KROC-FM (106.9 MHz) is a commercial

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

serving

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Ac ...

. The station's transmitter is located near the Minnesota-

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

border. The station is owned by

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

. It airs a Top 40 (CHR) music format.

History

The station was owned by the Southern Minnesota Broadcasting Company, along with other properties in the area, but they were sold to

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

in December 2003. KROC-FM went on-the-air at 106.9 MHz in 1965 with an

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

and classical music. In 1967, the hybrid format was dropped, and the FM began simulcasting with KROC-AM until the mid-1970s, then changed to an automated

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

format called ''The Great Entertainers''. That format would be replaced with a highly successful Top 40/CHR format, under the ''FM 107 KROC'' moniker. In the 1950s, the owners launched a

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ear ...

(KROC-TV), though that is now operated separately by

Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...

as KTTC. On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which

would acquire 53 Cumulus stations, including KROC-FM, for $238 million. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of

Dial Global Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...

; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...

. The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.

Translator

Previous logo

Longtime KROC-FM logo used from early 2006 until late 2016.

References

External links

KROC FM 106.9 official websiteKROC AM 1340 official website
* Radio stations in Minnesota Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Townsquare Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1965 1965 establishments in Minnesota {{Minnesota-radio-station-stub