WZOK (branded as ''97ZOK'') is a radio station serving the Rockford, Illinois area with a Top 40 (CHR) format. It broadcasts on FM frequency 97.5 MHz and is under ownership of

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 ...

. On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare 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 WZOK, 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 were 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.

History

WROK-FM signed on the air in 1949, and in 1976, the call letters changed to the current WZOK. In late 1980, WZOK changed its format from AOR to its current Top 40/CHR format, and was the dominant CHR station in the Rockford metropolitan area, including portions of Northern Illinois such as Belvidere, Cherry Valley,

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb **DeKal ...

, and

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

, and portions of Southern Wisconsin such as Janesville and Beloit.

References

Previous logo

External links

97 ZOK - Official Website
* Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States ZOK Radio stations established in 1949 Townsquare Media radio stations 1949 establishments in Illinois {{Illinois-radio-station-stub