Townsquare Media has flipped Sports “ESPN 93.5” KJOC Bettendorf IA to Active Rock “I-Rock 93.5” while the Sports format has replaced Classic Country on 1170 KBOB Davenport.
Positioning as “Hard Rock For The Quad Cities”, the station is featuring core artists including Godsmack, Slipknot, Tool, Korn, Five Finger Death Punch, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Volbeat and Ghost. Operations Manager Ryan McCreeden is overseeing the programming of the new format which is running commercial-free through the month of September.
93.5 was previously Active Rock as “Planet 93.5” and “93 Rock” from 1995-2004 before its programming was merged into sister 96.9 WXLP. The move also returns the Sports and ESPN branding to 1170 where it existed from 1993-2003 and again from May-September 2014 before it was moved to 93.5.
Townsquare Media Inc. announces the new active rock station for the Quad Cities. I-Rock 93.5 made its debut for Iowa and Illinois today with “Hard Rock for the Quad Cities”.
I-Rock 93.5 is rolling commercial-free and playing hard rock from bands like Godsmack, Slipknot, Tool, Korn, Disturbed, Metallica, Five Finger Death Punch and so many more. I-Rock 93.5 will crank up rock from the 90s like Nirvana and Alice Chains. To new rock from bands like Volbeat and Ghost. All the hard rock the Quad Cities has been missing and deserves will all be in one place now.
I-Rock 93.5 is part of the Townsquare Media Quad Cities group of stations that includes the Marconi nominated 97X (WXLP), B100 (KBEA) and KIIK 104.9.
Sports programming will remain a part of the Quad Cities on ESPN 1170 AM with the best national sports talk from ESPN along with the only local sports show in the Quad Cities, “Don’t Hassle Us We’re Local” from 12:00PM-2:00PM. Chicago Cubs baseball, Chicago Bears Football and Iowa State football and basketball will all be heard on The Quad Cities Sports Leader ESPN 1170 AM.
Townsquare Media Quad Cities Operations Manager Ryan McCredden says, “The Midwest knows how to rock. I’m thrilled that we are going to be able to bring this new hard rock station to the Quad Cities. Finally rockers will be able to listen to all their favorite bands and songs from a local station. We’re going to energize the rock fans of the Quad Cities with music they will only be able to get on I-Rock 93.5, irock935.com and via the I-Rock 93.5 app.”
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From 2007 until 2014, the former KBOB-FM (now KIIK) 104.9 carried an Alternative Rock and later Active Rock format. Cumulus owned KBOB until 2013, Townsquare after that.
They, of course, flipped to Country in July of 2014 leaving the market without an Active or Alternative Rock station.
And that switch to Country only lasted two years before switching to Classic Hits. The Alternative format hole was plugged in August of 2015 when iHeartMedia signed on ALT 104.5 as a translator for WLLR 103.7-HD2.