 | |
| Type | Sports-focused broadcast television network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Availability | StatewideArizona |
| TV stations | See§ Stations |
| Owner | Gray Media |
Launch date | July 13, 1995 (30 years ago) (1995-07-13), with the launch of K19DD (now KPHE-LD) in Phoenix |
Official website | www |
Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) is a broadcast television network inArizona, United States. It is owned byGray Media as part of theArizona's Family group of stations, based inPhoenix, alongsideCBS affiliateKPHO-TV (channel 5) and independent stationKTVK (channel 3). Its programming consists primarily of sports events and news simulcasts. It is broadcast bylow-power stationKPHE-LD (channel 44) and on a subchannel of KPHO-TV in Phoenix from transmitters atopSouth Mountain; inFlagstaff onKAZF (channel 32), with transmitter on Mormon Mountain; inYuma onKAZS (channel 27), with transmitter on Black Mountain inImperial County, California; and inTucson as a subchannel of Gray-ownedKOLD-TV.
KPHE-LD, the low-power station purchased by Gray to start Arizona's Family Sports, was on the air by the mid-1990s, originally on channel 19. It broadcast programming from several sources and was also used in a trial of wireless internet broadcasting from low-power TV stations in the early 2000s. From 2003 to 2006, the station broadcastBohemia Visual Music, a music video service. During that time,Lotus Communications purchased the station, and it relocated to channel 44. Lotus then relaunched the station with Spanish-language programming, some of it local.
In 2022, Gray Television acquired KPHE-LD and won permits to build new full-power stations in Flagstaff and Yuma. On March 1, 2023, the Arizona's Family Sports and Entertainment Network (shortened to Arizona's Family Sports) launched on channel 44, airing simulcasts of most of KTVK–KPHO's newscasts,Phoenix Rising FC soccer,Arizona Interscholastic Association high school sports, and other programming. Gray owns the rights toPhoenix Suns andPhoenix Mercury basketball, which are aired in conjunction with KTVK and KPHO-TV, andArizona Cardinals preseason football, which is broadcast by KPHO-TV and KOLD-TV plus Arizona's Family Sports in Yuma.
On March 17, 1992, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) granted an originalconstruction permit to build low-power television station K19DD on UHF channel 19 to serve Phoenix and the East Valley. The station was owned byScottsdale publisherHarlan L. Jacobsen, with transmitter location on Usery Mountain in eastMesa. K19DD was granted an initial license on July 13, 1995, and airedBloomberg Television by 1996.[1]
In June 1998, Jacobsen was granted a construction permit to operate an experimental broadcast station using the facilities of K19DD to broadcast in digital format. He sold the station to US Interactive LLC in September 1999; the new owners adopted the call sign KPHE-LP. In December 2000, the station became part of a pilot program to study the feasibility of using low-power UHF television stations to deliver wireless data services to subscribers.[2] The Digital Data Services Act pilot project was effective from December 2000 through June 2002, during which time KPHE was unavailable as an over-the-air analog broadcast station.[3]
After the pilot project was complete, KPHE programming consisted of a camera focused on a fish tank. Viewers could watch the fish while music played in the background. That changed in October 2003, whenValley residents Jeff Crawford and Jennifer Harris Crawford leased the station from US Interactive and took over its operations. The Crawfords had been operating a music video service called Bohemia AfterDark since 1982 and launchedBohemia Visual Music (BVM), a 24/7 music video channel.[4]
In January 2004,Lotus Communications purchased KPHE from US Interactive. The sale was finalized in March, and the station continued to be operated by the Crawfords as Bohemia Visual Music. Lotus had intended to launch family-friendly Spanish-language programming,[5][6] but the station continued to air Bohemia Visual Music. In March 2005, KPHE moved from channel 19 to channel 44, moved broadcast facilities from Usery Mountain to the South Mountain antenna farm, and upgraded its broadcast signal in preparation for future digital broadcasting.[7]
In July 2006, more than a year after announcing its intention to launch a family-focused station, Lotus replaced Bohemia Visual Music programming—first with a mix of music videos, including recorded worship services, and later with talk shows and other Bible-based instruction. The new programming was branded TV Inspiración. KPHE affiliated withMonterrey-basedMultimedios Televisión in November 2006 while keeping TV Inspiración as secondary programming. In February 2007, KPHE announced that it would carry Spanish-language telecasts ofArizona Diamondbacks home baseball games, beginning with the2007 season. These were separately produced broadcasts with their own play-by-play, color commentary, and on-field announcers. 50 games a season were aired in 2007 and in 2008;[8][9] original plans called for 75 games in 2009, but the team dropped the deal because KPHE was unable to secure a slot on the localCox Communications system.[10]
In the 2010s and early 2020s, KPHE offered a constantly changing lineup of programming, primarily in Spanish and/or religious. KPHE had converted to digital broadcasting by June 2009 and was offering four subchannels: its local channel with programming fromTelemax, the state TV network ofSonora, Mexico, andMultimedios Television; the English and Spanish channels of theSeventh-day Adventist-related3ABN network; and infomercials.[11] Other subchannels that KPHE offered at one time or another includedMy Family TV andRetro TV, both owned byLuken Communications.[12][13] In April 2013, the station became an affiliate ofCNN Latino for eight hours a day, also continuing to air output from Telemax and local productions.[14] Eventually, it shifted to airing mostly programming fromLATV, though it was announced to air English-language coverage ofArizona Rattlers indoor football for 2021.[15]
