Max Media flipped Hip Hop “Flo 107.1” KFCO Bennett/Denver CO to CHR “Hot 107.1” at 3pm today.
The move takes KFCO out of direct format competition with Entercom’s “KS 107.5” KQKS and up against iHeartMedia CHR “95.7 The Party” KPTT. Positioned as “Denver’s New Hit Music”, the station is debuting its new format by going commercial free through Memorial Day Weekend.
The relaunch marks the first big change to be made under Vice President of Programming and Operations Rick Thomas following his arrival last August. Morning hosts Larry Ulibarri and Kathie J exited the station earlier this month.
The move marks the return of the “Hot 107.1” branding to the station as it previously was CHR from 2009-2012 and briefly Dance from March until November 2012. The station became “Flo 107.1” in December 2014 before segueing from Classic Hip-Hop to Rhythmic CHR in June 2018.
KFCO has hovered in the low 1 share range for much of its existence. In the February 2020 Nielsen Audio ratings (the last unaffected by the coronavirus), the station held a 1.2 share trailing KQKS’s 3.7 share and KPTT’s 3.8 share with a rimshot signal that reaches about 80% of the market.
Disclaimer: I serve as a Content Strategist for Max Media Denver and built the new website for “Hot 107.1“.
Today, Max Media announced the launch of HOT 107.1 Denver’s NEW Hit Music, broadening on the Rhythmic, CHR approach. HOT 107.1 Denver’s NEW Hit Music plays the hottest hits on the Top 40 charts, launched with 10,000 songs in a row commercial free over Memorial Day weekend.
“HOT 107.1 Denver’s NEW Hit Music is coming full circle. We first launched the HOT brand back in 2009 and our plan is to bring back most of the elements, including the original logo design. Our VP of Programming, Rick Thomas, launched an extensive research study. The survey results were clear, the Denver-metro area wanted HOT back – so we listened. For quite some time, music consumption data has been showing music seekers are not stuck in one specific genre, and data has been particularly amplified during COVID-19. When studying behavior of people at home with time on their hands, we see listeners seeking music of many types to compile their personal playlists. With this approach, we expect HOT to perform well for our advertisers and listeners, “said Max Media Market President, Jeff Norman.“ HOT 107.1 Denver’s NEW Hit Music will continue to serve our local communities with exciting programming, offering a new choice for the Mile-High City.
Rick Thomas, Max Media’s VP of Programming adds, “our desire is to accurately reflect the musical passion of the marketplace. To that end, we have simply expanded our approach allowing listeners to enjoy a wider variety of rhythmic hit music, re-branding as HOT 1071, Denver’s NEW Hit Music. Additionally, in an enhanced effort to serve our listeners needs, HOT 1071 will not stop the music more than once an hour for ads.”
Listeners can find Hot 107.1 on all of their favorite social media platforms at @Hot1071Radio and can listen online at Hot1071Radio.com.
Mark W. 
Will be interesting to see if they are able to improve upon their current ratings. Instead of aiming squarely at KS 107.5, I guess now this station is positioned between KS 107.5 and The Party?
How is 107.1’s signal in the Denver metro? The maps seem to suggest a number of spots where the main signal and the booster signal will conflict with one another.