| Broadcast area | Kern County, California |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 970kHz |
| Branding | Fox Sports 800 & 970 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | Fox Sports Radio Motor Racing Network Performance Racing Network Bakersfield Condors Fresno State Bulldogs Los Angeles Lakers Radio Network Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KBFP,KBFP-FM,KDFO,KRAB | |
| History | |
First air date | 1958 (as KBIS) |
Former call signs | KBIS (1958–1977) KUZZ (1977–1986) KAFY (1986–2000) KZPM (2000–2001) KZTK (2001–2002) KGET (2002–2006)[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 40868 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 1,000watts day 5,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°27′00″N118°56′48″W / 35.45000°N 118.94667°W /35.45000; -118.94667 |
| Repeater | 800KBFP (Bakersfield) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | foxsports970am.iheart.com |
KHTY (970AM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toBakersfield, California and serving inlandCentral California. The station is owned byiHeartMedia.[3] KHTY andsister stationKBFP800 AMsimulcast asports radioformat asaffiliates ofFox Sports Radio. KHTY and KBFP air live play-by-play sports, including theLos Angeles Lakers, theLos Angeles Dodgers, theFresno State Bulldogs and theBakersfield Condors. Car racing is covered by theMotor Racing Network and thePerformance Racing Network.
By day, KHTY is powered at 1,000watts. KHTY is a rare AM station that increases its power at night, running 5,000 watts. It uses adirectional antenna with a three-tower array.[4]
The station on 970 firstsigned on the air in 1958; 67 years ago (1958). Its originalcall sign was KBIS. It was adaytimer, operating at a power of 1,000watts and required to go off the air at sunset.[5]
In June 1976, Westco Media sold KBIS to Thunderbird Broadcasting, owned by popularcountry music singerBuck Owens, for $382,500. Owens lived in Bakersfield. As Thunderbird already ownedKUZZ (then at 800 AM) in Bakersfield, andFederal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations at the time prohibited ownership of multiple AM stations within the same market, that company sold KUZZ to theInternational Church of the Foursquare Gospel for $100,000.[6] The FCC approved both license transfers on November 16, and KBIS adopted the KUZZ call letters the following January.[7][8]
In August 1984, Buck Owens Broadcasting orchestrated a frequency swap with Sunset Broadcasting Corp., owner ofKAFY. Owens traded KUZZ, a daytimer on 970 AM, to Sunset for KAFY — located on the stronger, full-time 550 AM frequency — plus $650,000 in cash.[9] The 970 AM frequency took on the KAFY call letters in January 1986.[10] In April 1987, Sunset Broadcasting, headed by Daren McGavren, sold KAFY to McGavren-Barro Broadcasting Corp. — owned by his son Steve McGavren and Mary Helen Barro — for $700,000. At the time of the sale, KAFY was broadcasting in theSpanish language.[11]
In April 2000, Hispanic Media Group, headed by Amancio Suarez Sr., sold KAFY and aconstruction permit for a second AM station in Bakersfield to Golden Pegasus Financial Services for $825,000. At the time, KAFY broadcast aregional Mexican music format.[12] The station would change hands once again by the end of the year asClear Channel Communications purchased the newly rechristened KZPM for $1.4 million.[13][14]
Throughout the 2000s under Clear Channel ownership, the 970 AM frequency took on various call signs and formats. In May 2001, Clear Channel began using the KZTK call sign on the then-news/talk outlet. In September 2002, the call letters changed to KGET to match those of television stationKGET-TV, at the time also owned by Clear Channel. The radio station KGET was branded "News Talk 970 KGET".
In January 2006, the KGET call letters were changed to KHTY. The station at the time was aclassic hits radio station branded as "Mighty 970".[15] In 2007, KHTY switched back to news/talk with the branding "Business 970 KHTY".[16] Later that year, KHTY began airing a news/talk format in Spanish.[17]
On March 2, 2009, KHTY flipped tosports radio with the branding "Fox Sports 970".[18] On June 13, 2022, KHTY began simulcasting onKBFP 800 AM Bakersfield, replacing that station's comedy format.[19]
The station lineup includesThe Dan Patrick Show,The Herd with Colin Cowherd,The Doug Gottlieb Show,The Jason Smith Show andThe Ben Maller Show.
Also on KHTY and KBFP are broadcasts of theBakersfield Condors, theFresno State Bulldogs, theLos Angeles Lakers and theLos Angeles Dodgers. Car racing is covered by theMotor Racing Network and thePerformance Racing Network.