As regional media market grows, NoCo communities come together

Northern Colorado continues to come into its own as a media market.

This publication, launched in October 1995, was among the first to realize that seemingly disparate communities in Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland and elsewhere in Larimer and Weld counties were coalescing into a regional force: Northern Colorado.

That regional approach to media coverage is gaining momentum. KGWN Channel 5, a Cheyenne-based television station, is targeting the Northern Colorado market, with a deal to be carried on US Cable in the region, supplementing its over-the-air broadcasts. It even includes a nightly Northern Colorado newscast. (The station continues its efforts to appear on the larger Comcast cable system.)

Meanwhile, as Business Report News Editor Tom Hacker reported in our last edition, a telecommunications developer plans a 115-story TV tower some 20 miles east of Greeley, a massive tower that could be used by other media, including TV, radio and cell-phone providers.

Clear Channel Communications recently moved into its new facility along Interstate 25, giving it more of a regional presence as it serves Northern Colorado and beyond with its stations.

The regional play is being made not only by broadcasters but also by print media. The Greeley Tribune’s NEXTnc, an entertainment publication, is distributed on a weekly basis throughout Larimer and Weld counties. Ditto for 25 North, published by the Fort Collins Coloradoan, and Poudre Magazine, which the Northern Colorado Business Report recently sold to Grant Street Media.

Add in the intense competition for Windsor readers being waged by the Windsor Tribune, published by the Greeley Tribune, and the Windsor Beacon, published by the Coloradoan.

The Longmont Daily Times-Call also is looking beyond its city borders with the Tri-Towns Times-Call, serving the Carbon Valley communities of Frederick, Firestone and Dacono.

Northern Colorado is hot, and it’s easy to see why: Growth has been rapid, with the population now at about 500,000 residents. No wonder Channel 5 is looking beyond its base in southeastern Wyoming, and no wonder Tampa, Fla.-based Richland Towers secured its full-power TV license for the tower east of Greeley. “The license provides for a 1-megawatt signal, the most powerful available to broadcasters,” Hacker wrote.

Regional media coverage can only bring Northern Colorado communities closer together. Just as the Business Report helped draw businesses together, regional broadcast coverage and additional regional print coverage will keep residents informed about where they live, where they work, where they commute, where they do business, where they dine, where they’re entertained.

We say bring it on.

Christopher Wood can be reached at (970) 221-5400 or via e-mail at cwood@ncbr.com. His fax number is (970) 221-5432.

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