songs.

In 1972, WKFR-AM changed its call letters to WKNR-AM after that call sign was dropped by the former WKNR in Detroit but their FM station remained WKFR-FM, but by the end of the 1970's WKFR-FM had evolved from MOR "good music" to an AC format. Then in 1981 WKFR-FM inherited the now Top 40/CHR format from WKNR-AM and has been keeping and retained it ever since.

On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would acquire 53 Cumulus Media stations, including WKFR-FM. The price tag was $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global. Both Townsquare and Dial Global were controlled by Oaktree Capital Management.^[4][5] The sale was consummated on November 14, 2013.