KOPW

KOPW (106.9 FM "Power 106.9") is a commercial radio station licensed to Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and serving the Omaha-Council Bluffs radio market. It is owned by NRG Media with studios at 50th and West Dodge in Midtown Omaha. It airs a rhythmic contemporary radio format. Morning drive time features the nationally syndicated " Breakfast Club."

KOPW has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 25,000 watts. The transmitter is on Ashton Road in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

History

Adult standards (1992–1999)

The station signed on the air in . Its original call sign was KOTD-FM and it had an adult standards format. That lasted until November 1999.

Adult alternative/alternative (1999–2004)

In 1999, the station was sold to Waitt Media (later NRG Media). The new owners flipped the station to adult album alternative (AAA) as KCTY ("106-9 The City"). By September 2000, KCTY shifted to a more mainstream alternative rock format in the hopes of boosting ratings.

'80s hits (2004–2005)

On March 12, 2004, at 3 p.m., after stunting with a 24-hour robotic countdown accompanied by " On the Run" by Pink Floyd, the station flipped to All-80s Hits as "Retro 106.9".

Adult hits (2005–2006)

Just 14 months later, on May 26, 2005, at noon, the station flipped to adult hits as "106-9 Bob FM." The first song on "Bob FM" was " Get This Party Started" by P!nk.

Rhythmic (2006–present)

As 2002 ended, KOTD's sister station, KBLR-FM, which aired adult contemporary music, began to target the market with an Urban Contemporary format as "Hot 107.7 & 97.3." It was the first commercial station in the state of Nebraska to play Hip Hop and R&B music full-time. But it was signal-challenged from the start, since the 97.3 frequency, licensed to Blair, Nebraska, barely covered the metro area, while the 107.7 frequency was a low-powered FM translator. Despite the signal deficiencies, the format created the highest ratings and revenue in the history of those signals, and was home of the Russ Parr Morning Show during its tenure.

On December 29, 2006, at 3 p.m., NRG turned KCTY into the all-new KOPW ("Power 106.9"). The Rhythmic Contemporary-formatted KOPW is a modified version of the format of "Hot 107.7 & 97.3."

With KOPW going Rhythmic, it now puts them in direct competition with Top 40 Mainstream competitors KQCH and since 2012, KISO. At first, KOPW reported to Radio & Records magazine as an urban contemporary station. It has since evolved to a broader Rhythmic direction, and in October 2009, was added to both Mediabase and Nielsen BDS' Rhythmic panels.

Morning shows

From October 2007 until April 5, 2019, KOPW served as the Omaha affiliate for the syndicated, Los Angeles-based " Big Boy’s Neighborhood." It aired in mornings, until NRG decided not to renew its contract with Premiere Networks. On April 8, 2019, the station became local in all day parts with the debut of “Chef West & The Morning Scramble” hosted by Tay ‘Mr. West’ Westberry (who is also a professional chef, hence the nickname) and former ''American Idol'' season 13 contestant (and YouTube blogger) Alyssa Siebken. The show lasted nearly a year; Westberry and Siebken would be moved to afternoons, with mornings going jockless for a time.

On February 24, 2021, NRG announced that KOPW would pick up the syndicated " Breakfast Club" for mornings beginning March 1. "The Breakfast Club" is syndicated by Premiere Networks and is based at WWPR New York. It is led by Charlamagne tha God and DJ Envy.

See also

* Houston Alexander

References

External links

Power 106.9's website
*

{{coord, 41.155, N, 95.762, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title

Radio stations in Omaha, Nebraska, OPW
Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1992
NRG Media radio stations