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	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 on June 11, 1963.^[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 1960s, but that changed in 1964 when both WELL-FM and WELL became WKFR-FM and AM. The AM station became Top 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 an automated Beautiful 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 by the former WKNR in Detroit but their FM station remained WKFR-FM. By the end of the 1970s 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 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.