Denver Broncos Continue NFL’s Shift To FM

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Radio Insight:

148

The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with Clear Channel on a four-year extension of their radio rights agreement.

The move keeps the Broncos on News/Talk 850 KOA, which has served as the team’s flagship station since 1969. Dave Logan will return for his 17th season (and 24th overall) as play-by-play man and Ed McCaffrey comes back for his second year as analyst. The team will expand its 60+ station regional network with the addition of simulcasts on Clear Channel’s Classic Rock “103.5 The Fox” KRFX in Denver.

With the addition of KRFX, the Broncos leave a small group of teams without FM gameday broadcasts in their home markets. The Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins have suburban FM simulcasts for their flagship AM. The Green Bay Packers are on FM in Green Bay, but not in their primary broadcast market of Milwaukee. The Buffalo Bills are heard exclusively on Entercom’s 550 WGR.

Of the remaining teams, seven franchises are heard exclusively on FM, while Denver joins an additional 20 teams with an AM/FM simulcast.

more (http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/81775/denver-broncos-continue-nfls-shift-to-fm/)

[Timelord1956]

Thank goodness! Now, if we could only get the Rockies on an FM, too!

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Radio Online:

News/Talk KOA-AM/Denver inks a four-year extension with the Denver Broncos to continue as its flagship outlet, a role it has played since 1969. Under the deal, the Broncos add FM coverage with game day play-by-play airing on Clear Channel co-owned Classic Rock KRFX-FM (103.5 The Fox). KOA's Dave Logan is entering his 24th season in the Broncos broadcast booth and 17th season as the radio play-by-play voice. Former Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey will be back for his second year as color commentator.

"850 KOA and the Denver Broncos have been a winning combination for more than 40 years. Now, in 2013, we're thrilled to extend our Broncos coverage to a wider audience with the addition of 103.5 The Fox as our FM simulcast partner," said Market President Pat Connor. "This new Broncos agreement, along with recent long term extensions with the Colorado Rockies and University of Colorado Football and Basketball, will ensure 850 KOA remains the play-by-play sports destination for Colorado's sports fans."

"The Denver Broncos and 850 KOA have a partnership spanning more than four decades and we are excited to continue that Rocky Mountain tradition," added Broncos Senior VP/Business Development Mac Freeman. "The new simulcast agreement with 103.5 The Fox will further enhance our ability to reach fans with a first-class radio broadcast."

more (http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n26789)

[DenverDiamondJack]

This is probably the first step in a long process of converting one - perhaps even more - of Clear Channel's FM properties in Denver to a largely all sports format. It is easy to see the baseball Colorado Rockies, as well as the University of Colorado football and basketball schedules slowly moving over to KRFX, KBPI, or KTCL in the coming few to several years. Other local and national sports broadcasts exist that could be added as well. With the increasing evident marked decline in music listeners for terran radio by those age 35 and under, sports programming looks to be an increasing valuable asset as a replacement and alternative to the dying FM music format which had been dominant for decades. AM radio has plenty of material to draw from to fill its programming from various national and local talk personalities to cover the time that has been filled by national and local sports programming. Lincoln has already done this to some extent with KKFN often simulcasting Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets game along with the primary AM outlet, KRWZ. When Kroenke sports properties broadcast schedules have overlapped, 93.7 FM - the FM sister station of KCKK 1510 AM - has also broadcast Avalanche and Nuggets games over the past several months during this soon to be completed season. And Front Range's KJAC recently became the broadcast outlet for Colorado State Rams sports, although the signal is not able to be received easily and cleanly throughout the Denver metro area. KJAC replaces KLZ.

[DenverDiamondJack]

.... and I failed to mention the lucrative financial benefits of such changes, as this recent column describes: http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2643955&spid=24698

[radiodude]

Last night, I tuned into 103.5 The FOx to listen to the Broncons game, and I have to say that it is about time! Now I know, it was once on BIG Country 97.9 but that only lasted for one month. This was also streamed on the 103.5 The Fox's web site to. Now I see and understand why Football is never streamed online, the lag was so bad. It's great that CC made this deal, and now I look forward to listenin to the Rams game for once ON FM, on 105.5! That is going to be great!