-By Katy Bachman

With Denver playing host to the Democratic National Convention, opening today (Aug. 25), Americans may never look at the market or region the same way. Denver’s local media plan is to pull out all the stops to showcase its western pride.

The event portends to amplify an increasingly tight TV news race. While KUSA, Gannett’s NBC affiliate, has been the perennial news leader, No. 2-ranked KCNC, CBS’ owned-and-operated station, home to the Denver Broncos, is closing in. KMGH, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting’s ABC affiliate, is the No. 3 contender. KUSA also produces a 9 p.m. newscast on its duopoly partner, KTVD, the MyNetworkTV affiliate.

Tribune’s CW affiliate KWGN last month launched a 5:30 p.m newscast. Its virtual duopoly partner, KDVR-TV, the Fox affiliate recently acquired by Local TV LLC and the news leader at 9 p.m., also launched a 5:30 p.m. newscast. Both stations will be managed by Tribune’s and Local TV’s broadcast management company.

The Denver Newspaper Agency, the publishing partnership between Denver’s two major newspapers, Rocky Mountain News, owned by E.W. Scripps Co., and The Denver Post, privately owned by MediaNews Group, is also stepping up convention coverage. Though circulation is hurting, their Web sites are the most popular in the market.

CBS Outdoor dominates out-of-home media in the market and has prime inventory around the convention sites, The Pepsi Center and Invesco Field, as well as street furniture and bus shelter contracts. Clear Channel controls the ad rights for Denver International Airport, the fifth largest in the U.S., as well as the rail system.

A large Hispanic population (18 percent) supports four Spanish-language network TV affiliates and five radio stations. Entravision Communications operates both the Univision affiliate and three radio stations including Regional Mexican KXPK-FM, the second-highest-rated station in the market.

Vital Stats:

* TV DMA Rank: 18
* Population 2-plus: 3,665,213
* TV Households: 1,477,280
* No. of TV stations (Net/Ind/Public/ Local Cable): 15/2/5/2
* Wired Cable Households: 815,050
* Radio Metro Rank: 22
* Population 12-plus: 2,244,300
* Radio Stations (rated): 29
* Newspapers (Daily/Weekly): 23/73

The Numbers:

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