KBCO

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KBCO-FM

City of license	Boulder, Colorado
Broadcast area	Denver/Boulder, Colorado
Slogan	World Class Rock
First air date	Around 1950 as KFEL-FM
Frequency	97.3 MHz
Format	Adult album alternative
ERP	100,000 watts
Class	C
Callsign meaning	Boulder, CO (KBCO's city of license.)
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
Website	www.kbcoradio.com

KBCO-FM is an adult album alternative radio station licensed to Boulder, Colorado and serves the Denver-Boulder area. The station's format is an eclectic variety of blues, reggae, folk, pop, and rock from the late-1960s to the present, which they call "world class rock".

The Clear Channel Communications outlet broadcasts at 97.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW. Studios are located on the well-known Pearl Street in Boulder. The current weekday on-air line-up at KBCO: 5:30–10 a.m. Bret Saunders and Robin Hart, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Ginger, 3 p.m.–7 p.m. Keefer, 7 p.m.–12 midnight Marcus.

Scott Arbough, who started as a part time DJ at KBCO in 1985, is the current Program Director.

[edit] History

KBCO, whose slogan is "World Class Rock," has been in the adult rock format since its sign on in June 1977 and has attracted a loyal following ever since. The station was started by local businesman Bob Greenlee who purchased KRNW. Greenlee sold KBCO to Noble Broadcasting in 1987. KBCO has been rated #1 in the Denver-Boulder Arbitron ratings with listeners 12+ years old several times (first in 1988). KBCO is often rated #1 with its target audience 25–54 year old adults. The call letters stand for Boulder, CO. KBCO's change of ownership to Clear Channel in the mid-1990's has resulted in a tightening of the formerly unpredictable format, and KBCO DJs no longer have control over any of the tracks they play except during special features. The format has evolved more in the direction of Adult Contemporary Rock mixed with Classic Rock compared to the pre-Clear Channel format.

In 1988, KBCO Studio C was born with a performance by Melissa Etheridge in a hallway. The studio has since upgraded and many artists in Colorado for a concert tour or promotion tour stops by to play live on the radio. The station releases a CD every year in late November or early December with the best or most memorable Studio C performances. The CDs sell out in a matter of hours and all proceeds from the album are donated to charity. The 2006 disc was KBCO Studio C - Volume 18. Two retrospective CDs have been released combining the best of the previous CDs and a couple of unreleased songs.

In 2005, the station debuted a HD channel playing only songs recorded in Studio C. The Studio C Channel is available on KBCO's web site, along with an internet channel playing 100% new releases (The New Music Monday Channel).

KBCO also broadcasts Etown every Sunday where musicians play live and talk about there album along with a nomine for a Good Citizen award. Etown has always been hosted in Boulder by Nick and Helen Forester.