Update 7/26: When Denver’s new Sports station debuts on Tuesday, July 27 it will do so as “87.7 The Ticket“. 102.3 KDSP will take on the ESPN Deportes programming that launched last week on 87.7.
The station will be live and local from 5am to 10pm. Westword has full details on the lineup here.
Update 7/12: 102.3 has changed call letters to KDSP, 105.5 remains as KJAC.
Meanwhile, Front Range Sports has begun an LMA with Syncom Media Group to program the audio signal of KXDP-LP TV Channel 6. The audio signal on 87.7 has flipped to ESPN Deportes Radio, giving Denver an FM Spanish Sports outlet. Will 102.3 take the ESPN Radio affiliation in Denver from Lincoln Financial Media’s 1600 KEPN?
Update 7/7/10: The format change to Sports is lined up to take place on Monday, July 19. KCNC-TV Sportcasters Gary Miller and Vic Lombardi will move their morning show from “ESPN 1600” KEPN to 102.3 on that day.
Update 6/25/10: Major League Marketing has added a few more domains to its list removing all doubt about the pending format: 1023Denver.com, 1023DenverSports.com, 1023DenverSportsStation.com, 1023DenversSportsStation.com, DenverSports1023.com, DenverSportsStation1023.com, and DenversSportsStation1023.com.
Original Report 6/2/10: With Moreland Properties closing on its acquisition of “Jack-FM Denver” 105.5 KJAC and 102.3 KCUV from NRC Broadcasting, it quickly transferred the stations to Front Range Sports Network LLC. It had been widely assumed that a new sports station would debut once the sale closed. Major League Marketing, a company run by Tom Manoogian, one of the partners in the new ownership have registered a few domains hinting at a possible name: 1023TheGame.com, 1023TheAnimal.com, and 1023TheSource.com. On the same day, Nate Lundy, Program Director at Lincoln Financial Media’s crosstown “104.3 The Fan” KKFN attempted to counter with the registrations of 1023TheScore.com, 1055TheScore.com, 1023TheTicket.com, and 1055TheTicket.com.
The partners in Front Range Sports Network come from a myriad of positions in sports. Doug Moreland owns a number of car dealerships and was a constant advertiser in the Denver radio market. Tom Manoogian owns the aforementioned sports marketing company, was formerly Director of Sales for the Colorado Rockies, and a host at 850 KOA. The minority owners include ESPN NFL analyst Adam Schefter and former Chicago Bear Lee Kunz.