Lineup revealed for new Altitude 950 sports talk radio station in Denver

Since Front Range Sports folded 105.5 ESPN, the sports talk radio landscape in Denver has basically belonged to 104.3 The Fan. A small piece of listenership has broken off for I-Heart Radio’s Denver Sports AM760 which features mostly syndicated programming along with Dave Logan, Suzie Wargin, Andy Lindahl and Ed McCaffrey, but The Fans ratings are as strong as ever.

Rumors of another station entering the marketplace have flown for the past several months with Kroenke Sports Enterprises’ Altitude Sports and Entertainment believed to be the likely facilitator.

KSE purchased a handful of stations back in December, one of them being KRWZ AM950, which the company acquired from Entercom. Most sports radio fans remember Entercom as the company that briefly owned – then sold off – The Fan.

Since KSE’s acquisition of KRWZ, insiders have suspected that the station would become the radio wing of Altitude Sports. What few understood was how long it would take for the station to take flight and how it would be programmed.

Through sources within KSE, South Stands Denver has gotten a clearer picture of what lies in store for the new station lineup.

A gripe shared by many Denver sports talk radio listeners is that the Broncos and the NFL receive a nauseating amount of coverage on The Fan and on AM760 while the Rockies, Avalanche, Nuggets, Rapids, Buffaloes, Rams and Pioneers get virtually none. Being that Altitude radio will share ownership with three of the aforementioned teams, listeners are certain to get a broader spectrum of sports talk on the new station than they are currently getting elsewhere.

James Merilatt, the co-founder of Mile High Sports and overseer of Mile High Sports Radio AM1340 is reportedly slotted to become the de-facto program director of the new Altitude Sports Radio. James will have at his disposal an all-star lineup of long-beloved personalities.

Tom Helmer, formerly of Root Sports and CBS 4, will reportedly anchor the AM portion of the station’s daily programming. His co-host was to be former Colorado Rockies’ outfielder Ryan Spilborghs (AKA “Spilly”) but his TV job with Root Sports will reportedly preclude him from working with Helmer. No word yet as to who may replace Spilly.

To the excitement of many, Altitude TV host and long-time sports anchor for Channel 4, Vic Lombardi will handle mid-day duties with fellow “Altituder” Kyle Keefe.

Finally, the new station has recruited the duo of Nate Kreckman and Tom Nalen to handle afternoon drive opposite the Fan’s “Big Al and Dmac.” The pair are no strangers to the time slot. They were paired there previously on 105.5 ESPN where they earned legions of fans with their easy rapport.

Other time periods will doubtlessly be filled with live event broadcasts. And we have been told that a brokered component is also likely to be in play considering James Merilatt’s mastery of that type of broadcasting.

On top of the lineup, South Stands has also discovered that the domain name “Altituderadio950.com” was registered in January to a purchaser addressed at 1000 Chopper Circle, which of course is the address of the Pepsi Center. The assumption is that both will launch somewhat simultaneously.

Altitude Radio AM950 is set to debut on Rockies Opening Day, Friday, April 8. The new station will certainly be welcomed by those who don’t feel as passionately about football becoming a year-round discussion as management does at 104.3 The Fan. It will also re-introduce some personalities that have been sorely missed in the sports talk scene.