Froggy is a brand name radio format used for a variety of radio stations in the United States, most of which broadcast a country music format, with a few playing adult contemporary. (There was, however, an oldies-themed "Froggy" in Erie, Pennsylvania: the former WFGO; that station has since changed format and calls in 2007. Another oldies-based Froggy station, KFGI in Austin, Texas, changed formats in 1994.) Although the frog logo is shared among these stations, most of them are not associated with one another. The "Froggy" branding is particularly common among country stations currently or formerly owned by Forever Broadcasting or Forever Communications and Keymarketradio LLC, companies founded by Froggy creator Kerby Confer.

Origin

The Froggy format was conceived by Kerby Confer in 1988. Previously, Confer created a variety of country radio station brands such as "Kissin'" (KSSN in Little Rock, Arkansas) and "Beaver" (WBVR-FM in Bowling Green, Kentucky). "Froggy" was first installed on WFRG-FM in Utica, New York, on February 1, 1988, with the branding "96 Frog". (The format and call letters have since switched frequencies and the station is now known as "Big Frog 104".) Other Froggy stations soon followed, including KFRG in Riverside-San Bernardino, California, and WFGY in Altoona, Pennsylvania. For his work in developing the Froggy format, Confer was inducted into the Pennsylvania Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2016.

General theme

The Froggy branded radio station uses jargon saturated with frog-related puns. Station disc jockey pseudonyms and program elements bear names making reference to things such as where the frog lives (in a pond), how a frog moves (hops), what noise a frog makes (cricket or ribbit), and other words that are related to frogs. Examples of the "Froggy" theme use words like the following:

Logo

For the most part, the logo of a "Froggy" branded radio station is a smiling green frog. The font, color, position and angles can vary, however, the frog is generally green with a red tongue. The variations on the logo include the radio station's frequency as well as whether it is referred to as "Frog", "Big Frog", or "Froggyland".

DJ monikers

Many DJs at Froggy-branded stations (known as "frog jocks") use pseudonyms that reflect the branding: Many of the Froggy stations that have the country format used the syndicated evening program Lia, often putting "Leapin'" in front of her name to "frogify" her, until that show ended production in 2022.

List of "Froggy" stations

In other media

The "Froggy" moniker is regularly lampooned on the Glenn Beck Program; Beck's alter ego, "Flap Jackson", is the morning jock at the fictional "109.9 The Big Frog". On the US television series The Office, there is a Froggy 101 bumper sticker on the wall behind the reception desk and file cabinet, next to the desk of Dwight Schrute. The Office is set in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where WGGY uses the moniker "Froggy 101".

Related brands

Confer's daughter, Kristin Cantrell, established the Bigfoot Country brand for her stations when entering radio ownership. She also eventually acquired a prominent Froggy imitator, The Pig, in 2019. In October 2022, Cantrell's Seven Mountains Media purchased a majority of Forever Media's stations, including six Froggy stations.