WGRF
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| City | Buffalo, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Buffalo, New York |
| Branding | 97 Rock |
| Slogan | Classic Rock, Classic Jocks; The Voice of the Bills; 96.9--The Mighty 97 Rock; Local Radio Made in Buffalo |
| Frequency | 96.9 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | September 14, 1959 |
| Format | Classic rock |
| ERP | 24,000 watts |
| HAAT | 217 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 56102 |
| Callsign meaning | WGRFM (former owner's initials; F added to distinguish it from former sister station WGR-AM) |
| Owner |
Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WEDG, WHTT, WHLD |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 97rock.com |
WGRF is a radio station in Buffalo, New York, USA. The station's on air branding is "97 Rock". The station mostly plays Classic rock from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Since 2006, the station has also aired numerous rock-leaning oldies, such as songs from The Beatles, displaced by the format change at sister station WHTT. WGRF broadcasts at 96.9 MHz from a transmitter north of downtown Buffalo, and studios are in the city's eastside.
The WGRF morning show consists of Rich "Bull" Gaenzler, Rob Lederman, Chris Klein and their Producer Steve Tripi. Other local disc jockeys include Johnny "JP" Piccillo Carl Russo, John Hager, Tommy "Slick Tom" Tiberi, Anita West, Jeff Gordon, Cindy Chan, Megan Davis, Jim McGee, and Rick Walters. WGRF's significant local presence and history has made the station nearly as much of the Buffalo culture as chicken wings.
WGRF is owned by Cumulus Media. Previous owners included the Taft Television and Radio Company, Rich Communications, Mercury Radio Communications (who separated the longtime combination with WGR in 1995 when it bought WGRF from Rich Communications, who in turn retained WGR until selling it to the Sinclair Broadcast Group two years later), and Citadel Broadcasting (which merged with Cumulus on September 14, 2011). Its transmitter is in Buffalo.
WGRF streamed its programming on the Internet until 2002, when it became economically unfeasible for some stations to continue their streams given changes in licensing and royalty agreements. In March 2006, Citadel launched an initiative that provided for the streaming of many of Citadel's stations. WGRF was among the first commercial stations in Buffalo to resume streaming after the earlier changes.
WGRF stopped being the only classic rock station in Buffalo when it began having rivalry with CIXL-FM, which changed formats from adult hits to classic rock in 2008.
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Wikipedia