KQFN

KQFN
Broadcast areaPhoenix metropolitan area
Frequency1580 kHz
Branding1580 The Fanatic
Programming
FormatSports
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Ronald Cohen
  • (CRC Broadcasting Company)
KFNN
History
First air date
June 1, 1960 (64 years ago) (1960-06-01)[1]
Former call signs
  • KYND (1960–1967)[2]
  • KTUF (1967–1973)
  • KNIX (1973–1990)[3]
  • KCWW (January 1, 1990–1998)[4]
  • KMIK (1998–2015)
  • KHEP (2015–2017)
Call sign meaning
Fanatic
Technical information[5]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID7701
ClassB
Power
  • 24,000 watts day
  • 245 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
33°29′36″N 112°08′18″W / 33.49333°N 112.13833°W / 33.49333; -112.13833
Translator(s)
  • 95.9 K240EU (Tempe)
  • 99.3 K257CD (Phoenix)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.1580thefanatic.com

KQFN (1580 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Tempe, Arizona and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by CRC Broadcasting Company, Inc., and airs an all-sports radio format branded as "The Fanatic." Afternoon drive-time programming on weekdays comes from local hosts, with the nationally syndicated Jim Rome heard middays, and programming from BetQL Network, Infinity Sports Network, and Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) is 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 in Scottsdale. The transmitter is located off South 40th Street near East Southern Avenue in southeast Phoenix.

The station had been owned by ABC for its Radio Disney format and operated at the maximum power permitted by the Federal Communications Commission for commercial AM stations, 50,000 watts around the clock. But in October 2015, as it was being sold, the station went silent.[6] It returned to the air under new ownership on February 13, 2017 and is now simulcast on two FM translators, K257CD in Phoenix,[7] operating at 99.3 MHz and K240EU in Tempe,[8] at 95.9 MHz. In addition, the AM station drastically reduced its power at night to 95 watts, using a non-directional antenna, instead of the previous complicated directional 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 Canadian clear-channel frequency, on which CKDO in Oshawa is the dominant Class A station. There are no other Class A stations on this frequency in North America.

  1. ^ "Broadcasting Yearbook", Broadcasting Publications, (1966) p. B-9
  2. ^ "The History of KNIX – 1964" KNIX-FM. Retrieved July 16, 2015
  3. ^ "The History of KNIX – 1970" KNIX-FM. Retrieved July 16, 2015
  4. ^ J. Duncan, "American Radio, Volume 23, Issue 1", (1998) p. 12
  5. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KQFN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  6. ^ "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 1, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "K257CD-FM 99.3 MHz – Phoenix, AZ". radio-locator.com.
  8. ^ "K240EU-FM 95.9 MHz – Tempe, AZ". radio-locator.com.