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| Broadcast area | Golden, Colorado Boulder, Colorado Denver, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1550kHz |
| Branding | 96.9 The Cloud |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult Contemporary/adult album alternative |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mainstreet Media of Colorado, LLC |
| History | |
First air date | 2011 (as KGCQ) |
Former call signs | KGCQ (2011–2012) KDCO (2012–2015) KBUD (2015–2016) |
Call sign meaning | KKCLoud |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 161314 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 990watts day 350 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°53′31″N105°14′20″W / 39.89194°N 105.23889°W /39.89194; -105.23889 |
| Translator(s) | 96.9 K245AD (Boulder 250 watts) 96.9 K245CM (Golden 73 watts) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | thecloud.fm |
KKCL is a commercialradio stationlicensed toGolden, Colorado, and serving theDenver/Bouldermedia market. The station airs amodern AC/adult album alternative format branded asThe Cloud.[2] The station had previously spent time as asports radio station and acannabis culture-themedclassic rock station known asSmokin' 94.1.
On April 30, 2015 KKCL was granted aFederal Communications Commissionconstruction permit to increase day power to 5,000 watts.[3] Because 1550 kHz is aclear channel frequency reserved forCanada andMexico, KKCL's night power is limited.
To improve its coverage, programming also airs onFMtranslators K245AD and K245CM, both at 96.9MHz.[4][5]
The station firstsigned on in 2011 asKGCQ, restoring to use the 1550 frequency vacated in 2003 whenKADZ left the air. Until June 1, 2015, the station was the home for Mile High Sports, a multimedia sports-marketing and publishing company based in Denver via a partnership with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. Mile High Sports was the radioflagship for theDenver Nuggets basketball team,Colorado Avalanche hockey team,Colorado Mammoth, andColorado Rapids.[6] The station also broadcast theFalcons' football and basketball from theAir Force Academy andsyndicatedNational Football League games through theSports USA Radio Network.
The station was also partnered withKCKK, which was the flagship of Mile High Sports until it flipped to Adult Hits in March 2014.[7] Later it partnered with Lincoln Financial Media outletKKFN for sharing Nuggets and Avalanche games, while leasing outKQKS' HD2 sub-channel to cover the Denver-Boulder area that its FM translator can not reach.
On November 4, 2014, Advance Modulation sold then-KDCO/K231BQ to 4K's LLLP for $550,000, pending FCC approval.[8] The sale closed on February 5, 2015. On May 22, 2015, KDCO/K231BQ temporarily went off the air after it was sold to Marco Broadcasting, owned byMarc Paskin, who acquired the station in March 2015 from 4K.[9][10] The purchase by Marco Broadcasting closed on May 20, 2015 at a price of $875,000.
On June 1, 2015, the station flipped to amarijuana-themedclassic rock format, branded asSmokin 94.1 (referring to its FM translator), and changed itscall letters toKBUD. The format was aimed at the region'scannabis culture; Paskin himself served as the drive-time host under the alias "Gary Ganja" (and performed a news update at4:20 p.m as "O.G. Kush"), and call-in segments involved cannabis-oriented topics. The station picked up syndicatedBubba the Love Sponge as its morning show (owing to itsnamesake's support of marijuana legalization), and played clips fromstoner films as well as comedy sketches recorded by Paskin. Paskin explained that the format was meant to be a throwback to the "old days of radio", stating that "radio has become boring, it's corporate-controlled, every station sounds alike. If you tell a weird joke, they'll fire you." The station did not carry advertising, primarily due to potential legal issues involving the advertising of cannabis and related products, as cannabis is illegal under federal law.[9][11][12]
On October 23, 2015, the K231BQ translator was sold toiHeartMedia, who converted it to an FM simulcast ofKOA on November 1, 2015. KBUD itself would go silent on the same day.[13] A KBUD personality explained that the sale was related to health problems being faced by Paskin.[14][15]
In November 2015, KBUD was sold to Marconi Wireless of Colorado, with the new owners intending to launch a new station known as "The Cloud".[16]
The station changed its call sign toKKCL on January 13, 2016. The sale to Marconi Wireless was consummated on February 17, 2016 at a price of $125,000. On February 29, 2016, KKCL returned to the air, coupled with an FM translator station on 96.9, carrying a Modern AC/AAA format, branded as "The Cloud".[17] One May 23, 2016, Marconi Wireless owner Chuck Lontine transferred the license for KKCL to Mainstreet Media of Colorado, LLC, also wholly owned by Lontine. On November 11, 2016 Main Street added a second FM translator license in Golden, Colorado. According to FCC filings, Main Street moved this new translator from Gunnison, Colorado under the AM Revitalization Act. The purchase price was $30,000.00. The additional translator added substantial coverage into the western suburbs of the Denver/Boulder radio market.
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