 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Phoenix metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1580kHz |
| Branding | 1580 The Fanatic |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Sports radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| KFNN | |
| History | |
First air date | June 1, 1960 (65 years ago) (1960-06-01)[1] |
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | Fanatic |
| Technical information[5] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 7701 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 33°23′21″N111°59′56″W / 33.38917°N 111.99889°W /33.38917; -111.99889 |
| Translators |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 1580thefanatic |
KQFN (1580kHz) is a commercialAM radio station licensed toTempe, Arizona and serving thePhoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by CRC Broadcasting Company, Inc., and airs asports radioformat, primarily emphasizing onsports betting, branded as "The Fanatic". The station has two local afternoon drive-time shows, with programming fromBetQL Network,Infinity Sports Network, andVegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) heard at other times throughout the week when there are no live play-by-play broadcasts.
The studios and offices are on East Evans Road inScottsdale. Thetransmitter is located at the already heavily used site in South Mountain Village on South 38th Street. The single mast (127.9M tall) is also used by KSUN (1400kHz) and KPHX (1480kHz).
The station had been owned byABC for itsRadio Disney format and operated at the maximum power permitted by theFederal Communications Commission for commercial AM stations, 50,000 watts around the clock. But in October 2015, as it was being sold, the station wentsilent.[6] It returned to the air under new ownership on February 13, 2017 and is nowsimulcast on twoFMtranslators, K257CD inPhoenix,[7] operating at 99.3MHz and K240EU inTempe,[8] at 95.9 MHz. In addition, the AM station drastically reduced its power at night to 95 watts, using anon-directional antenna, instead of the previous complicateddirectional antenna multi-tower array, required to maintain its former nighttime power of 50,000 watts. By June 2023, the station downgraded its daytime power to 24,000 watts while upgrading its nighttime power to 245 watts. The station also moved from a Class D station back to a Class B station.
1580 AM is Canadianclear-channel frequency, on whichCKDO inOshawa is the dominantClass A station. There are no other Class A stations on this frequency inNorth America.
The station first began broadcasting on June 1, 1960, with thecall sign to KYND.[1] The station's license was assigned by the FCC on July 25, 1960.[9] KYND was originally owned by Dick Gilbert, a singer, music editor, anddisc jockey.[10] During the period the station was KYND, it broadcastmiddle of the road music, and was branded as "The Kind Station".[2][10]
The station originally broadcast only duringdaytime hours, with a power of 10,000 watts.[11][10] In the mid-1960s the station's power was increased 50,000 watts during the day, with a power of 10,000 watts duringcritical hours.[11][12] In 1966, the station's owner, Dick Gilbert sold the station to Rene Cote for $341,250, which included $148,250 for station equipment and a noncompetition agreement, and $193,000 for a 10-year consultation contract.[13][14]
In 1967, the station was purchased byBuck Owens for $350,000.[2] Owens had the station's call sign changed to KTUF, and switched its format tocountry music, a field where Owens was a noted singer.[2] In April 1969, KTUF's programming began to be simulcast on 102.5KNIX-FM during daytime hours when KTUF was on the air, with KNIX-FM continuing the format at night.[15] KNIX-FM had been purchased by Buck Owens the previous year.[16]
During the period the station was KTUF, the station was branded as "All American Radio" and "All American Country Radio".[17][18]
In 1973, the station's call sign was changed to KNIX, matching the call letters of its FMsister station.[3] In 1980, KNIX began broadcasting 24 hours a day.[19] From 1973 to 1985, the station aired a more traditional country sound, while sometimes simulcasting the FM station. In October 1984, the station began broadcasting inAM stereo using theMotorolaC-QUAM system.[20] In 1985, the station began a fulltime simulcast of KNIX-FM.[21]
On January 1, 1990, the station became anaffiliate ofSatellite Music Network's "Real Country" format and the call sign was changed to KCWW.[21][22] While its full call sign was given during station identifications, the station's primary branding and over the air identification was "KCW" with the CW standing for "Country & Western".[22] During this period, KCWW served as theflagship station of the "Real Country" network, which station owner Buck Owens was co-owner of at the time.[23][24]
In July 1998, longtime station owner Buck Owens sold the station toABC/Disney for $8,850,000.[4][25] KCWW continued to air the "Real Country" country music format until its sale, when it flipped to Radio Disney on July 27.[26][27][28]
After the station's purchase by ABC/Disney, the station became an affiliate of thechildren's/contemporary hit radio networkRadio Disney.[29][30] On December 4, the call sign was changed to KMIK, with the MIK standing for the Disney cartoon character "Mickey Mouse".[31] On August 13, 2014, Disney put KMIK and twenty-two other Radio Disney stations up for sale, in order to focus on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network.[32][33] Radio Disney programming later returned to the Phoenixmedia market on theKOOL-FM 94.5-HD3 digital subchannel in May 2016, but as a result of Entercom dropping their Radio Disney digital subchannels in June 2018, the subchannel was discontinued.
On August 16, 2015, ABC agreed to sell KMIK to Gabrielle Broadcasting Licensee for $1.4 million. Gabrielle is owned by Jacob J. Barker, the general manager ofKXEG 1280. Gabrielle Broadcasting planned to carry a "locally focused spoken word format". KMIK would also change its call sign to KHEP.[34] Gabrielle consummated the purchase on October 20, 2015.[35]
At 12:01 am on October 14, midway through "Drag Me Down" byOne Direction, KMIKsigned off the air to allow for a transmitter relocation. While off the air, Gabrielle Broadcasting asked the FCC to change its call sign to KHEP, which were the longtime call sign of 1280 from 1956 until 1999.AM 1280 is now known as KXEG. Gabrielle began work on downgrading 1580 from aClass B to a Class D station, along with a tower relocation and a major nighttime power decrease from 50,000 watts directional to 95 watts non-directional, diplexed with KXEG west of central Phoenix.[36] In November 2016, it was announced that KHEP was sold by Gabrielle Broadcasting to CRC Broadcasting Company, Inc., owners of business newsKFNN, with the sale closing on May 1, 2017, at a price of $450,000. CRC owner Ron Cohen tapped Mike Muraco, who had been hosting abrokered sports talk show on crosstownKDUS (which he would later return to on a brokered-time basis in 2019) to develop a brand new sports station.[37] On February 14, KQFN filed an application for aFederal Communications Commissionconstruction permit to increase night power to 700 watts. The application was accepted for filing on February 17.[38]
The station returned to the air on February 13, under alocal marketing agreement with CRC, airing an all-sports format.[37] On March 16, following the closing of the station's sale to CRC, KHEP changed their call sign to KQFN.[31]
K257CD is one of Phoenix's oldest translators, having rebroadcast a number of different stations since going on air in 1984. It initially provided a simulcast ofKSTM in Apache Junction, but by the mid-90s it was dependent onKRIM which itself was one of several transmitters forKBZR/KPTY. After a stint simulcastingKNRJ, it most recently served as a translator for KFNN prior to being transitioned to KQFN; at that time, KFNN built a new translator on 105.3 MHz.
