Mid-Spring 2025 media updates
Jeremy at the Sportsbook Denver Tech Center
Jeremy Levy back with you with some more updates. As always: if you have anything I have missed or anything you would like me to cover please feel free to e-mail me at Jeremymlevy@gmail.com. I will try and get it into the next issue of the blog.
The 2025 country radio awards are out, and 98.5 KYGO radio won station of the year. This is really good news for them. This is also the only station from Colorado that won an award.
Cherie Marquart has retired from West Wood radio in Colorado. She was with them for 30 years. I remember her volunteering for the Rocky Mountain PBS channel 6 auction in the early to mid- 2000’s. Good luck to her on her retirement.
In the Colorado Springs area, Royal Gorge Broadcasting’s stations in Canon City CO will be resurrected as the company has sold the former “Star Country 104.5” KSTY to ‘Meg Stanley’ Medley’s Frontier Frequencies for $30,000.
KSTY and News/Talk 1400 KRLN Canon City went silent at the end of 2024. At the time of the shutdown, Stanley told the Colorado Springs Gazette that the Nebraska based owners were ready to retire. She also said the stations weren’t adapting to listener and customer demands, “We weren’t keeping up … on the digital aspect of things, and it just came down to income versus expense. Not having the things we needed to accomplish digital demands this day and age, it just made it harder.” The stations have been owned by Norton Warner and his children since 1965. The family previously owned stations across Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. KRLN is not included in the deal as Royal Gorge retains its license, tower site, equipment and building. The seller also retains KSTY’s employee contracts and intellectual property.
Denis Prager is out of the hospital and will be coming back the first week of June for an hour show on the Salem stations. You can tune into his show in the Denver area on 710 KNUS radio, and if you are in Colorado Springs on 1460 The Answer, and on the Fm dial, you can tune into 101.1 FM. The answer in Colorado Springs. Mike Boyle played a message from Denis on his show. Denis wished everyone a happy Pass Over, and a happy Easter Saturday April 19 in the second hour of the Peter Boyles show, Peter was talking about the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing trial. Peter had a verry special guest named Steffan Tubbs. Steffan and Peter were working together on KOA and KTLK radio at the time respectively. Steffan was the morning news editor at the time. The news anchors at the time were Gus Mircus and Chris Randolf. Jerry Bell was the news director. You can catch this conversation on the podcast on the 710 KNUS radio website. I didn’t know that Steffan was working at KOA radio in 1995. It was good to hear Steffan’s voice again. He sounds like he is doing well. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1270-peter-boyles-show-podcast-31129471/episode/the-peter-boyles-show-041925--272936754/
On Friday April 17 both Mandy Connell and Ross Kaminsky were up at a house at Winter Park for the annual Children’s hospital house auction. Listeners could bid on the house, and the proceeds would go to help Children’s hospital. I really enjoyed the Ross Kaminsky show on this day. It was a great broadcast. It would have been great if Rick Lewis and Kathy Lee were up there doing their morning show. Rick Lewis was talking about this day back a couple of weeks ago. One of the people with a disability he interviewed is now a public speaker. There was a text message into the show saying they wished he would do this broadcast again. Rick said that they have a staff that is really small. Ross did a great job promoting the fundraiser. Ross and Mandy did a segment at the end of his show, and a segment into Mandy’s show called ask us anything. They took text messages from listeners who wanted to ask them questions, and Mandy and Ross both answered the question. I learned that one of Ross’s influences in radio was Peter Boyles. I thought that was interesting.
Premiere Radio Networks is going to be starting a new radio show that started out as a podcast. This podcast is the verdict with Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson. Ben is from Tennessee, and hosts a Sunday night radio show from there. Ted Cruz is a senator from Texas. There is no word yet if this show will be coming to any stations in Colorado. The radio insight article didn’t say. The article said that it will be on 100 radio stations. I think it would be great if the show did come to some Colorado stations. Premiere networks have many shows on I heart radio stations. https://www.premierenetworks.com/
The 2025 NFL draft happened on Thursday the 24th through the 26th of April. The sports radio stations in Denver covered this. KKFN 104.3 was at a restaurant on Thursday called the Sportsbook. My family and I went to go to and support them. The Bronco’s picked number 20 a corner back from Texas CB Jahdae Barron, I think 104.3 KKFN had the second-best coverage. 630 KHOW radio and 850 KOA radio had the best coverage on this weekend. My favorite player picked was WR Pat Bryant, a wide receiver from Illinois. I think he will help Bo Nicks out. I am really looking forward to this.
On the weekend of April 19th and 20th the Nuggets and the Avalanche won their first playoff games But they lost their second and third games and won their fourth games. The Avalanche were on 92.5 radio, and the Nuggets were on AM 950. Altitude Sports radio calls this a double dipparoo. Bret Kane, Mark Moser, and Vic Lombardie really enjoyed how the Avalanche played. They were also excited for the Nuggets win They are both looking forward to finding out how the rest of the playoffs go.
Altitude sports radio has a contest going on where the hosts give a key word at 20 past the hour, and listeners need to text in that word, and then they pick one person and that person will win tickets to that nights' Nuggets game. I think this is a fun contest idea. The next day for this contest is Tuesday the 29th.
JohnJay and Rich are on Kiss FM in Fort Collins, and the Springs on 96.1 radio. They have won the Kidd Kraddic award for 2025. This is great news for them. https://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n46966#:~:text=Named%20in%20memory%20of%20the%20late%20radio%20icon,to%20other%20shows%20and%20personalities%2C%22%20according%20to%20MSBC. Their show is based out of Phoenix Arizona and is distributed to hot adult contemporary stations.
KALC radio is adding a new person to its afternoon The Slacker Show. If you remember back last May Steve Weed left the Slacker and Steve show. They have filled the opening of Steve’s departure with Erica Shea. Erica was a part of the I heart media cuts last fall. She was with KZHT radio in Oklahoma City and was a part of I heart media in San Diego and Los Angeles. This will be an interesting show for KALC radio. I am hoping the show does well for the future of the station.
K-love is making some on air changes to their lineup. Scott and Kelley, who currently host from 3-7 PM on K-love 91.1 radio in Colorado are not going to be on in the afternoons anymore. They have been with K-love since 2008. Kelly will be on late nights from 1- 5 AM and Scott will be on from 9 AM to 12 PM weekday mornings. There will be more changes coming in the future. https://www.klove.com/music/blog/current-events/fresh-faces-different-drive-times-check-out-the-new-k-love-on-air-lineup-10218
Thanks for tuning in.