The station signed on the air on December 1, 1953 as KFML-FM. It was owned by Everett A. Bancker, Jr. and was the FM counterpart to AM 1390 KFML. Because the AM station was a daytimer, listeners could continue to hear its programming after sunset on KFML-FM. Following the sale of the station to Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting in 1974, the station took the KIMN-FMcall sign. At first, KIMN-FM aired a softer album rock format while AM 950KIMN had a Top 40 format. KIMN-FM later started playing Top 40 music, similar to its AM sister station. In the 1970s, there were a couple of country & western AM stations in Denver, though the music was not heard on FM, even though country was making inroads on FM stations in other cities.
Switch to KYGO Country
On June 1, 1979, 98.5 switched its call letters to KYGO and later that year changed from contemporary hits to country music. Bob Call, previously with country-formatted WSOC-FM in Charlotte, North Carolina, supervised the change. When he started at WSOC-FM, he said he knew little about country music, but learned fast. In 2006, as part of Lincoln Financial Media's acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot, KYGO became a Lincoln Financial Media station. On April 26, 1988, the station slightly changed its call letters to KYGO-FM. At the same time, AM 950 switched its call sign to KYGO, and began airing a classic country format, to be a companion to FM 98.5's more contemporary country sound.
On December 8, 2014, Entercom announced it would purchase Lincoln Financial Group's entire 15-station lineup in a $106.5 million deal. It operated the outlets under a local marketing agreement. On December 22, 2014, Entercom confirmed it would retain KYGO and its country format. The FCC approved the deal on June 26, 2015. However, on July 14, 2015, the Department of Justice ruled that Entercom had too many stations in the Denver market. Entercom decided to spin off KYGO, KOSI, KKFN and KEPN to Bonneville International in exchange for Bonneville's Los Angeles station KSWD to meet ownership limits. Both Bonneville and Entercom began operating their new clusters via Time Brokerage Agreements on July 17, 2015. The transaction was consummated on November 24, 2015.
KYGO hired David Mueller as a DJ in January 2013. Mueller co-hosted the Ryno and Jackson morning show. On June 2, 2013, Mueller attended a meet-and-greet event before a Taylor Swift concert at the Pepsi Center. While having her photograph taken with Mueller, Swift alleged that he reached under her skirt and groped her. Though Mueller denied touching Swift inappropriately, KYGO-FM General Manager Robert Call fired him on June 4. Mueller sued Swift in September 2015 for loss of income, alleging that her allegation had led to his wrongful termination. Swift sued Mueller the next month. A civil trial began August 7, 2017. A jury found Mueller liable for assault and battery and awarded Swift one dollar, the amount she had sought.
