KRCK-FM

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KRCK-FM is a Christian radio 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. The station is currently run under a local marketing agreement by VCY America (which is in the process of purchasing the station), with W. Lawrence Patrick, the debtor in possession of the station, as its licensee. The station currently holds a commercial license.

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 construction 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 as "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 Top 40 (CHR), branded as "Hot 97.7", this would happen in the summer of 2006.

CHR era[]

For the first 18 months, the airstaff consisted of Kid Corona in afternoon drive and Chase Martinez in nights, with the station being automated for the remaining dayparts. 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, with a Talk radio format 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. The agreement was nullified after the VCY LMA came into effect.

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: KRCK, KREV in San Francisco, and KFRH in Las Vegas. 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.

On December 30, 2020, it was announced that VCY America will purchase the three stations, though Stolz has challenged the divestitures in court.^[3] On March 15, 2021, after Judge Jesus Bernal dismissed Stolz' bid to end the receivership and have the stations returned to him, VCY America began operating the three stations under an LMA (local marketing agreement) while the sale of the stations is being finalized.^[4]

References[]

External links[]

• KRCK in the FCC FM station database
• KRCK on Radio-Locator
• KRCK in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• K238AK in the FCC FM station database
• K238AK on Radio-Locator
• K251BX in the FCC FM station database
• K251BX on Radio-Locator

Coordinates: 33°48′04″N 116°13′30″W / 33.801°N 116.225°W / 33.801; -116.225