| KCTR-FM | |
| City: | Billings, Montana |
| Area: | Billings Metropolitan Area |
| Branding: | Cat Country 102.9 |
| Frequency: | 102.9 MHz |
| Airdate: | August 1979 (as KOOK-FM) |
| Format: | Country |
| Erp: | 100,000 watts |
| Haat: | 152m (499feet) |
| Class: | C1 |
| Facility Id: | 16773 |
| Coordinates: | 45.7664°N -108.4553°W |
| Former Callsigns: | KOOK-FM (1979–1984) KBIT (1984–1985) KOOK-FM (1985–1988) |
| Owner: | Townsquare Media |
| Licensee: | Townsquare License, LLC |
| Sister Stations: | KBUL, KCHH, KKBR, KMHK |
| Webcast: | Listen Live |
| Website: | catcountry1029.com |
KCTR-FM (102.9 MHz, "Cat Country 103") is a commercial radio station in Billings, Montana. KCTR airs a country music format.[1] Licensed to Billings, Montana, United States, the station serves the Billings area. The station is currently owned by Townsquare License, LLC.[2]
102.9 FM began broadcasting in August 1979 as KOOK-FM, sister station to KOOK (970 AM). The new outlet used Schulke Radio Productions's automated beautiful music format with just eight commercial units an hour.[3]
KOOK-AM-FM was acquired by "Major" Dan Miller, a 25-year employee of the stations, and the Mesa Broadcasting Company of Chicago in 1983.[4] Citing low support, KOOK-FM flipped to country as KBIT on January 16, 1984.[5] The station returned to KOOK-FM on November 4, 1985, as part of a format and call sign trade between the AM and FM stations that moved country to AM and the former contemporary hit radio format on KOOK to FM.[6] The move failed to generate increased interest in the stations, and Miller left the management group and KOOK.[7]
After the FM station improved in listenership over the course of 1987, KOOK-KBIT was sold again in 1988, to Citadel Associates of Phoenix.[8] Citadel wasted little time changing the format on KOOK-FM back to country; KOOK and KBIT began simulcasting as KCTR-AM-FM, retiring the KOOK call letters from Billings radio after having been used since 1951.[9]
In October 2007, a deal was reached for KCTR-FM to be acquired by GAP Broadcasting II LLC (Samuel Weller, president) from Clear Channel Communications as part of a 57 station deal with a total reported sale price of $74.78 million.[10] What eventually became GapWest Broadcasting was folded into Townsquare Media on August 13, 2010.[11]