KKCL (AM)

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KKCL
City Golden, Colorado
Broadcast area Golden, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
Branding 96.9 The Cloud
Frequency 1550 kHz
Translator(s) 96.9 K245AD (Arvada)
First air date 2011 (as KGCQ)
Format Triple AC (a new radio format developed by the new owner)
Power 990 watts daytime
350 watts nighttime
99 watts (translator)
Class B
Facility ID 161314
Transmitter coordinates 39°53′31″N 105°14′20″W / 39.89194°N 105.23889°W / 39.89194; -105.23889
Callsign meaning KK CLoud
Former callsigns KGCQ (2011-2012)
KDCO (2012-2015)
KBUD (2015-2016)
Owner Chuck Lontine
(Mainstreet Media of Colorado, LLC)
Sister stations K245AD, K245CM
Webcast http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KKCL
Website thecloud.fm

KKCL (1550 kHz "The Cloud") is a commercial radio station licensed to Golden, Colorado, and serving the Denver/Boulder media market. The station airs a Triple AC radio format.[1] The station had previously spent time as a sports radio station and a cannabis culture-themed classic rock station known as Smokin' 94.1.

KKCL has been granted an FCC construction permit to increase day power to 5000 watts.[2] It currently runs at just under 1000 watts by day and 350 watts at night. Because AM 1550 is a clear channel frequency reserved for Canada and Mexico, KKCL is limited in its power output.

To improve its coverage, programming also airs on an FM translator, K245AD at 96.9 MHz.[3]

History[edit]

Mile High Sports[edit]

The station first signed on in 2011 as KGCQ. Until June 1, 2015, the station was the home for Mile High Sports, a multimedia sports-marketing and publishing company based in Denver via a partnership with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. Mile High Sports was the radio flagship for the Denver Nuggets basketball team, Colorado Avalanche hockey team, Colorado Mammoth, and Colorado Rapids.[4] The station also broadcast the Falcons' football and basketball from the Air Force Academy and syndicated National Football League games through the Sports USA Radio Network.

The station was also partnered with KCKK, which was the flagship of Mile High Sports until it flipped to Adult Hits in March 2014.[5] Later it partnered with Lincoln Financial Media outlet KKFN for sharing Nuggets and Avalanche games, while leasing out KQKS' HD2 sub-channel to cover the Denver-Boulder area that its FM translator can not reach.

On November 4, 2014, Advance Modulation sold then-KDCO/K231BQ to 4K's LLLP for $550,000, pending FCC approval.[6] The sale closed on February 5, 2015. On May 22, 2015, KDCO/K231BQ temporarily went off the air after it was sold to Marco Broadcasting, owned by Marc Paskin, who acquired the station in March 2015 from 4K.[7][8] The purchase by Marco Broadcasting closed on May 20, 2015 at a price of $875,000.

Smokin' 94.1[edit]

On June 1, 2015, the station changed its call letters to KBUD, flipping to a marijuana-themed classic rock format, branded as Smokin 94.1. (The 94.1 designation referred to the station's translator dial position.) The format was aimed at the region's cannabis culture; Paskin himself served as the drive-time host under the alias "Gary Ganja" (and performed a news update at 4:20 p.m as "O.G. Kush"), and call-in segments involved cannabis-oriented topics. The station picked up syndicated Bubba the Love Sponge as its morning show (owing to its namesake's support of marijuana legalization), and played clips from stoner films as well as comedy sketches recorded by Paskin. Paskin explained that the format was meant to be a throwback to the "old days of radio", stating that "radio has become boring, it's corporate-controlled, every station sounds alike. If you tell a weird joke, they'll fire you." The station did not carry advertising, primarily due to potential legal issues involving the advertising of cannabis and related products, as cannabis is illegal under federal law.[7][9][10]

On October 23, 2015, the K231BQ translator was sold to iHeartMedia, who converted it to an FM simulcast of KOA on November 1, 2015.[11] A KBUD personality explained that the sale was related to health problems being faced by Paskin.[12][13]

96.9 The Cloud[edit]

In November 2015, KBUD was sold to Marconi Wireless of Colorado, with the new owners intending to launch a new station known as "The Cloud".[14]

The station changed its call sign to KKCL on January 13, 2016. The sale to Marconi Wireless was consummated on February 17, 2016 at a price of $125,000. On February 29, 2016, KKCL returned to the air, coupled with an FM translator station on 96.9, carrying a Modern AC/AAA format, branded as "The Cloud".[15] One May 23, 2016, Marconi Wireless owner Chuck Lontine transferred the license for KKCL to Mainstreet Media of Colorado, LLC, also wholly owned by Lontine. On November 11, 2016 Main Street added a second FM translator license in Golden, Colorado. According to FCC filings, Main Street moved this new translator from Gunnison, Colorado under the AM Revitalization Act. The purchase price was $30,000.00. The additional translator added substantial coverage into the western suburbs of the Denver/Boulder radio market.

Chuck Lontine (a retired investment banker) has owned radio stations throughout the state of Colorado. Including Vail, Boulder, Colorado Springs and Loveland. Prior to banking, Lontine held general management positions in Orlando, Florida, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and in Denver, Colorado. His radio sales management career includes stints at WLS in Chicago, WEGX and WYSP in Philadelphia, KOME in San Jose and KMGX in Fresno, Calfornia and KCMO, KLTH, KMBZ in Kansas City.

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/25/new-radio-station-the-cloud-covers-denver/
  2. ^ "FCC Construction Permit". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. 
  3. ^ http://radio-locator.com/info/K245AD-FX
  4. ^ Mile High Sports Denver Relocates from Radio Insight (November 7, 2014)
  5. ^ The Rock Lands in Denver from Radio Insight (March 13, 2014)
  6. ^ "Station Sales The Week Of November 7" from Radio Insight (November 7, 2014)
  7. ^ a b "In Denver, a La Jolla millionaire's marijuana radio station puts fresh spin on rock and 'roll'". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 27 October 2015. 
  8. ^ "Mile High Sports Temporarily Off In Denver" from Radio Insight (May 22, 2015)
  9. ^ "Denver marijuana radio station debuts as Smokin 94.1 FM". Ostrow Off the Record (Denver Post). Retrieved 27 October 2015. 
  10. ^ "Marijuana Is in the Air and on It, Too". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 October 2015. 
  11. ^ "KOA is now simulcasting, taking over 94.1FM". The Denver Post. November 1, 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015. 
  12. ^ "iHeart Acquires Smokin 94.1 Denver". Radio Insight. Retrieved 27 October 2015. 
  13. ^ "Denver's KBUD Goes Up In Smoke.". Inside Radio. Retrieved 27 October 2015. 
  14. ^ "Station Sales Week Of 11/13: A New Cloud To Rise Over Boulder". Radio Insight. Retrieved 28 November 2015. 
  15. ^ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/105991/cloud-launches-in-boulder/

External links[edit]

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