KRCK-FM

KRCK-FM is a commercial Top 40 (CHR) music radio station licensed to serve Mecca, California, broadcasting to the Coachella Valley area on 97.7 FM. The station's studios are in Palm Desert, while the transmitter is in a mountain range north of Bermuda Dunes.

For the radio station in Portland, Oregon at 101.1 FM known as KRCK from 1983-1985, see KXL-FM.
KRCK-FM
CityMecca, California
Broadcast areaPalm Springs, California
Frequency97.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding97.7 KRCK
SloganThe #1 Hit Music Station for the Coachella Valley
Programming
FormatFM/HD1:Top 40 (CHR)
HD2:Talk (KBET simulcast)
Ownership
OwnerPatrick Communications
(under receivership by broker)
(Sale pending)
(Major Market Radio LLC)
History
First air dateJune 20, 2001
Call sign meaningThe station originally broadcast an '80s RoCK format.
Technical information
Facility ID52808
ClassA
ERP2,000 watts
100,000 watts (w/beam tilt)
HAAT174 meters
Translator(s)98.1 MHz K251BX Palm Desert (rebroadcasts HD2), 95.5 MHz Coachella.
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitekrck.com, http://981talknow.com (HD 2)

History

Early years

The Federal Communications Commission held a spectrum auction for the 97.7 frequency in Mecca in the late 1990s, and issued a contruction permit to the winning bid, Playa del Sol Broadcasters, on April 7, 1998. During construction, the station was assigned the KRCK-FM call sign on February 1, 1999, and has kept the call letters for its entire existence.[1] The station received its broadcast license in summer 2001. On June 20, 2001, KRCK-FM signed on. The station originally had an '80s Rock format branded "K-Rock", but was ordered to drop the use of the slogan due to a possible trademark infringement with KROQ-FM of Pasadena, after that, KRCK-FM flipped to Contemporary Hit Radio, branded as "Hot 97".

CHR era

In 2007 the station introduced new sonic imaging and rebranded as "Hot Hits 97-7 KRCK." In 2010, it rebranded again as "Hot 97-7 KRCK."

In 2016, the station was sold to Royce International Broadcasting (lead by radio entrepreneur Ed Stolz), owners of Alameda based KREV. The sale was approved on July 26, and was consummated on the 29th.

In 2018, KRCK placed its new HD radio transmitter on the air, a Talk radio format is heard on the HD2 format. Translators at 98.1 MHz and on 95.5 FM in the Coachella area, relay the HD2 subchannel, which itself is a simulcast of Las Vegas station KBET.

ASCAP lawsuit and sale

In July 2018, ASCAP and 16 other music rights societies and record labels sued Royce International in a California court for non payment of royalties for its three CHR stations, KFRH in Las Vegas, KREV in Alameda, and KRCK-FM. On July 6, 2020, the court ordered the stations be put into a receivership controlled by broker Larry Patrick,[2] on the condition that the stations be sold. This was the second time the company was sued, a previous lawsuit from 1996 forced the sale of Sacramento station KWOD to Entercom in 2003. The divestiture excludes the two translators.

References
  1. "Query the REC California FM station database for KRCK-FM". REC Networks. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  2. Venta, Lance (12 July 2020). "Ed Stolz' Stations Transferred To Receivership After Lawsuit From Music Copyright Holders". Retrieved 3 August 2020.


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