KOMR (106.3
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
) 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 ...
FM 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 ...
licensed to
Sun City, Arizona
Sun City is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is located within the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The population wa ...
, and serving the
Phoenix metropolitan area
The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the c ...
. It is owned by
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...
and it airs a
Spanish adult contemporary 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, ...
, calling itself "Amor 106.3". The
studio
A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater.
The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal.
Types Art
The studio of any artist, esp ...
s are on South 30th Street in Phoenix.
KOMR is a
Class C2 station with an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...
(ERP) of 23,000
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. 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 off North Castle Hot Springs Road in
Peoria.
History
KTPM
The first attempt of a radio station on 106.3 FM in Sun City was KTPM. It was on the air for less than seven months after
signing on the air on . It was co-owned with Wickenburg's KAKA by Lowell Beer and Paul Mullenix. In that era, many radio listeners didn't have FM receivers and they were mostly unavailable in cars.
KTPM was one of the quickest failures in Arizona radio history. It went
silent on January 2, 1963. It never returned to the air. The Beer-Mullenix licenses were placed into receivership in June. They never reemerged from bankruptcy.
KWAO, KMZK, KONC, KEDJ
The current KOMR signed on the air on . Its
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 KWAO. It began broadcasting with a new license but still used the same the tower as the defunct KTPM. KWAO targeted listeners in Sun City (a retirement community near Phoenix) 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 the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
format. The station was sold in 1983 to Larry Mazursky's Canyon Communications Corporation, relaunching as
contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...
KMZK "Muzik 106". A couple of years later, the station flipped to
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
.
In late 1985, Mazursky sold
KLFF, an
adult standards
Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.
Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...
station, to Affiliated Broadcasting. Affiliated was the new owner of
KONC, the primary classical station in Phoenix. A condition of the sale required low-rated KMZK to vacate the classical format, and KMZK became 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 ...
station. That would prove short-lived when, in March 1986, Affiliated flipped KONC to
adult contemporary music
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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, sou ...
as KAMJ. While Affiliated's acquisition of
KFLR for classical music languished, Mazursky announced plans to revert KMZK to classical music, prompting Affiliated to ditch its own classical plans.
In addition, KMZK became KONC. Throughout the 1980s, KONC was used on an electronic
program guide on United Cable.
KONC dropped classical music at 6 p.m. on January 15, 1993, when it flipped to a
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
...
/
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...
format as KEDJ, known as "The Edge." That left Phoenix without a classical station for three months, when
KBAQ signed on the air as a public station. KEDJ upgraded to Class C2 status after another station was moved from 106.3 in Arizona City to 106.5 in the late 1990s.
Recuerdo and Amor
In 2001, Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (a predecessor to Univision Radio) acquired the station. The company flipped 106.3 FM to a
Spanish-language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
adult contemporary format called "Amor." FM 106.3 began simulcasting with 106.5
KKMR and 100.3
KQMR
KQMR (100.3 FM) is a radio station in Globe, Arizona, United States, owned by TelevisaUnivision and licensed to Univision Radio Illinois, Inc. The station was assigned the KQMR call sign by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Se ...
. Moments after the format change, the owners of 103.9 FM, which was then
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...
KPTY, purchased the rights to the KEDJ Alternative Rock format. But the company did not continue the contract to carry the
syndicated ''
Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
'', which had been on 106.3 and 100.3. The deal also included transferring the call letters and "The Edge" moniker to 103.9 FM. Three call sign changes in 15 days followed until 106.3 became KOMR.
In October 2005, Univision made adjustments to the "Amor" format, making it more
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.
Since 2 ...
-driven, and changed the name to "Recuerdo".
On February 6, 2018, Univision dropped the "Más Variedad" Spanish
Adult Hits format and switched it to Spanish AC as ''Amor 106.3''. Some of the music and radio shows are carried from
KBRG
KBRG (100.3 FM ''Amor 100.3'') is a commercial radio station licensed to San Jose, California, with a Spanish AC radio format. The station is owned by TelevisaUnivision. Its studios are located at 1940 Zanker Road in San Jose, and the transm ...
in
San Jose and
KRDA in
Fresno
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
. Those two stations also carry the "Amor" format. The “Amor” stations are similar to 107.5
KLVE in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, which is one of the most listened Spanish language radio stations in the United States.
Former logo
References
External links
Recuerdo's websiteFCC History Cards for KOMR
{{coord, 33.956, N, 112.477, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
Hispanic and Latino American culture in Phoenix, Arizona
OMR
OMR
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
Univision Radio Network stations