KFCO (107.1 FM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Christian hip hop format, licensed to Bennett, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. It is owned by Pillar of Fire International with its radio studios and offices on Parker Road in Aurora.

KFCO
Broadcast areaDenver metropolitan area
Frequency107.1 MHz
BrandingThe New Flo 107.1
Programming
FormatChristian hip hop
Ownership
Owner
KSRC, KPOF
History
First air date
1985 (as KKDD)
Former call signs
KCNQ (1979–1985, CP)
KKDD (1985–1991)
KSIR (1991–1993)
KSIR-FM (1993–2006)
KSYY-FM (2006–2008)
KONN-FM (2008–2009)
KDHT-FM (2009–2014)
KXDE (2014–2015)
Call sign meaning
Flo Colorado
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID35023
ClassC
ERP97,000 watts
HAAT624 meters (2,047 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
39°55′21.8″N 103°58′20.2″W / 39.922722°N 103.972278°W / 39.922722; -103.972278
Repeater(s)107.1 KFCO-FM3 (Aurora)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websiteflodenver.com

KFCO has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 97,000 watts. Its transmitter is on Deter-Winters Road in Byers in rural Adams County, about 40 miles east of Denver.[2] A booster station, powered at 20,000 watts, is located in Aurora, also broadcasting at 107.1 MHz.[3]

History

edit

Easy listening (1985–2006)

edit

The station was originally awarded as KCNQ but signed on in 1985 as KKDD, licensed to Brush, Colorado with an easy listening format. Its call sign changed to KSIR on July 1, 1991.

Soft adult contemporary (2006–2008)

edit

On March 20, 2006, as the station was being relocated to Denver, its call sign changed to KSYY-FM to stand for "Sassy 107" and its soft adult contemporary format.

Top 40 (2008–2009)

edit

The format lasted until the morning of February 7, 2008, when the station began stunting with songs featuring "One" in the title. At 1 PM that day, KSYY flipped to Top 40 as "One FM". The first song on "One FM" was "Yeah!" by Usher. On February 29, 2008, its call sign changed to KONN. At first, the station was billing their direction as "Rhythm-based hit music," but in actuality, has moved into a more mainstream Top 40/CHR approach since the format flip.

Rhythmic top 40 (2009–2012)

edit

On April 1, 2009, "One FM" changed its branding to "Hot 107.1". Competing in the Rhythmic/Top 40 ratings against KONN were KQKS and KPTT.

On December 15, 2009, KONN changed its call letters to KDHT to better reflect its current branding. The KDHT call letters were on another Denver station in 1993 on 92.5, which is now KKSE-FM, before being dropped and picked up by Emmis Communications for the company's station in Austin, Texas, on 93.3 FM (now KGSR).

Dance (2012)

edit

On March 30, 2012, at 6 p.m., KDHT flipped to a Dance music format while keeping the same moniker and airstaff in place. The format and playlist consisted mostly of current Dance, Electronica, and remixed Rhythmic/Pop hits. The first song under the dance format was "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga.[4]

Adult hits (2012–2014)

edit

On November 30, 2012, at 3 p.m., after playing "Unforgivable" by Armin Van Buuren, the station began stunting with marijuana-themed music (in reference to the recent legalization of personal marijuana usage in Colorado), branded as "Pot 107.1." The first song on the "Pot" stunting was "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver.[5]

The stunt lasted until 3 p.m. the following Monday, when, after playing "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple, "Jack FM" returned to Denver with "a bunch of songs in a row", with "What I Like About You" by The Romantics being the first song played.[6][7] This marks the second time the format/moniker was used in the Denver market, the first time being on KJAC (105.5) from April 2004 until September 2012, when it flipped to ESPN Radio.

Alternative (2014)

edit

On March 24, 2014, at Noon, KDHT changed their format to alternative rock, branded as "107X", launching with 5,000 songs in a row through April 7 of that year.[8] The first song on "107X" was "Anarchy in the U.K." by The Sex Pistols.

