Brad Hart is a longtime Colorado broadcast engineer whose career became closely associated with KYGO and the Denver radio cluster later operated by Jefferson Pilot Communications, Lincoln Financial Media and Bonneville. Industry accounts describe a career at KYGO spanning approximately 50 years, making Hart one of the enduring technical figures in modern Denver radio.
Denver engineering career
By the early 2000s Hart was Chief Engineer for Jefferson Pilot Communications’ Denver cluster. In 2003, when KQKS-FM 107.5 upgraded its on-air processing, equipment manufacturer Telos/Omnia identified Hart as the cluster’s chief engineer and quoted him discussing the station’s new Omnia-6 audio processor.
Trade coverage in 2006 again identified Hart as Jefferson Pilot Denver’s chief engineer, with Gary Nakashima serving as assistant chief engineer. The two engineers became important mentors within the profession; a young chief engineer profiled by Radio World credited both Hart and Nakashima with helping him develop his career.
Lincoln Financial Media facility
Following the transition from Jefferson Pilot to Lincoln Financial Media, Hart served as Director of Engineering in Denver and Nakashima as Assistant Chief Engineer. The pair jointly documented the engineering and construction of Lincoln Financial Denver’s consolidated radio facility. The approximately 30,000-square-foot plant brought KYGO-FM, KJCD-FM, KQKS-FM, KEPN-AM and KKFN-AM together at one location after the stations had previously operated from two sites.
The project replaced an aging Jefferson Pilot facility dating to the early 1980s and allowed the engineering department to design a modern plant around the needs of five stations. Hart and Nakashima’s published technical account preserved details of the planning, studio construction, infrastructure and operational reasoning behind the move.
Bonneville and mentorship
Hart remained a major figure in Denver radio engineering through the Bonneville era. In 2019, National Association of Broadcasters committee records listed Brad Hart of Bonneville Radio as a member of the NAB Radio Technology Committee.
Hart also played an important role in training the next generation of Denver engineers. Michele Grove, who began working around KYGO engineering as a teenager and later became Bonneville Denver’s chief engineer, credited Hart as a major mentor. Radio World reported that Hart had been with KYGO for approximately 50 years. Grove returned to KYGO in 2022 after Hart offered her a position; Hart retired shortly afterward and Grove succeeded him as chief engineer.
Legacy
Hart’s career spans multiple ownership eras and major technological transitions in Denver broadcasting. His work included traditional transmitter and studio engineering, digital audio and processing systems, large-scale facility design, industry technical committees and decades of mentoring other engineers.
Sources
- Telos Alliance, July 11, 2003 — identifies Hart as Jefferson Pilot Denver chief engineer and documents KQKS processing work.
- Radio World, “Young Engineers, Please Stand Up” — identifies Hart and Gary Nakashima as Jefferson Pilot Denver chief and assistant chief engineers and documents their mentorship.
- Radio Guide, November 2007 — Hart and Nakashima’s technical article on Lincoln Financial Denver’s consolidated facility.
- National Association of Broadcasters, 2019 committee roster — lists Hart of Bonneville Radio on the Radio Technology Committee.
- Radio World, profile of Michele Grove — documents Hart’s approximately 50 years with KYGO, mentorship of Grove and retirement.
Stations They Worked At
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