VOCM-FM
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Broadcast area | St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador |
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Branding | 97-5 K-ROCK |
Slogan | Newfoundland's Classic Rock |
First air date | September 1982 |
Frequency | 97.5 MHz (FM) |
Format | Classic rock |
Callsign meaning | Voice of the Common Man |
Owner | Newcap Broadcasting |
Website | http://www.k-rock975.com/ |
VOCM-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 97.5 MHz from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is part of the Newcap Broadcasting group. Presently the station is branded as 97-5 K-Rock (as are other Newcap stations such as CIRK Edmonton) and broadcasts a classic rock format, although some recent rock songs have lately become part of the mix.
Originally launched in September 1982 and branded as VOFM, it struggled to find an audience for several years, going through formats such as light rock and eventually even dance music. In the mid-1990s it appeared to find an audience as a Hot AC station branded Magic 97, having a more youthful appeal than chief competitor CHOZ-FM, although still airing frequent "flashbacks" from 1980s music, and featuring 40-minute "Magic Music Marathons" most of the day outside of its morning show.
However, by early 2002, soon after NewCap bought the VOCM stations from the Butler family, its audience had apparently dipped enough that NewCap changed the format to classic rock, a format where research indicated untapped potential. Sure enough, it soon became the top-rated FM station in the St. John's market. Unexpectedly, much of its audience came from country music station CKIX-FM, also a NewCap property. It was enough that this station was promptly reformatted as well; it became a contemporary hit radio station, HITS FM, serving much of the audience lost after the end of Magic 97.
The sole rebroadcaster of the station is VOCM-FM-1 Clarenville, which broadcasts at 100.7 MHz, although a number of other NewCap stations in the province now also feature the K-Rock brand and format.
Excluding rebroadcasters (i.e. those of VOAR), VOCM-FM is the only Canadian FM station with a call sign beginning with the ITU prefix "VO", and the only station to launch with that status after Newfoundland joined Canadian Confederation in 1949.
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AM stations: VOCM 590 | CBN 640 | VOWR 800 | CJYQ 930 | VOAR 1210 FM stations: CICQ 92.3 | CHMR 93.5 | CHOZ 94.7 | VOCM-FM 97.5 | CKIX 99.1 | CKSJ 101.1 | CBAX-2 101.9 | CBAF-17 105.9 | CBN-FM 106.9 |