Denver sports radio heats upCourtesy
Denver Post
(July 13, 2009) The local sports-talk radio battle during morning drive is underway. Such gabfest competition has been missing for several years. Now we have two worthy contenders.
Vic Lombardi and Gary Miller of KCNC-Channel 4 are now on KEPN-AM (ESPN-1600) in the 7-9 a.m. weekday time period. Veteran sportscaster Les Shapiro, a Channel 4 alum, has been joined by Denver Post columnist Jim Armstrong, formerly on The Fan's AM and FM outlets, from 7-10 a.m. on KCKK 1510 AM (Mile High Sports Radio). Shapiro has been in that time period with guest co-hosts since June 1. (For the record, DenverSports- Radio.com, which premiered online 11 weeks ago, is no longer functioning. It may return at the end of the month.) This two-station battle for morning sports-talk supremacy offers a primer on how quickly local broadcasting can change. Eighteen months ago, KEPN-AM was a laughingstock in the Denver sports radio world. With its weak signal on the far right side of the dial, the station, during evening hours, often sounded like the transmitter was in Kenya. And ESPN's national talk schedule wasn't producing Arbitron audience ratings. A major change occurred in March 2008, when much of the sports programming on The Fan (950 AM) was moved to 104.3 FM. Eight months later, the 950 AM signal became an oldies music format, and longtime talkers Irv Brown and Joe Williams moved to 1600 AM weekdays from 2-5 p.m. Nationally syndicated talker Dan Patrick (who calls Irv and Joe "my two best friends" during on-air promotional spots) also is on 1600 AM, from 5-7 p.m. The addition of Lombardi and Miller, followed by the rest of the talent, could give KEPN new programming life — until the sun goes down. The arrival of Channel 4's Lombardi and Miller on talk radio also displays the incestuous business in the broadcasting world. Their morning show deal was put together by Tom Manoogian, head of a local sports marketing company, who bought the time slot from station owner Lincoln Financial Media and is selling the commercial time. Sports fans know Manoogian as "Lou From Littleton," a KOA 850 AM talk-show host who once worked for 950 The Fan. Meanwhile, Mile High Sports Radio, which broadcasts Avalanche and Nuggets games, is staying competitive with a variety of local sports-talk programming. A recent addition is Eric Goodman, a former TV sports anchor on KDVR-31 who shares the 10 a.m.- noon period with Renaud Notaro. _______________________
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