Southern Colorado Radio has launched the nation's first radio station dedicated to talk and news coverage of the legal marijuana industry, according to The Gazette.
SoCo Radio leased the former KREL 1580 AM from Vero Beach, Fla.-based Pilgrim Communications Inc. on April 1 and began broadcasting Monday branding as KHIG, as in K-High.
The new format focuses on a range of topics related to medical and recreational marijuana, with some programming on alternative medicine, yoga and related subjects mixed in, said Mike Knar, general manager and co-owner of SoCo Radio. The station previously broadcast all-sports talk and programming from Fox Sports and ESPN, but had lost money for 10 consecutive years, he said.
"We didn't want to lease the station and continue to lose money, so we said 'let's do something different and give voice to the marijuana industry.' Marijuana is socially acceptable, especially in Colorado, and is a big and growing business sector in this state. It made too much sense to pass up," Knar said Tuesday.
The switch immediately ignited interest. Six Springs area medical marijuana dispensaries have signed on as advertisers, and the station's Facebook page attracted 450 likes as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, the station's second day of broadcasting, Knar said.
KHIG-AM is starting out with three local shows on weekdays: Wake and Bake from 7-9 a.m., High Noon from noon to 1 p.m. and High Drive from 5-7 p.m. Topics will run the gamut, from policy to products.
It also broadcasts three hour-long newscasts daily from the Los Angeles-based National Marijuana News service and fills the rest of its 24/7 schedule with broadcasts from the Chicago-based RadioMD network, said Len Williams, program director for KHIG and sister station Sports KJME 890 AM.
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