Instead of a hit music-dominated playlist, KMPX played more album cuts, local, emerging and cutting-edge artists, and a wide mix of genres such as rock, blues, jazz and folk music.

[7] In November 1967, Donahue was hired to bring the progressive rock to KMPX's sister station in Southern California, KPPC-FM.

[13] When Ludwig Wolfgang Frohlich,[14] the owner of National Science Network died, his estate explored various opportunities to sell the station.

[16] The company finally found a buyer in 1976, when Family Radio, owner of KEAR (97.3 FM), struck a deal to purchase the station for $1 million.

Their objections, backed by petitions signed by more than 20,000 listeners, held up the sale at the FCC and ended in a 1978 settlement where Golden Gate would take over the KMPX call letters and format on its own station.

After the baseball broadcasts concluded in October 2005, 610 AM dropped the KFRC call sign and became KEAR, while 106.9 FM became KIFR, with a new format to follow after a period of stunting.

On October 25, 2005, the Free FM talk radio format was launched, as the station began carrying the Tom Leykis and John and Jeff shows.

In addition, KIFR added locally based talk shows from The Dog House, John London, Darien O'Toole, Turi Ryder, Johnny Wendell and Scott and Casey.

Weekday evenings, then middays were hosted by Chris Daniel and Brad Giese, who came together on air as the topical call-in show The Gray Area.

was a one-hour weekend radio show that aired on Saturday mornings on KIFR that highlighted the world of video gaming.

Local management announced that some of the Free FM shows and hosts, such as Carolla, Leykis, and Opie and Anthony, would move to KYCY 1550 AM.

(KYCY would subsequently be replaced on January 1, 2009, with a version of KFRC affiliated with The True Oldies Channel, which was itself discontinued on August 31, 2011, in favor of Indian programming as KZDG.)

On October 27, 2008, at 7:40 a.m., after playing "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, and a 6+1⁄2-minute montage of famous events and songs from the 20th century, CBS Radio replaced KFRC's Classic Hits format with a simulcast of its all news AM station, KCBS.

[24][25] KFRC-FM is rebroadcast on the following FM Booster: ** = Audacy operates pursuant to a local marketing agreement with Martz Communications Group.