On March 11, 2022,Gray Television (owner ofCBS affiliateKPHO-TV and independent stationKTVK) filed an application to acquire KPHE-LD for $1.75 million.[16] The sale was completed on May 4.[17] Lotus had previously reached a deal to sell to Sovryn Holdings for $2 million, which was not consummated, as part of its exit from the few low-power TV stations it still owned.[18]
In June 2022, Gray Television participated in an FCC auction of new TV stations and paid $4.648 million for channel 32 inFlagstaff and $1.345 million for channel 11 inYuma.[19] The FCC approved a request from Gray Television to change the Yuma allotment fromVHF channel 11 toUHF channel 27 in February 2023.[20]
Gray announced in January 2023 that KPHE-LD would relaunch as Arizona's Family Sports and Entertainment Network[a] on March 1, 2023, drawing the name from KTVK's long time news slogan. It also announced a three-year deal withUSL Championship sidePhoenix Rising FC; KPHE was set to air all 34 matches per season, with five simulcasts on KTVK and one on KPHO in 2023.[21]
On April 28, 2023, thePhoenix Suns of the NBA announced an agreement with Gray to serve as the broadcast television rightsholder of Phoenix Suns and WNBAPhoenix Mercury games, beginning in their forthcoming 2023 seasons and replacingBally Sports Arizona. KPHE and KTVK would carry non-nationally televised games, with KTVK to carry at least 40 Suns games per season and 13 Mercury games per season; concurrently,Kiswe would develop anover-the-top (OTT) platform for the teams. The parent company of Bally Sports Arizona,Diamond Sports Group, responded by claiming that the Suns/Mercury deal represented abreach of contract by not allowing Diamond to exercise its contractual rights in violation of bankruptcy law.[22] The CEO of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury,Josh Bartelstein, had previously cited a "goal of wide distribution" for the teams in the face ofcord cutting affecting the availability of RSNs.[23] Gray announced, in conjunction with the Suns deal, that Arizona's Family Sports and Entertainment Network would be broadcast on the 13.5 subchannel of Gray-ownedKOLD-TV inTucson.[24] The part of the contract for Suns games was voided by the bankruptcy court under anautomatic stay, while Mercury games were not affected by the court order.[25][26] On July 14, the Suns announced that the Gray deal would go ahead as planned, as Diamond Sports Group declined to match the contract.[27]
Ahead of the NBA season, the Yuma and Flagstaff stations began broadcasting. KAZS, the Yuma station, began broadcasting by September 26, 2023,[28] while KAZF in Flagstaff debuted on the same day.[29] Over the course of the Suns season, telecasts saw a 69-percent year-over-year ratings increase from the 2022 campaign carried by Bally Sports Arizona.[30] Previously, the Mercury experienced a nearly sixfold ratings increase for the 2023 season, perNielsen Media Research data.[31]
In 2024, Gray became the official television partner of theArizona Cardinals football team, taking over from previous rightsholderKPNX.[32] KPHO-TV and KOLD-TV will air preseason games in addition to any Cardinals games already featured on CBS, while Arizona's Family Sports will offer additional team-related programming as well ashigh school football andflag football telecasts.[33] Also in 2024, Arizona's Family Sports station would host all of the home games of theValley Suns, the newNBA G League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, with games announced byArizona State University broadcaster Braiden Bell there.[34] The Rising contract was renewed for three years in late 2025, specifying at least two games a season on KPHO, ten on KTVK, and 23 on Arizona's Family Sports.[35]
Arizona's Family Sports is broadcast on stations in three media markets: Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma. It is also available on theFubo streaming service in those markets plusAlbuquerque, New Mexico.[36] For further information onKPHO-TV andKOLD-TV, consult those pages.
| Station | City of license | Channel | FID | ERP | HAAT | Transmitter coordinates | First air date | Former call signs | Public license information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KPHE-LD | Phoenix | 16 (virtual 44) | 168602 | 15 kW | 487.9 m (1,601 ft) | 33°20′1″N112°3′48″W / 33.33361°N 112.06333°W /33.33361; -112.06333 (KPHE-LD) | July 13, 1995 (1995-07-13) |
| LMS |
| KAZF | Flagstaff | 32 | 776273 | 100 kW | 433.1 m (1,421 ft) | 34°58′7.6″N111°30′30.6″W / 34.968778°N 111.508500°W /34.968778; -111.508500 (KAZF) | September 26, 2023 (2023-09-26) | — | |
| KAZS | Yuma | 27 | 18066 | 19.2 kW | 433.9 m (1,424 ft) | 33°3′2.1″N114°49′40.9″W / 33.050583°N 114.828028°W /33.050583; -114.828028 (KAZS) | September 26, 2023 (2023-09-26) | — |
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44.1 | 720p | 16:9 | KAZF | Arizona's Family Sports |
| 44.3 | 480i | Rewind | Defy | |
| 44.4 | Fido | Bark TV | ||
| 44.5 | 365 | The365 | ||
| 44.6 | DRTV-1 | Infomercials | ||
| 44.7 | DRTV-2 |
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Arizona's Family Sports | |
| 32.2 | 480i | Defy |
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27.1 | 720p | 16:9 | Arizona's Family Sports | |
| 27.2 | 480i | Outlaw | ||
| 27.3 | The365 | |||
| 27.4 | Defy |
Includes English-language stations in out-of-state TV markets, but reaching a portion of Arizona | ||
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