WKFR (103.3 FM), also known as KFR, is a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

outlet serving the Kalamazoo, Michigan radio market. It broadcasts with an ERP of 50 kW in Battle Creek, Michigan and 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 wi ...

History

The station began operations in June 1963 as WELL-FM at 96.5 MHz, duplicating the programming of then-sister WELL/1400 (now WBFN). In 1964 WELL-AM-FM became WKFR-AM-FM; the AM station became

rocker "Keener 14" while the FM station, which also moved to 103.3 Megahertz, programmed

Beautiful Music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...

. In 1972 WKFR changed its calls to WKNR after those calls were dropped by the former WKNR in Detroit, but the FM station remained WKFR-FM. By the end of the 1970s, WKFR-FM had evolved from "good music" to an

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

format. In 1981 WKFR finally inherited the Top 40 format from WKNR and has had it ever since. On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which

would acquire 53

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 ...

stations, including WKFR-FM, for $238 million. The deal was 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 ...

; 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 was consummated effective November 14, 2013.

Current Schedule Lineup

Mornings 5:30- 10 a.m.: Dana Marshall Mid-days 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Mark Frankhouse
Afternoons 2 p.m.-7 p.m.
Dave Benson
Nights 7 p.m.- Midnight: Pop Crush Nights with Kayla Thomas Weekends: Marc Andrews / Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly / The Daly Download with Carson Daly

References

Michiguide.com - WKFR-FM History

External links

WKFR official website
* * * KFR-FM Radio stations established in 1963 Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States 1963 establishments in Michigan Townsquare Media radio stations {{Michigan-radio-station-stub