KEPN 1600 is ESPN Denver, and the current name of the frequency that started out as country station KLAK in 1955. KLAK signed on January 8, 1955, on 1580 as a 250-watt daytimer, moved to 1600 with 1,000 watts and full-time hours in 1957, and reached 5,000 watts by 1961. Over the next decades it went through formats and call letters (KRXY, KWMX), often simulcasting 107.7 FM.
In 1994 it became KYGO, playing classic country apart from KYGO-FM. In 1999 it started simulcasting KCKK-FM’s “K104.3” and took the KCKK calls. When the FM went smooth jazz in 2000, 1600 kept classic country as “16 Kicks.” Lincoln Financial bought it in 2006, and on January 1, 2007, it became KEPN with ESPN Radio. ESPN moved to 105.5 KJAC in September 2012 and KEPN switched to Fox Sports Radio.
After Entercom bought Lincoln’s stations in December 2014, the Justice Department made it sell KEPN, and Bonneville International took it over in July 2015. On January 4, 2016, KEPN went back to ESPN Radio full time, and it rebranded as “Denver Sports” on January 3, 2023.
Station information
- Frequency: 1600 kHz (1580 kHz until 1957).
- City of license: Lakewood.
- Signed on: January 8, 1955.
- Branding: 1600 ESPN Denver / Denver Sports.
- Call history: KLAK (1955–1987), KRXY (1987–1993), KWMX (1993–1994), KYGO (1994–1999), KCKK (1999–2006), KEPN (2006–present).
- Owner: Bonneville International (since 2015).
- FCC facility ID: 30823.
References
Catalog note: The archive’s KCKK-AM page describes KCKK on 1510 AM (now KPLS). The KCKK call letters appear to have been used on both 1600 and 1510 at different times.
STATION FILE
FROM THE TIMELINE
Moments in KEPN-AM History
1600 AM becomes KEPN with ESPN Radio
January 1, 2007 — After years of classic country as “16 Kicks,” Lincoln Financial's 1600 AM became KEPN, Denver's ESPN Radio station. ESPN moved to 105.5 in 2012, then came back to KEPN full time on January 4, 2016.
Justice Department forces sale of KEPN to Bonneville
July 2015 — After Entercom bought Lincoln Financial's stations in December 2014, the Justice Department required it to sell some Denver stations to stay under ownership limits. KEPN 1600 went to Bonneville International.
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