KBCO-FM

KBCO (97.3 FM) is a commercial adult album alternative radio station licensed to Boulder, Colorado, serving Boulder, Denver and Northern Colorado. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts horizontal and 85,000 watts vertical. Its current website is kbco.iheart.com.

History

The station began in 1955 as KRNW, owned by Robert Wilkinson, with 2,000 watts and studios at 1305 Spruce Street in Boulder. Bob Greenlee acquired the station in 1977 and changed its call letters to KBCO. The station developed a freeform music format rooted in Boulder’s local music scene; program director Dennis Constantine helped shape its early programming. The first song played under the KBCO identity was James Taylor’s “Handy Man.”

Signal upgrades expanded KBCO’s coverage from Boulder across the Denver market and Northern Colorado. The station became associated with album-oriented and adult alternative music, as well as its Studio C live-performance sessions. In 1982, KBCO became the first Colorado station reported to play music from compact discs on air. Studio C began in 1988 after Melissa Etheridge performed in a small production room; the station’s annual compilation releases later raised money for regional charities. Jacor Communications acquired KBCO in 1996. Clear Channel Communications acquired Jacor in 1999 and changed its corporate name to iHeartMedia in 2014. KBCO was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

Ownership

• 1955–1977: Robert Wilkinson, under the KRNW call letters.
• 1977–1996: Bob Greenlee and associated local ownership, under the KBCO call letters.
• 1996–1999: Jacor Communications.
• 1999–present: Clear Channel Communications, renamed iHeartMedia in 2014.

Technical information

• Frequency: 97.3 MHz.
• Effective radiated power: 100,000 watts horizontal; 85,000 watts vertical.
• Height above average terrain: 469 metres.
• Facility ID: 48966.
• Current format: Adult album alternative.
• Current station website: KBCO.

Studio locations

• 1305 Spruce Street, Boulder: KRNW’s original studio address when the station began in 1955.
• 4801 Riverbend Road, Boulder: studio complex used by KBCO and KADE after Bob Greenlee moved the stations there in the 1980s.
• Denver Tech Center: KBCO moved from Boulder to iHeartMedia’s shared Denver Tech Center studios in 2010.
• Current station office: 4695 South Monaco Street, Suite 400, Denver, Colorado 80237 (iHeartMedia’s Denver studios; KBCO remains licensed to Boulder).

Sources: Wikipedia, “KBCO”; KBCO, official contact page; Colorado Broadcasters Association, KBCO-FM.

Sources

• Wikipedia, “KBCO” — station history, ownership and technical details.
• Colorado Music Hall of Fame, “KBCO” — station’s contribution to Colorado music history.
• Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado, 2018 Hall of Fame — recognition of KBCO program director Dennis Constantine.
• Colorado Music Experience, “KBCO Studio C” — the 1988 Melissa Etheridge performance and annual compilation history.
• Erica Meltzer, Daily Camera, January 14, 2010, “KBCO to leave Boulder for new studio in Denver Tech Center”.
• The Denver Gazette, “Friends forever: Ginger looks back on 38 years at KBCO” — Studio C’s history and charitable fund-raising.
• KBCO, official website.