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KYGO-FM

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For the Norwegian musician, see Kygo.
KYGO-FM
Broadcast areaDenver metro area
Frequency98.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding98-5 KYGO
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatCountry
SubchannelsHD2: Classic country
HD3: KTLF simulcast (CCM)
AffiliationsCompass Media Networks
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
December 1, 1953; 70 years ago (1953-12-01)
Former call signs
KFML (1953–74)
KIMN-FM (1974–79)
KYGO (1979–88)[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID30829
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT555 meters (1,821 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
39°40′34″N 105°29′10″W / 39.676°N 105.486°W / 39.676; -105.486
Translator(s)HD3: 106.3 K292FM (Denver)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Listen live (via Audacy)
Listen live (HD2)
Websitewww.kygo.com

KYGO-FM (98.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado, United States. The Bonneville International country station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. Its studios are located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is on Mestaa’ehehe Mountain near Morrison.

KYGO-FM is Colorado's secondary (LP-2) Emergency Alert System station. AM 850 KOA is the primary (LP-1) station.

The radio station broadcasts in the HD Radio format.[3] The HD2 subchannel broadcasts classic country music as "KYGO Legendary Country." The HD3 subchannel simulcasts the Contemporary Christian format heard on KTLF in Colorado Springs.

History

KFML-FM and KIMN-FM

The station signed on the air on December 1, 1953 as KFML-FM.[4] It was owned by Everett A. Bancker, Jr. and was the FM counterpart to KFML (1390 AM, now KGNU). Because the AM station was a daytimer, listeners could continue to hear its programming after sunset on KFML-FM.

Following the sale of the station to Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting in 1974, the station took the KIMN-FM call sign. (The callsign KIMN currently resides at 100.3 FM in Denver, though that station is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.)

At first, KIMN-FM aired a softer album rock format while KIMN (950 AM, now KKSE) aired a Top 40 format. KIMN-FM later started playing Top 40 music, similar to its AM sister station. In the 1970s, there were a couple of country & western AM stations in Denver, though the music was not heard on FM, even though country was making inroads on FM stations in other cities.

Switch to KYGO Country

On July 7, 1980, 98.5 switched its call letters to KYGO; later that year, the station changed formats from contemporary hits to country music.[5] Bob Call, previously with country-formatted WSOC-FM in Charlotte, North Carolina, supervised the change. When he started at WSOC-FM, he said he knew little about country music, but learned fast. In 2006, as part of Lincoln Financial Media's acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot (including the J-P media properties), KYGO became a Lincoln Financial Media station.

On April 26, 1988, the station slightly changed its call letters to KYGO-FM. At the same time, AM 950 switched its call sign to KYGO, and began airing a classic country format, to be a companion to FM 98.5's more contemporary country direction.

In 2007, KYGO-FM was named "Country Music Station of the Year" in a top 25 market by Radio & Records magazine. Other nominees included WUSN Chicago, WYCD Detroit, KEEY-FM Minneapolis, WXTU Philadelphia, and KSON-FM San Diego.[6]

Ownership change

On December 8, 2014, Entercom announced it would purchase Lincoln Financial Group's entire 15-station lineup (including KYGO) in a $106.5 million deal. It operated the outlets under a local marketing agreement (LMA). On December 22, 2014, Entercom confirmed it would retain KYGO and its country format.[7] The FCC approved the deal on June 26, 2015.[8]

However, on July 14, 2015, the Department of Justice ruled that Entercom was over ownership and total market revenue limits in the Denver market; as a result, Entercom decided to spin off KYGO, KOSI, KKFN and KEPN to Bonneville International in exchange for Bonneville's Los Angeles station KSWD (now KKLQ). Both Bonneville and Entercom began operating their new clusters via Time Brokerage Agreements on July 17, 2015. The transaction was consummated on November 24, 2015.[9]

Taylor Swift incident

Main article: Taylor Swift sexual assault trial

KYGO hired David Mueller as a DJ in January 2013.[10] Mueller co-hosted the Ryno and Jackson morning show.[11] On June 2, 2013, Mueller attended a meet-and-greet event before a Taylor Swift concert at the Pepsi Center. While having her photograph taken with Mueller, Swift alleged that he reached under her skirt and groped her. Though Mueller denied touching Swift inappropriately, KYGO-FM General Manager Robert Call fired him on June 4. Mueller sued Swift in September 2015 for loss of income, alleging that her allegation had led to his wrongful termination.[12] Swift sued Mueller the next month. A civil trial began August 7, 2017.[10] A jury found Mueller liable for assault and battery and awarded Swift one dollar, the amount she had sought.[13]

References

  1. ^ F.C.C.'s callsign history page for KYGO-FM. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KYGO-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "HD Radio station guide for Knoxville, TN". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
  4. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1956 page 96
  5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 page C-34
  6. ^ "2007 Industry Achievement Awards". Radio and Records. September 28, 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008.
  7. ^ "Entercom Acquires Lincoln Financial Media" from Radio Insight (December 8, 2014)
  8. ^ "FCC OKs Lincoln Financial-Entercom Deal" from All Access (June 26, 2015)
  9. ^ "Entercom Settles DOJ Investigation; Swaps For 100.3 The Sound Los Angeles". 16 July 2015.
  10. ^ a b Finkelstein, Sabrina (7 August 2017). "A Timeline of Events Leading Up to Taylor Swift Groping Trial". Billboard. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  11. ^ McGhee, Tom (11 August 2017). "Before alleged Taylor Swift groping, radio host David Mueller's bosses were unsatisfied with his work". Denver Post. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  12. ^ Cuevas, Mayra. "Colorado DJ sues Taylor Swift over accusation". CNN. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  13. ^ Konopasek, Michael (14 August 2017). "Taylor Swift trial verdict: Jury finds David Mueller committed assault, battery". KDVR. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
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