KZRR
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KZRR (94.1 FM, "94 Rock") 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 ...
in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
, broadcasting to the
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
-
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, area. KZRR airs a
mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
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, ...
and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The
radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...
s and offices are in Northeast Albuquerque. KZRR has 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 22,500
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 ...
tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
is atop Sandia Crest east of the city. It broadcasts using
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
technology. The HD-2
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
features an
mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ' ...
format, known as "Power 100.9"; that subchannel feeds 250 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 ...
K265CA at 100.9 MHz.


Personalities

Weekday mornings feature Swami Rob, Skyler and Phil Mahoney. Skyler also is heard in middays. The rest of the station's DJ are voice-tracked from out of town stations.


History


Early years: 1961-1977

On June 25, 1961, the station
signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...
as KDEF-FM, mostly
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
ing
sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
KDEF (1150 AM). The station was initially heard from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., but in May 1962, it began full-time broadcasting. In September 1962, KDEF-AM-FM were sold by owner Frank Quinn to a Philadelphia group. Doubleday Broadcasting purchased the stations in 1965, and by about 1970, KDEF-FM was operated by the University of Albuquerque as a student run station. Media Horizons purchased the stations in 1973, and moved the studios from downtown to the northeast heights. In March 1976, KDEF-FM was sold to Gaylord Broadcasting Co. for $150,000, and changed call letters to KRKE-FM. That same
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 used on 610 AM, which Gaylord had purchased in 1973. (KDEF AM was later sold to a different owner.) Plans also included moving the transmitter to Sandia Crest. The format on KRKE-FM was initially Modern Country. By the end of that year the format was listed as "Automated Rock".


Rock: 1977-present

Later in 1977, the station picked up the Abrams/Burkhart "Superstars"
Album-oriented Rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...
format. That was the first time the station began using the "94 Rock" moniker. In January 1980, Gaylord sold KRKE AM-FM to the Journal Star station group for $4.5 million. In June, the call letters changed to KWXL still branded as "94 Rock". In March 1985, the stations were sold to Compass Communications. In April, the station changed its call letters back to KRKE-FM, intending to make station identification easier in morning and afternoon drive times, when it was simulcast with KRKE AM. The format was also changed to "Superstars II," with an emphasis on rock titles from the 1960s and 70s. It also featured a Sunday morning
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
program intending to reach an older audience than KWXL's targeted 18-34 audience. In 1986, the stations were sold to Sandia Peak Broadcasters. In July, it changed to the current KZRR call sign, rebranding as "The New 94 Rock". KRKE AM changed to KZSS with 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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format, but in March 1988, it returned to simulcasting KZRR, citing problems of "public perception of the AM band". In November 1986, the station began weekdays with morning "shock" radio show host TJ Trout. Trout was featured in nearly all billboard and television ads over the next couple of decades, helping keep station ratings high. Trout retired in December 2011. In 1993, Sandia Peak Broadcasters merged with Progressive Broadcasting which owned
classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
formatted KLSK 104.1 to become Twin Peaks Radio. By this time KZRR began to lean more on
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. ...
without completely changing to that format, promoting itself as "The Cutting Edge of Rock". In 1996, Trumper Communications purchased KZRR, KZSS and KLSK, as well as modern rock KTEG (then on 107.9) and KHTZ. This also caused a legal dispute with TJ Trout, who sued the former owners when learning that his on-air name had been trademarked. Trout had resigned and had planned to start a new show on KKOB. Trumper resolved the issue by allowing Trout ownership of his name and remaining at KZRR. (Trout joined KKOB in 2019.) Now clustered with classic rock and modern rock stations, the music format on KZRR had changed to playing mostly
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
with an emphasis on music from the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s. In 1999, KZRR was acquired by
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
.Information
from
Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and ...
Yearbook 2010 page D-366 Clear Channel changed in its name in 2014 to iHeartMedia, Inc.


References


External links


KZRR official website
* {{coord, 35.212, N, 106.450, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Mainstream rock radio stations in the United States ZRR Radio stations established in 1961 IHeartMedia radio stations 1961 establishments in New Mexico