KBNO (AM)

KBNO
Denver, Colorado; United States;
Broadcast area	Denver metropolitan area
Frequency	1280 kHz
Branding	Que Bueno
Programming
Format	Regional Mexican
Ownership
Owner	Latino Communications, LLC.
History
First air date	May 16, 1948 (as 990 KTLN)
Former call signs	KTLN (1948–1969); KTLK (1969–1981); KBRQ (1981–1987); KXKL(1987–1996); KRRF (1996-4/1999); KEXX (4/1999-5/1999); KXKL (5/1999-6/1999); KVOD (1999–2001)
Call sign meaning	The station name Que Bueno (How Good)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	59956
Class	B
Power	5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates	39°36′5″N 104°58′48″W / 39.60139°N 104.98000°W
Translator(s)	97.7 K249EX (Denver)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	KBNO Website

KBNO (1280 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican radio format. Licensed to Denver, Colorado, it serves the Denver metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Latino Communications, LLC. It uses the moniker "Que Bueno" (How Good).

Programming is also heard in Denver and its adjacent communities on FM translator station 97.7 K249EX.

History

On May 16, 1948, the station signed on the air as KTLN on 990 kHz. It was owned by Alfred M. Landon, former governor of Kansas and one-time Republican presidential candidate.^[2] It moved to 1150 kHz in 1951. It moved to its current 1280 frequency in 1954.

On July 1, 1969, the call letters were changed to KTLK for "K-Talk." KTLK began with a mix of youth oriented telephone talk and top 40 music, eventually dropping the talk to take on top-rated top 40 station KIMN. KTLK evolved to a disco format in the late 1970s before changing to country KBRQ ("K-Bar-Q") in 1981.

The station joined in a long-term simulcast with then-sister station KBRQ (including its flip to oldies in 1987), which would last until August 1, 1996. At that time, AM 1280 flipped to a talk radio format as "Ralph 1280" (which would later be renamed "1280 The X").^[3] On March 21, 1999, the station returned to a simulcast with now-KXKL.^[4] Two months later, 1280 became the third home of Denver's heritage classical station KVOD.^[5]

In September 2000, Latino Communications, owned by Zee Ferrufino, bought KVOD from Clear Channel for a reported $3.3 million. Ferrufino announced plans to rename the station to KBNO (which was formerly on 1220 AM), and said that he planned to rehire numerous former KBNO personalities to play what he called "Mexican regional music," among other styles.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] The following month, Colorado Public Radio acquired the KVOD intellectual properties, call letters and music library (the deal would be completed in March 2001).^[10]^[11] KVOD would cease independent operations after 43 years on December 15, 2000.^[12]^[13]^[14] CPR then moved the classical format to 90.1 FM.

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for KBNO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ "KTLN Takes the Air" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 24, 1948. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
^ HighBeam
^ HighBeam
^ HighBeam
^ Michael Roberts, The Missing Linc: Who on earth would want to work at the News these days? Bernie Lincicome, for one.", Denver Westword, October 12, 2000
^ "Spanish radio station returns to dial; Classical outlet's move leaves spot for KBNO", The Denver Post, October 7, 2000.
^ HighBeam
^ HighBeam
^ HighBeam
^ HighBeam
^ HighBeam
^ "Classical sounds triumph", The Denver Post, October 11, 2000.
^ "Radio Que Bueno returning with 5,000 watts of optimism", The Denver Post, December 28, 2000.