Colorado’s all-sports radio station KKSE(FM) hopes to score better coverage of the Denver metro area in a filing with the FCC to modify its facilities.
The KSE Radio Ventures station “Altitude 92.5” is licensed to Broomfield, Colo., a community northwest of Denver, but has proposed a minor modification amendment to downgrade from Class C1 FM to Class C2 FM.
The licensee’s filing last week detailed the modifications to move its existing antenna to a new location on Eldorado Mountain, just south of Boulder. It also included a change in antenna pattern.
Representatives of the licensee didn’t respond to a Radio World email seeking comment, but it appears the move would allow the station to better reach the southern suburbs of the sports-crazy Denver market, according to coverage maps attached to the filing.
The FCC says it receives downgrade requests from stations from time to time, so the request to drop in class is not unique, according to an FCC spokesperson.
KSE Radio Ventures told the FCC the proposed facility meets all minimum distance separation requirements with regard to co-channel, first, second and third adjacent channel stations, except for neighboring first-adjacent Class C KKCH in Glenwood Springs, Colo., on 92.7 MHz.
The newly-proposed facility is short-spaced 1.5 kilometers to KKCH, according to the filing.
The application proposes “contour protection for KKCH” in accordance with FCC guidelines, the licensee states. “Therefore, the proposed facility is permitted to use contour protection toward the short-spaced facility,” KSE Media Sports said in its filing.
The station proposes using a one-bay AAT Panel antenna at the new location at a height of 28 meters and radiating 5.6 kW ERP.
Altitude 92.5’s signal currently covers the northern suburbs of Denver, but the change in tower locations would result in enhanced service to Boulder and the Denver metro, according to maps included with the technical filing.
The FCC spokesperson told Radio World the commission has received the downgrade request but hasn’t fully examined the filing. It will determine next steps in the process at a later date.
Even with its limited signal coverage, KKSE managed to rate a 1.4 share in the Denver/Boulder market in September 2023 for listeners 6+, Mon–Sun, 6 a.m.–midnight, according to Nielsen. That places it behind Bonneville’s sports talker KKFN(FM) (4.6).
KSE Radio Ventures also owns KXKL(FM), KIMN(FM) and KKSE(AM) in the Denver market.
