KUNC ADDS SECOND STATION – 24/7 TRIPLE A BEGINS FEBRUARY 29, 2016

The Denver Post reported on Monday 12/7 [link] that Greeley-based KUNC has agreed to purchase KJAC 105.5 FM and will provide 24/7 Triple A music on the new station.  Pending FCC approval, the new 105.5 FM is scheduled to begin on February 29, 2016. KUNC 91.5 will become 24/7 NPR News. The purchase price has not yet been disclosed.

KUNC’s acquisition is the latest chapter in the 15-year battle between KUNC and Colorado Public Radio (CPR), based in Denver.  In May we covered [link] CPR’s new KVOQ 102.3 FM known as OpenAir. KUNC currently has a dual-format of NPR News and Triple A.

Denver is a part of Colorado’s Front Range, a “megacity” that extends from Ft. Collins on the north to Colorado Springs on the south. The Front Range has been one of the most competitive rock music markets for over thirty years. The new 105.5 means that four FM stations will soon be competing 24/7 for listeners in the “Triple A, Modern Rock, Progressive Rock, Music Discovery” cohort.

WHERE THE COMPETITORS STAND NOW

Commercial station KBCO, Boulder led the pack for years.  Challengers came and went. A few years ago commercial station KTCL, licensed to Ft. Collins, upgraded its signal and went head-to-head with KBCO with significantly success. KTCL also demonstrated that a station need not be “a Denver station” to pull big numbers in Denver.

Meanwhile KUNC established itself as a NPR News/eclectic music hybrid. KUNC’s music mix ranged from smooth jazz to folk rock with limited results.  Earlier this year KUNC upped the ante by hiring consultant Mike Henry from Paragon Media Strategies to refocus KUNC’s music.  Around the same time, CPR acquired 102.3 and moved its OpenAir format from AM.

According to the November 2015 Nielsen Audio PPM ratings, KBCO and KTCL are the biggest players in the Denver Metro:

AVERAGE QUARTER HOUR SHARE %

	STATION	AQH
Denver	KBCO*	4.8
Denver	KTCL*	4.8
Denver	KUNC	0.5
Denver	KVOQ	0.2

WEEKLY CUMULATIVE LISTENERS

	STATION	CUME
Denver	KBCO*	547,900
Denver	KTCL*	604,200
Denver	KUNC	65,200
Denver	KVOQ	53,800

* KBCO & KTCL are commercial stations

In addition to its listeners in the Denver Metro, KUNC has many additional listeners in the Ft. Collins/Greeley Metro. According to the Spring 2015 Nielsen Audio Diary report, KUNC had an estimated 46,100 weekly cumulative listeners in Ft. Collins/Greeley.

105.5 FM CURRENT COVERAGE AREA

 105.5 FM broadcasts from the same tower site as KUNC and will cover roughly the same area as 91.5. 105.5 has a much bigger coverage area than KVOQ.  Keep in mind the Front Range market is larger than the Denver Metro and KUNC’s new station will have a competitive advantage.

KVOQ 1O2.3 CURRENT COVERAGE AREA

It will take time to shakeout winners and losers because there are many, many potential listeners. Perhaps the two noncoms will cause a commercial competitor to change because of pressure to meet audience numbers large enough to  continue paying piles of corporate debt.

NEIL BEST: TAKE A VICTORY LAP

In 2001 Neil Best organized an effort to save KUNC from its immanent sale to Colorado Public Radio.  When Best heard about the pending sale to CPR, he took action. He led an effort that raised $2,000,000 in 20 days and created a local organization – Community Radio for Northern Colorado – to buy KUNC’s license.

NEIL BEST • NONCOM RADIO HERO

You can see Best’s message to KUNC’s supporters here [link]. Here is a portion of that message:

It is with great pleasure I announce the most exciting news since KUNC became an independent community radio station in 2001. For nearly 49 years our staff has been bringing you news, information, and music programming on a single frequency. In a few short weeks that will change. You will be able to turn to us for news and information 24 hours-a-day, and you will also be able to enjoy KUNC's Music Discovery 24-hours a day.
KUNC has reached an agreement to purchase the radio station license for KJAC, heard at 105.5fm along the Front Range.

Beginning on Feb. 29, when you tune to KUNC at 91.5fm you will find news and information programming throughout the day, every day. When you tune to 105.5fm, you will hear KUNC's Music Discovery throughout the day, every day. In essence, instead of us switching to music at 9 a.m. and back to news and information at 2 p.m., you get to decide what you want to listen to throughout the day.

As you can well imagine, this is a huge undertaking. Between now and Feb. 29, we will be focusing on putting together all the details necessary to ensure the best possible service to you. This includes decisions on specific program schedules, technical considerations, staffing opportunities – a long list of details.

It's daunting and at the same time very exciting.

Purchasing the 105.5fm signal is being made possible thanks in large part to a major gift from Amy and Paul Hach. Additional funding for the purchase will come from reserve funds stewarded by our board of directors over the last 14 years, as well as some financing. At this time additional donors and foundations are considering gifts to assist with this purchase.