ONE-YEAR DIARY MARKET TRENDS: COLORADO FRONT RANGE

Communities on Colorado’s Front Range have many things in common. In some ways it is mega-city that stretches from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs or even Cheyenne, Wyoming to Pueblo.  Three examples of commonalities are I-25, the Denver Broncos and a tradition of great radio stations.

I lived in Fort Collins for two years managing KCSU and almost three years in The Springs doing affiliate sales at Transtar Radio Network. I loved the place, particularly Fort Fun.  Any radio person arriving in Colorado knows that magnets point to KOA-AM and Universal Coordinated Time is available 24/7 from WWV.  There are likely devices in your home that use WWV to set their time.

 Denver radio stations have a huge influence on the Front Range. Each of the three Nielsen Audio Diary markets – Fort Collins/Greeley, Colorado Springs and Pueblo – have outstanding local/regional noncom stations. KCFR, Denver, has a strong and growing presence in all three markets via repeaters.  Scroll down to see individual market ratings.

Fort Collins and Greeley are about 30-miles apart.  KUNC is the dominant noncom player and is also a factor in the Denver metro. If you hypothetically combine KUNC’s Nielsen Audio’s weekly cumulative listeners in Denver, they reach over 120,000 weekly listeners. (CAUTION: The methodologies and sample size are different for PPM and Diary markets.)

Changes are happening: Around March 1^st KUNC will debut its new 24/7 Triple A station and KUNC will switch to 24/7 NPR News. Last year Colorado Public Radio’s (CPR) OpenAir added a repeater – 88.3 KVXQ – in Ft. Collins and it is already drawing listening.  Other noncoms that likely draw measurable listening are College Rock KCSU, progressive community alternative KRFC and the ubiquitous CCM K-Love, found at several spots on the dial.

 I give the highest praise to KRCC for its performance in both Colorado Springs and Pueblo. KRCC’s combined weekly listeners total more than 100,000. (CAUTION: There may be overlaps in the two samples.)  When I worked selling 24/7 satellite-delivery commercial formats at Transtar, I volunteered at KRCC to keep my noncom heart alive.

Over half of the noncommercial signals serving Colorado Springs air some form of Evangelical Christian programming. The BIG CCM in the market is Salem Broadcasting's commercial KBIQ.

In Pueblo you gotta love College Rock KTSC Rev 89, one of the highest rated college stations in the nation. They not only provide excellent instruction, they serve the whole city. Check KTSC out at [link]. 

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