| KECO | |
| City: | Elk City, Oklahoma |
| Country: | US |
| Area: | Southwestern Oklahoma |
| Branding: | 96.5 KECO |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
| Format: | Country |
| Haat: | 210m (690feet) |
| Class: | C1 |
| Facility Id: | 51564 |
| Coordinates: | 35.4061°N -99.4987°W |
| Owner: | Blake Brewer |
| Licensee: | Paragon Communications, Inc. |
| Sister Stations: | KADS, KXOO |
| Affiliations: | Fox News Radio[1] |
KECO (96.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format.[2] The station is licensed to Elk City, Oklahoma, United States, and is owned by Paragon Communications, Inc.[3]
KECO began broadcasting on July 20, 1982; it was a country music station owned by Ronca Broadcasting,[4] a company controlled by Elk City farmer Ron Sewell. Ronca sold KECO to John B. Walton in 1984; Walton had previously been the licensee of KIKX in Tucson, Arizona, which had lost its FCC license and left the air in 1982 after a kidnapping hoax.[5] Walton sold a stake in the station to Dean Peninger, the general manager of Elk City station KADS, then sold it back to Sewell for assumption of debts in 1986.[6]
Paragon Broadcasting, a company of Mary Ann and Cletis Killiam, acquired KECO from Ronca Broadcasting in 1992.[7] Paragon owned the station for two years, selling to Brooks Brewer in 1994; Brewer owned the construction permit for KZRU (later on air as KXOO) as well as KOKL in Okmulgee.[8]
