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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Denver metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 950kHz |
| Branding | Altitude Sports AM 950 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Sports radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | 1923 (1923) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Kroenke Sports & Entertainment |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 30839 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°52′29.9″N104°56′1.9″W / 39.874972°N 104.933861°W /39.874972; -104.933861 |
| Repeater | 92.5 KKSE-FM HD2 (Broomfield) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
KKSE (950kHz) is acommercialAM radio stationlicensed toParker, Colorado, and serving theDenver metropolitan area. The station is owned byStan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures.[2][3]
KKSE airs asportsradio format branded as "Altitude Sports 950". KKSE has studios on South Colorado Boulevard inGlendale, with the AMtransmitter located off Riverdale Road in Denver.[4] KSE Radio Ventures also ownssister stationsKIMN andKXKL-FM.
KKSE-AM-FM are theflagship stations forDenver Nuggetsbasketball,Colorado Avalanchehockey,Colorado Rapidssoccer andColorado Mammothlacrosse. All four teams are co-owned with KKSE-AM-FM. KKSE-FM carries local sports hosts most of the day and carrysyndicated programming fromFox Sports Radio nights and weekends. KKSE-AM carriessyndicated programming fromFox Sports Radio full-time.
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The station first signed on in 1923 as KFEL, owned by Gene O'Fallon and broadcasting from the Albany Hotel.[6] It is Denver's second-oldest radio station. After several frequency moves, it eventually settled on its current location of 950 AM. O'Fallon sold the station toStandard Examiner Publishing ofOgden, Utah, in 1954, and the new owners changed thecall sign to KIMN.[7]
For most of the next three decades, KIMN was Denver's highly ratedTop 40 outlet. It was KIMN that presented theBeatles at theRed Rocks Amphitheatre in August 1964.[8] The station was inducted into theColorado Music Hall of Fame for its contribution to the Colorado music scene in the 1950s and 1960s.[9] By the late 1980s, KIMN evolved from Top 40 tooldies.
Denver's first airborne traffic reporter was Don Martin on KIMN's "Air Alert", who later became the vice-president of news operations, and is considered the pioneer of live news coverage in Denver. In 2007, Martin was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame.[10][11]
At Noon on April 26, 1988, after airing a 19-hour retrospective of KIMN's history, the station flipped tocountry music and adopted the KYGO call letters. The programming was separate from co-ownedKYGO-FM.[12]
While the FM station concentrated on current and recent country hits, the AM used a deeper library and more personality. It was also aCBS Radio NewsNetwork affiliate. KYGO continued for six years playing country music before its owner, Jefferson-Pilot Communications decided on a new direction for the station. (Jefferson-Pilot later became theLincoln Financial Group.)
On October 12, 1994, the station changed its call sign to KKFN, and the station began adding sports talk programs to its schedule. On March 6, 1995, the station completed its shift to becoming the Denver market's first eversports radio station as "AM 950 The Fan". (The KYGO call sign and country format moved to1600 AM.)[13][14]
On March 8, 2008, KKFN's sports format began simulcasting on 104.3 FM (formerlysmooth jazz KJCD).[15] The simulcast only lasted six months.
On September 2, 2008, the AM station became KRWZ with anoldies format, using the moniker "Cruisin' Oldies 950".[16][17]
On December 8, 2014,Entercom announced it would purchase Lincoln Financial's entire 15-station lineup in a $106.5 million deal. Until the transfer was complete, Entercom operated the outlets under alocal marketing agreement (LMA). On December 22, 2014, Entercom announced that it would retain KRWZ and its oldies format.[18] The FCC approved the deal on June 26, 2015.[19]
On December 17, 2015, Entercom announced it would sell KRWZ toKSE Radio Ventures, owned byStan Kroenke. He added the station to his three recently acquired FM properties in the Denver market. KSE also announced that KRWZ would flip to a new format when the sale closes, as Entercom moved the oldies format toKEZW on December 27.[20] On the same day, KRWZ beganstunting with mostlyadult standards music, as well as redirecting listeners to KEZW.
Upon the change of ownership, KRWZ adopted the call letters KKSE. KSE announced that the station would return to sports talk and become "Altitude Sports 950" (named after KSE'sAltitude cable channel). The new format's programming will include theRich Eisen Show, along with a schedule of live and local programming.[21][22] The station was to serve as the radio flagship for the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Rapids, as well as the Colorado Mammoth (all of which are owned by Kroenke).[23]
The sale to KSE closed on March 14, 2016, and the station flipped to a simulcast ofKWOF that day at Noon. "Altitude Sports 950" officially launched at 7 a.m. on April 8.[24][25] KKSE entered a crowded sports talk field in the Denver market, with competitors includingKDSP,KDCO and formersister stationsKKFN andKEPN.
On September 17, 2018, KKSE moved its local programming to92.5 FM, with 950 AM becoming mostly a pass-through forFox Sports Radio programming. The move was made due to its new FM sister's stronger range. The 92.5 FM facility provides at least grade B coverage to almost all of north-central Colorado.
On October 29, 2021, KKSE announced that it would flip the 950 AM signal to asports betting-focused format on November 1, carrying programming fromVSiN outside of live game coverage.[26]
As of March 2025, KKSE switched back to the national Fox Sports Radio programming.
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