KCRO (660 kHz) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. KCRO is owned by Hickory Radio and airs a Christian talk and teaching

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. The studios are located on Burt Street (near North 120th Street and Dodge Road in West Omaha), while the

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located behind Roncalli Catholic High School near Sorensen Parkway in Northwest Omaha. KCRO operates with 1,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s power during daytime hours. Because AM 660 is a clear channel frequency (reserved for 50,000-

Class A WFAN in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

), KCRO must greatly reduce power to 54 watts at night to avoid interference. It uses a non-directional antenna at all times. Programming was additionally heard on 60-watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

station K293CJ at 106.5 MHz. The translator has since been moved to Lincoln, and changed frequencies to 106.7 FM.

Programming

KCRO airs national religious leaders such as Jim Daly, Chuck Swindoll and David Jeremiah as well as local preachers. On weekends, KCRO 660 airs southern gospel music. KCRO is a brokered time radio station, where hosts pay Hickory Radio for 15 to 30-minute blocks of time, and may use their shows to seek donations to their ministries. Most hours begin with world and national news from Salem Radio Network.

History

The station signed on the air on April 19, 1922, making it among the oldest radio stations in Nebraska. By the 1930s, it was operating on AM 660 at 500 watts. However, it was originally a daytimer required to go off the air at sunset. The station's

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was WAAW and it was owned by the Omaha Grain Exchange, broadcasting agricultural reports and crop prices. In 1939, the call sign were switched to KOWH. In 1946, KOWH put one of the first FM stations on the air in Omaha, KOAD (later KTGL). By the 1950s, the owner was Mid Continent Broadcasting. In an advertisement in the 1950 edition of '' Broadcasting Yearbook'', KOWH said it was "The Toast of The Midwest." It claimed a broadcast area of in diameter, and offered advertisers "more coverage." It touted 660 AM as a "clear channel frequency," but neglected to say that a New York City station owned the clear channel status, and KOWH had to sign off at night. KOWH played an important role in U.S. radio programming history. In May 1952, the station became what is considered the first

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...

station. It was owned and operated by radio pioneer Todd Storz, who crafted a radio format that played the top hits every couple of hours, using high-energy

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

s, aimed at young listeners. KOWH's success encouraged the spread of Top 40 stations across the country. As contemporary music listening switched to the FM band, KOWH carried a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format, and later an urban adult contemporary format. It became a

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

station in September 1979, and changed its call sign to KCRO. In 2005, the station was bought for $3.1 million by the

Salem Media Group Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and wh ...

. In July 2018, Hickory Radio agreed to purchase KCRO, co-owned

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

station KOTK, and two translators from Salem Media.BusinessWire.com "Salem Media Announces Sale of KGBI-FM Omaha" May 22, 2018 (retrieved January 19, 2019)
/ref> The purchase was consummated on October 31, 2018, at a price of $1.375 million.

Former logos

References

External links

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FCC History Cards for KCRO
{{Religious Radio Stations in Nebraska CRO CRO Radio stations established in 1922 1922 establishments in Nebraska