WKRR (92.3 FM) 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 ...

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to serve

Asheboro, North Carolina Asheboro is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 27,156 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greensboro- High Point Metropolitan Area of the Piedmont Triad and is home of the st ...

in the

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. It broadcasts a

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 ...

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, ...

, branded as ''Rock 92'', and is the Triad's

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

for the Carolina Panthers Radio Network. WKRR is owned by Dick Broadcasting, along with

WKZL WKZL ("1075 KZL") is a Contemporary hit radio, Top 40 (CHR) station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and serves the Piedmont Triad area, which also includes Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro and High Point, North Carolina, High Poi ...

''107.5 KZL'' in Winston-Salem. Both stations broadcast from

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 and offices on East Lewis Street in Greensboro. 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 Island Ford Road in

Randleman, North Carolina Randleman is a city in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,113 at the 2010 census. It is the home of NASCAR's Petty family, the Victory Junction Gang Camp and was the location of the Richard Petty Museum from 20 ...

().

History

In November 1948, WGWR-FM signed on as the

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 ...

to WGWR (1260 AM). At first, WGWR-FM

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) ...

WGWR. From the late 1960s until 1984, the station played

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 ...

with the WCSE

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 ...

. On April 4, 1984, the call sign was changed to WRLT. It played a "light"

soft 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. The station's call sign was changed to WKRR on October 11, 1985. FM pioneer James Dick bought the station and made his son, Allen, station manager. Under Allen's watch, it became one of the highest-rated stations in the Triad. Allen took over the company after his father retired in 1992. Though

WSEZ WSEZ is an AM radio station broadcasting on the assigned frequency of 1560 kHz; 1560 AM is United States clear-channel frequency, on which KNZR is the dominant Class A station. WSEZ broadcasts an oldies Oldies is a term for musical genr ...

was already playing

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 radi ...

(AOR) when Rock 92 started, that station did not last. WKRR evolved to classic rock in the early 1990s, changing its name to Classic Rock 92 when other rock stations began competing. Dick Broadcasting sold off almost all of its stations to

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

in 2000, but retained WKRR and WKZL. However, years later, the licensee name still reads "Dick Broadcasting Company of Tennessee".

Personalities

WKRR aired the syndicated ''

John Boy and Billy John Isley (born August 15, 1956) and Billy James (born August 31, 1957), known as John Boy & Billy, are American radio personality, radio hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their comedic morning program ''The John Boy & Billy Big Show'' b ...

'' morning show for three years, ending January 1, 1999. John Boy and Billy are syndicated from

WRFX WRFX (99.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it airs a classic rock radio format, and ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. The station is home to the 2 Guys Named Chris Show, which airs every morning and evening on weekdays. The show is currently hosted by Chris Kelly, Chris Demm, "Biggie", and Dave Aiken. 2 Guys Named Chris is one of the most popular radio programs in central North Carolina. Dave Aiken was fired on July 31, 2024 as a part of significant layoffs that occurred throughout Dick Broadcasting stations in the Mid-Atlantic. WKRR is the Triad's affiliate for the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.

Broadcast Signal

WKRR is short-spaced to

WXLK WXLK (92.3 FM "K92") is a commercial radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, serving the New River Valley and Southwest Virginia. WXLK airs a contemporary hit radio format and is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc. WXLK's studi ...

''K92'' (licensed to serve

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

) as they operate on the same channel and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 96 miles as determined by FCC rules. The minimum distance between a Class C0 FM radio station (WKRR) and a Class C FM radio station (WXLK) operating on the same frequency according to current

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

rules is 175 miles. Both stations use

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

s to reduce their signals toward each other. Even with this restriction, WKRR provides at least grade B coverage as far west as Charlotte, as far east as

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

and

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

, as far south as Rockingham and as far north as the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

border.

References

External links

* *
Two Guys Named Chris website
{{Classic Rock Radio Stations in North Carolina KRR Classic rock radio stations in the United States Asheboro, North Carolina Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in North Carolina