Bob Greenlee was the owner who assembled the Boulder radio properties that became KBCO. After a career in advertising, Greenlee and his wife Diane moved to Boulder and bought KADE-AM in 1975. Greenlee retained much of the staff and began searching for an FM station.
He acquired KRNW 97.3, a small Boulder FM station with a Class C authorization that made a major power increase possible. Greenlee hired Dennis Constantine to develop the FM programming and launched KBCO in 1977. The station eventually increased to 100,000 watts and grew from a Boulder operation into a major Denver-market station.
The Greenlees later moved KADE and KBCO to a studio complex on Riverbend Road and sold the stations to Noble Broadcast Group in 1987 in a transaction reported at roughly $27 million.
Sources: Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KBCO; Westword — Today, Boulder. Tomorrow, the World; Dennis Constantine — KBCO beginnings.
Stations They Worked At
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Career Moments
KBCO launches from Boulder
KBCO began broadcasting from Boulder on June 2, 1977 at noon after Bob and Diane Greenlee acquired KRNW 97.3. Program director Dennis Constantine helped build the new Colorado-oriented album format after working at KADE while the FM purchase awaited approval.
Noble Broadcast Group acquires KBCO and KADE
Bob and Diane Greenlee sold KBCO-FM and KADE-AM to Noble Broadcast Group in a transaction valued at $27.25 million. Contemporary Broadcasting reporting says the FCC granted the assignment October 7, 1987. Ray Skibitsky remained general manager as the stations entered the Noble era.
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