City Plattsmouth, Nebraska Branding Power 106.9 Frequency 106.9 MHz | Broadcast area Omaha-Council Bluffs Slogan Today's Hottest Jamz First air date 1992 (as KOTD) | |
KOPW is the callsign for the Omaha, Nebraska-based Rhythmic contemporary FM radio station "Power 106.9". It is owned and operated by NRG Media. Its studios are located at Dodge Street and 50th Avenue in Midtown Omaha, and its transmitter site is located southeast of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
History
The station was originally KOTD and had an adult standards format from 1992 until September 23, 1999, when it was sold to Waitt Media (later NRG Media), who in turn, flipped the station to adult album alternative as KCTY ("106.9 The City"). On March 12, 2004, at 3 p.m., after stunting with a 24-hour robotic countdown, it flipped to All-80s Hits as "Retro 106.9". 14 months later, on May 26, 2005, at Noon, the station flipped to adult hits as "106.9 Bob FM." The first song on "Bob FM" was "Get This Party Started" by P!nk.
On December 31, 2002, their sister station, KBLR, which was an AC, began to target the market with an Urban Contemporary format as "Hot 107.7 & 97.3." The station, carrying a Hip Hop/R&B format, was signal-challenged from the start, since the 97.3 signal (licensed to Blair, Nebraska) barely covered the metro and the 107.7 frequency was a translator. Despite the coverage area, the format created the highest ratings and revenue in the history of those signals, and was home of the Russ Parr Morning Show during its tenure.
On December 29, 2006, at 3 p.m., NRG turned KCTY into the all-new KOPW ("Power 106.9"). The Rhythmic Contemporary station is a modified version of the format of "Hot 107.7 & 97.3." Based from KBLR playing Hip Hop/R&B, the Urban format tilted over to Rhythmic is "in fashion" with the frequency move.
With KOPW going Rhythmic, it now puts them in direct competition with Top 40 Mainstream competitors KQCH, who, incidentally, started out as a Rhythmic when they debuted in May 1999, and since 2012, KISO. At first, KOPW was reported to R&R as an urban contemporary station, but has since started adding artists like Lady Gaga, 3OH!3, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, David Guetta and Britney Spears to its playlist and has evolved to a broader Rhythmic direction, and in October 2009, was added to both Mediabase and Nielsen BDS' Rhythmic panels.