The second in a series of three different frequencies to carry the KFRC-FM call letters, this station came into being in 1991 when Bedford Broadcasting Company paid a reported $18.5 million to buy KXXX from Emmis Broadcasting. Out went X-100’s Top 40 format and in came an oldies format.
Bedford would acquire KFRC (610 AM) as well and then sell both stations to Alliance Broadcasting, headed by former KYUU general manager John Hayes, in early 1993. Since KYUU had also occupied the same 99.7 FM frequency, the deal was a homecoming of sorts for Hayes.
By mid-1993, the oldies format was being simulcast on the two KFRCs.
In 1995, just two years after acquiring KFRC and KFRC-FM, Alliance sold them for a healthy profit. Alliance sold seven stations for a reported $275 million to Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, already the nation’s largest station owner. The New York Times reported “the price Alliance won for its stations represents an enormous return for Mr. Hayes, other group executives, and the company’s New York investment partners: Goldman, Sachs Group L.P. and Odyssey Partners L.P.”
In September 2005, KFRC-FM swung away from the oldies format, programming a mix of songs from the ’70s and ’80s. General manager Doug Harvill told the San Francisco Chronicle that listenership had been declining and the move was made to keep the station from suffering “a long, painful death”. The new format was branded as “The Bay Area’s Classic Hits”.
That lasted barely a year. In September 2006, KFRC-FM got another new format and on-air image: “The New Movin’ 99.7” played rhythmic adult contemporary music.
And a year after that, KFRC-FM was movin’. The “Movin’ 99.7” format stayed where it was, but the station’s call letters were changed to KMVQ. Owner CBS Radio moved the KFRC-FM call letters to 106.9 FM where it gave oldies another try.
