Lincoln’s commercial radio stations could all be owned by one company, if FCC approves

For decades, a crosstown competition has brewed between two groups of Lincoln radio stations: NRG’s Broadcast House at 44th and O streets and a house of six stations – formerly owned by Three Eagles, then Digity, then Alpha Media and now Connoisseur Media – on Cornhusker Highway. Now the foes will be closer than ever if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approves a request to allow the groups to merge.

Connoisseur Media initially bought the Cornhusker Highway radio stations – KFOR 1240, 92.9 The Eagle, KX 96.9, 104.1 The Blaze, 106.3 KFRX and Mix 103.3 – in 2025. And just a few months ago, Connoisseur agreed to buy the existing commercial stations in Lincoln owned by NRG – 1400 KLIN, Froggy 98.1, 105.3 The Bone, B107.3 and Red 94.5 – which has been selling off stations in Nebraska and divesting from its radio ventures.

NRG just recently sold a group of stations in Omaha, one of which Nebraska Public Media purchased for $1.2 million: 101.9, formerly The Keg. Before that, NRG sold six stations in central Nebraska.

But before the $5.75 million Lincoln deal can be finalized, Connoisseur needs permission from the FCC to own the monopoly of Lincoln stations. FCC regulations limit the number of radio stations a company can own in a single market, and the smaller the market, the smaller the cap. In Lincoln, where about 180,000 listeners fill the 160th largest market in the country, the cap is at six stations.

In its filing to the FCC, the media company said the merger would provide the market’s listeners with “greater diversity of programming and a larger investment in news gathering and reporting.”

Several of the stations in the radio houses have been fierce rivals – such as country stations Froggy 98.1 and KZKX 96.9; news stations 1400 KLIN and 1240 KFOR; and Red 94.5 and 106.3 KFRX. It’s unclear if those stations would be combined or if one would be folded to bolster the stronger station. Connoisseur and NRG didn’t respond to interview requests by publication time.

A snapshot of Fall 2025 ratings shows Froggy 98.1 and KZKX 96.9 are nearly tied at the top when it comes to the morning drive shows – the longtime moneymakers in commercial radio. KFOR’s morning show was the fifth-most listened to in Lincoln between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. KLIN’s morning show lagged behind at No. 8 overall.

Connoisseur argued its ownership of all the commercial radio stations in the Capital City wouldn’t impact the audience, advertisers or media competition. And actually, the FCC’s approval of the merger, Connoisseur argued, would “serve the public interest by minimizing disruption to and enhancing the quality of the radio programming available in the Lincoln Market.”

The commission can grant a waiver for “good cause,” where the limit impacts the public interest, equity or hardship. Connoisseur said the two groups of Lincoln stations need to team up in order to compete with the 31 full-power radio stations in Omaha. The company said the Lincoln stations are at a disadvantage because the Omaha radio stations can reach into the Lincoln market, and therefore can scoop up more advertisers there. But that’s not the case for the Lincoln stations that can barely touch the outskirts of Omaha’s market.

“So while Omaha Market stations can reach listeners and advertisers in the Lincoln Market, the Lincoln Market stations do not have the ability to compete in the Omaha Market,” Connoisseur wrote.

As an example, Connoisseur said the stations 1110 KFAB and Star 104.5 compete with some of the Lincoln stations for listeners. Omaha’s KFAB, which is a popular news/talk station, competes with both Lincoln radio news stations KLIN and KFOR. KFAB’s ratings are higher in Lincoln in some demographics than ratings garnered by KFOR and KLIN.

Similarly, Omaha’s Star 104.5, an adult contemporary station, receives higher ratings in the Lincoln market in at least one demographic compared to Lincoln’s B107.3, another adult contemporary station.

“These statistics show that the Lincoln and Omaha Markets are functionally the same radio market for purposes of competition, and both markets experience robust competition,” Connoisseur wrote. “Therefore, as both the Lincoln and Omaha Markets experience significant competition for listeners and advertisers, Connoisseur Media’s acquisition of the NRG stations will not harm competition in either market.”

But the media giant also said it needs to combine stations to become more of a competitive force against other audio listening entities like streaming platforms Spotify, Youtube and Apple. It argued that the only way radio broadcasters can compete with “big tech” for advertising dollars is by “increasing their reach.”

The waiver is currently under FCC approval. It’s unclear how quickly the commission will make a decision.