WZOK (97.5 FM), branded as ''97ZOK'', is a

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 ...

serving the

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

area with a top 40 (CHR)

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

. It is under ownership of

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

History

WROK-FM signed on the air in 1949, and in 1976, the call letters changed to the current WZOK. In late 1980, WZOK changed their format from

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 ...

to its current top 40/CHR format, and was the dominant CHR station in the Rockford metropolitan area, including portions of Northern Illinois such as Belvidere, Cherry Valley, DeKalb, and

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, and portions of Southern Wisconsin such as Janesville and Beloit. In September 1992, WZOK changed their format from top 40/CHR to rock adult contemporary.Format Changes & Updates
, ''The M-Street Journal''. Vol. 9, No. 37. September 16, 1992. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2025 On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare would acquire 53

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 ...

stations, including WZOK, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of

Dial Global Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The c ...

; Townsquare and Dial Global were both controlled by

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management, Inc. is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of September 30, 2024, the company managed $205 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a ...

. The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14.

References

External links

97 ZOK - Official Website
* Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States ZOK Radio stations established in 1949 Townsquare Media radio stations 1949 establishments in Illinois Mass media in Rockford, Illinois {{Illinois-radio-station-stub