CPR Buys KDSP. OpenAir To Move To 102.3 FM. ESPN Will Only Be On 105.5 FM. Starting January 27th

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From Radio Insight:



Colorado Public Radio has announced they have purchased Sports “ESPN 102.3” KDSP Greenwood Village/Denver, CO from Front Range Sports Network. Paying $5.75 million for the station, Colorado Public Radio will flip it on January 27 to a simulcast of its Adult Alternative “Open Air” 1340 KVOQ Denver. “Open Air” focuses on new music with an emphasis on local artists. It is one of three brands operated by CPR including a statewide Public News/Talk network based at 90.1 KCFR-FM Denver and a Classical network based at 88.1 KVOD-FM Lakewood. Public Media Company represented CPR in the transaction. The purchase of KDSP will be financed through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, which is the same financing process CPR has followed for the past 15 years. Over time, the loan will be paid off by increased listener support. KDSP is already promoting that its “ESPN Denver” programming will now be heard exclusively on 105.5 KJAC Tinmath/Fort Collins.

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[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:



Ah, fidelity!

Colorado Public Radio’s OpenAir will begin broadcasting on 102.3 FM on Jan. 27. Since it debuted on 1340 AM and online three years ago, the goal was to evolve to an FM signal. Colorado Public Radio President Max Wycisk called this a “natural next step” in the signal’s evolution. “It meets an expressed listener need to strengthen the quality of the service while also making it more accessible across the Front Range,” he said in a statement.

From the start, OpenAir was considered an internet radio station that just happened to have a tower and a weak AM signal. Now it will debut as an FM station, not just for those on computers, while still simulcasting on 1340 AM for several months. The station will operate as KDSP until the FCC approves the purchase. Once that happens (likely in the spring), the call letters are expected to change to KVOQ AM and FM.

An application has been filed with the FCC for the purchase of the FM signal from Front Range Sports Network, LLC for $5.75 million. Public Media Company represented CPR in the transaction. The purchase will be financed through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, which is the same financing process CPR has followed for the past 15 years. Over time, the loan will be paid off by increased listener support.

This signal was formerly ESPN Radio Denver, which is moving to the less desirable 105.5 FM.

Wycisk, who has worked on finding an FM outlet since OpenAir’s launch, told his staff the news at noon Monday and “the enthusiasm was huge.”

The three years on AM have been “a gestation period, allowed us to make connections with bands” and establish the format, Wycisk said. Nothing will change in the switch to FM. The goal continues to be to emulate Minnesota Public Radio’s 10-year-old The Current, a rock-based new music station that serves as an important part of the culture of the Twin Cities.

There will be no capital campaign; the loan will be paid back through listener donations, Wycisk said.

Marc Hand, whose Public Media Company represented CPR in the deal, said, it has been a long project and “it’s nice to finally get to the finish line.” A model for the project was public station KUT in Austin, which similarly moved from AM to FM for a purchase price of $6 million. The audience was projected to grow to 50,000 in the first year; instead it reached 130,000 listeners in the first month, Hand said. “This kind of format is increasingly successful in the public radio world,” he said. Public stations in Seattle, Minneapolis, New York and Los Angeles are similarly serving audiences passionate about eclectic and local new music.

See the history of CPR’s acquisition of 1340 AM, its 2000 plan to split into separate news and music channels.

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[Rob]

Front Range Sports now has $5.75 million to put towards buying KKFN 104.3 FM... they had signed the deal (selling KDSP) with CPR on December 18th, so the deal has probably been in the works before news came out that Entercom would be selling KKFN. So it makes you wonder if they will try to get KKFN or are trying to get out of the radio biz.
I'm hearing the changes with KDSP may happen one day earlier - Monday the 26th, not Tuesday the 27th. I changed the thread title to reflect that, but could still be pushed to the 27th, depending on technical issues. Also, CPR has applied with the FCC to make KDSP a non-commercial station.

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From All Access:

The DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL is reporting that FRONT RANGE SPORTS NETWORK is selling Sports KDSP (102.3 ESPN)/GREENWOOD VILLAGE-DENVER, CO to COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO for $5.75 million. CPR will simulcast the format of its Triple A KVOQ-A (OPENAIR)/DENVER on the FM station starting JANUARY 23rd. The deal has yet to appear in the FCC database.

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From the Denver Business Journal:



OpenAir, Colorado Public Radio's channel for popular music, is going high fidelity.

Since it launched in October 2011, OpenAir has broadcast in monaural on the AM band at 1340. On Jan. 27, the station will be heard on 102.3 FM in stereo, CPR said Monday.

FM stations have higher audio quality than AM outlets. CPR said the change will "significantly improve" audio quality in the Boulder area as well as metro Denver.

"This is the natural next step for OpenAir's evolution," said CPR President Max Wycisk. "It meets an expressed listener need to strengthen the quality of the service while also making it more accessible across the Front Range."

OpenAir also will keep its 1340-AM frequency, and is streamed online at openaircpr.org.

The FM frequency has been used by sports channel KDSP, branded as 102.3 ESPN. CPR said it has filed with the Federal Communications Commission to buy the signal from Front Range Sports Network LLC for $5.75 million.

The nonprofit broadcaster said it will finance the purchase by issuing tax-exempt bonds to be paid off "by increased listener support."
OpenAir describes its format as "the best in new music from the local, national and international music community."

In addition to its flagship news channel at 90.1 FM in Denver, CPR also offers a classical-music channel at 88.1 FM in Denver and 99.9 FM in Boulder. It also uses several repeater stations around the state.

[DenverDXer]

102.3FM ESPN is stunting today with a raucous "we're moved" song and lots of announcements that they are now on 105.5. Tomorrow, CPR's Open Air takes over 102.3

[radiodude]

Here is an interesting fact, now that ESPN programming is on 105.5, they left out most of Denver, since the signal doesn't reach south of Denver at all! When you go towards Greenwood Village you would pick up the 105.5 out of the springs.