Denver TV still loves the Broncos - Ingles

Sports news flash: The Broncos didn't win the Super Bowl last season.

Denver was 4-12, not 12-4.

But televised Broncomania still lives — stronger than it has been since 2004, when KCNC-4 became the "Broncos station." In May, that designation switched to KUSA-9, which signed a two-year deal to become the Broncos' flagship station.

While KCNC-4 will air the bulk of the Broncos' regular-season schedule on CBS, KUSA-9 will broadcast preseason games along with numerous locally produced weekly series.

And while KUSA-9 is not scheduled to air any regular-season games on NBC, it is utilizing sister station KTVD-20 (channel 5 on cable) to increase its previous Broncomania coverage.

Meanwhile, KCNC-4 is still pursuing its Broncos romance by squeezing in as many weekly Broncos-related shows as the local schedule permits.

First, a look at KUSA-9 coverage:

As noted in an earlier story, KUSA-9 and 850-AM will add a new wrinkle to preseason games by producing a simulcast of the first and last road games — Aug. 11 in Dallas and Sept. 1 in Arizona — with KOA's Dave Logan and Brian Griese in the booth.

KUSA's telecasts of the two home preseason games — Buffalo (Aug. 20) and Seattle (Aug. 27) — will feature CBS's Verne Lundquist and Alfred Williams.

The four games will feature the traditional pregame and postgame coverage.

Can't watch them live or record them?

The four — aired on Thursday and Saturday nights — will be repeated in their entirety Sunday afternoons on KTVD.

Meanwhile, John Elway, a familiar figure on weekly Broncos games during the team's halcyon years, will be featured regularly on KTVD-20 during a Monday night half-hour beginning Aug 8.

KUSA-9 and KCNC-4 will compete for viewers with late-night postgame Sunday reports during the regular season — a battle that should be an interesting challenge for KCNC's production team.

KUSA's new contract gives the station early exclusivity in the team's locker room after games.

And KUSA-9 will have Broncos coverage even when the locker rooms are empty. The contract calls for four hour-long quarterly specials.

So what's missing from the KUSA-9 lineup?

As of now, coach John Fox doesn't have a weekly half-hour show during the season as did Mike Shanahan and Josh McDaniels.

KCNC's weekly local coverage includes a preview half-hour at 6:30 p.m. Saturdays before Sunday games and a "Countdown to Kickoff" series Sundays at 9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., depending on kickoff time.

Actually, KCNC-4 already has a leg up on Broncomania with its live weekly sports half-hour at 6:30 p.m. Mondays.

The ongoing series, hosted by Vic Lombardi, will have an orange-and- blue tinge from August through December.

Tonight's guest: Ed McCaffrey.

So how can other local broadcasting rivals compete during Broncomania?

Maybe a station should produce "The Tim Tebow Show."

Even if he ends up sitting on the bench, the second-year quarterback enjoys a major following that might transfer to a weekly TV program. This article was written by Dusty Saunders and appeared in The Denver Post.