Mike Irby is one of the people who makes sure KOA, 94.1 and the rest of iHeartMedia’s Denver lineup actually come out of your speakers. He’s been in radio engineering since 1985 and became the top technical executive for the company’s Denver stations.
Before Colorado
Mike’s early career took him through engineering and IT jobs in Dallas, Phoenix, Houston and Tucson, including time with Continental Electronics and then engineering leadership for Clear Channel. While running engineering for Clear Channel’s Tucson stations, including KRQQ, he was named the company’s West Region Medium Market Engineer of the Year in 2007.
Denver
In late 2010 he took the chief engineer job for Clear Channel’s Denver market, looking after a cluster of eight stations. By 2012 he was director of engineering and IT, and after the company became iHeartMedia he was vice president of engineering for iHeartMedia Denver. His territory covered KOA, KRFX and the company’s sports, music and talk stations, plus all the studios, IT and transmitter sites behind them. He also served as president of SBE Chapter 32.
Super Bowl 50
In February 2016 Mike wrote up how his team pulled off iHeartMedia Denver’s Super Bowl 50 coverage: a full week of shows from Radio Row for KOA, KRFX and Denver Sports 760, plus KOA’s game-day broadcast from Levi’s Stadium, all originating from the San Francisco Bay Area. His account covered the gear, connectivity, RF coordination and logistics it took.
Working with Denver’s engineering greats
When longtime KBCO chief engineer Bill Kleronomos died in 2012, Mike called him an integral part of the Denver engineering team, remembered working with him even before moving to Denver, and credited his work during Clear Channel’s early HD Radio rollout. Professional records still list Mike as iHeartMedia’s vice president of engineering for the Denver region.
Sources
- Tucson Weekly, Media Watch — Irby’s move to Denver and Clear Channel’s eight-station cluster.
- Radio World, March 20, 2007 — Clear Channel Engineer of the Year recognition.
- Radio World, November 15, 2012 — Irby as Director of Engineering & IT for Clear Channel Denver.
- Radio World, February 3, 2016 — Irby’s account of Super Bowl 50 preparations.
- Radio World, February 5, 2016 — Irby’s account from Radio Row and Levi’s Stadium.
Stations They Worked At
FROM THE TIMELINE
Career Moments
Mike Irby takes engineering leadership of Clear Channel Denver
2010 – Mike Irby accepted the chief-engineer position for Clear Channel's Denver market, taking responsibility for the technical operations of the company's eight-station cluster. Irby had previously been handling engineering and IT duties in Tucson and Denver while the company prepared for the transition.
Mike Irby leads iHeartMedia Denver engineering for Super Bowl 50
February 2016 – iHeartMedia Denver Vice President of Engineering Mike Irby led technical preparations supporting KOA, KRFX and Denver Sports 760 broadcasts from Super Bowl 50 Radio Row. The operation also included KOA's game-day broadcast from Levi's Stadium.
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