On March 27, 2014, KDHT changed the call letters to KXDE to go with the "107X" branding. Likely due to the station's rimshot signal, the format never could compete against iHeartMedia's KTCL and KBPI, registering just a 0.4 share in the December 2014 Nielsen Audio PPM ratings.[citation needed]

Classic hip-hop (2014–2018)

edit

Just nine months after flipping to "X", on December 24, 2014, at 2:45 p.m., after playing "Cigarette Daydreams" by Cage the Elephant, KXDE began a 15-minute stunt with a loop of "Ludacrismas" by Ludacris. At 3 p.m., KXDE flipped to classic hip-hop, branded as "Fly 107.1", launching with a brief mixshow of all-Run-D.M.C. songs, followed by "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent.[9][10]

Four weeks later, on January 16, 2015, KXDE, likely due to trademark infringement problems with the SiriusXM webcast "Sirius XM Fly", rebranded as "Flo 107.1". On January 27, 2015, KXDE changed their call letters to KFCO. By the fall of 2016, KFCO began adding more recent music; by the summer of 2017, KFCO began evolving to Rhythmic CHR with the addition of currents and re-currents, though the station retained a heavy classic hip-hop lean.

Rhythmic Top 40 (2018–2020)

edit

By June 2018, KFCO shifted completely to a current-based Rhythmic.[11]

Top 40 (2020–2021)

edit

On May 22, 2020, at 3 p.m., KFCO flipped back to Top 40/CHR, and revived the “Hot 107.1” branding. The new direction had a Rhythmic lean, but featured more uptempo Rhythmic and Dance pop currents to distinguish KFCO from Mainstream rival KPTT and Rhythmic rival KQKS.[12]

Classic hip-hop (2021–2024)

edit
 
Previous logo

At 5 p.m. on August 10, 2021, just 16 months after the relaunch of "Hot", the station began stunting again, this time airing a loop of teasers of potential formats as "Flip 107.1”, while promoting a format change to take place at 7 a.m. on August 12. At that time, KFCO flipped back to rhythmic CHR and the “Flo 107.1” moniker, with "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" by Dr. Dre being the first song played. The station’s second go-around with the format included a heavy emphasis on classic hip hop/R&B music, along with some currents and recurrents.[13][14] On April 14, 2022, KFCO shifted to classic hip hop while retaining the "Flo 107.1" branding. It now positions itself as "Back N Tha Day”.

Christian hip hop (since 2024)

edit

On December 22, 2023, Max Media announced they would sell KFCO and KJHM to Pillar of Fire, owner of KPOF, for $7.775 million.[15] The sale was completed on April 1, 2024; on April 4, KFCO flipped to Christian hip hop, branded as "Kingdom 107.1", and requested the new call sign KNDM-FM.[16] On April 19, the station dropped the Kingdom branding and rebranded as simply KFCO 107.1; Fort Myers, Florida station WJYO holds trademarks related to "Kingdom" in relation to Christian radio.[17] After three months of branding under the KFCO call letters, the station reverted back to Flo 107.1 for a fourth time on July 25.[18]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KFCO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KFCO
  3. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KFCO-3-FM
  4. ^ "First Listen: KDHT (Hot 107.1)'s Dance Format" Archived 2012-04-13 at the Wayback Machine from Radio-Info (April 2, 2012)
  5. ^ "KDHT Denver Gets High".
  6. ^ "Jack Returns to Denver".
  7. ^ "Hot 107.1 Becomes Jack-FM". 3 December 2012.
  8. ^ Jack FM Denver is X'd Out
  9. ^ "Denver's Classic Hip-Hop Now Has a Flo".
  10. ^ 107X Becomes Fly 107.1 from Format Change Archive December 29, 2014
  11. ^ Flo 107.1 Completes Shift to Rhythmic CHR
  12. ^ “Hot 107.1 Returns To Denver With CHR Flip” from Radio Insight (May 22, 2020)
  13. ^ Hot 107.1 Denver Plays the Wheel of Formats
  14. ^ "Flo 107.1 Returns to Denver". RadioInsight. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  15. ^ "Pillar of Fire Acquires Max Media Denver - RadioInsight https://radioinsight.com/headlines/262426/pillar-of-fire-acquires-max-media-denver/". 2023-12-22. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  16. ^ Pillar Media Launches Star 101.5 & Kingdom 107.1 Denver Radioinsight - April 5, 2024
  17. ^ KFCO Denver Drops its Kingdom Name Radioinsight - April 22, 2024
  18. ^ "Flo Returns To Denver (Again) - RadioInsight". 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
edit