WEGR

WEGR is a hot adult contemporary FM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and serves the Memphis metropolitan area, including sections of Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi. WEGR broadcasts at 102.7 MHz and on the air it calls itself 102.7 Kiss FM. The station's studios are located in Southeast Memphis, and the transmitter site is in Bartlett, Tennessee. WEGR broadcasts at 100,000 watts.

WEGR
Broadcast areaMemphis metropolitan area
Frequency102.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding102.7 Kiss FM
Programming
FormatHot adult contemporary
SubchannelsHD2: WREC simulcast (talk)
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Ownership
Owner
KJMS, KWNW, WDIA, WHAL-FM, WHRK, WREC
History
First air date
March 1967 (1967-03) (as WREC-FM)
Former call signs
  • WREC-FM (1967–1975)
  • WZXR (1975–1986)
Technical information
Facility ID58397
ClassC1
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT287 meters (942 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35.275917°N 89.777306°W / 35.275917; -89.777306
Links
WebcastListen Live
Website1027kissfm.iheart.com

WEGR broadcasts in the HD Radio format.[1]

History

The station first signed on in March 1967 as WREC-FM, sister to WREC 600 AM.[2] In December 1975, the station went to an automated country music format with the call letters WZXR. On September 25, 1977, the station switched to AOR (album oriented rock). Except for a brief flirtation with Top 40 in 1985 and 1986, the station played some form of rock until 2023.

Known as "Rock 103", WEGR had been consistently programmed with a classic rock format for more than 40 years. Its mascot was a walrus, which saw numerous incarnations. For a brief period, the station was promoted as "The Eagle", in an attempt to create a brand from the call sign.

For many years, WEGR's studio was located at historic 203 Beale Street. It was moved in 2003 to a facility shared by other area iHeartMedia broadcast stations.

On May 3, 2023, at 5PM, WEGR swapped frequencies with sister station KWNW, becoming the new home of "Kiss FM", marking the end of rock on 102.7 after nearly 50 years. The swap was made due to the pending demise of WMC-FM. The first song on "Kiss FM" after the swap was "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake. [3]

References
  1. https://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=29 HD Radio Guide for Memphis
  2. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977
  3. iHeart Downgrades Rock 103 Memphis to 101.9; Relaunches Kiss FM on 102.7 With Hot AC Shift Radioinsight - may 3, 2023
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