KGME

KGME
The Fox Sports logo, a silver oval with blue trim and the blue letters FOX Sports. Beneath, on two lines in white, are "910 A M" and "Phoenix" in a condensed italicized sans serif.
Broadcast areaPhoenix metropolitan area
Frequency910 kHz
BrandingFox Sports 910
Programming
FormatSports talk
AffiliationsFox Sports Radio
Ownership
Owner
KESZ, KFYI, KMXP, KNIX-FM, KOY, KYOT, KZZP
History
First air date
October 26, 1940
(83 years ago)
 (1940-10-26)
Former call signs
  • KPHO (1940–1972)
  • KJJJ (1972–1985)
  • KFYI (1985–2000)
Former frequencies
  • 1200 kHz (1940–1941)
  • 1230 kHz (1941–1949)
Call sign meaning
"Game"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID65480
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
33°32′00″N 112°07′18″W / 33.53333°N 112.12167°W / 33.53333; -112.12167
Repeater(s)99.9 KESZ-HD3 (Phoenix)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live (via iHeartRadio)
Websitefoxsports910.iheart.com

KGME (910 AM) is a commercial radio station in Phoenix, Arizona, featuring a sports format known as "Fox Sports 910." Owned by iHeartMedia, the station's studios are located in Phoenix near Sky Harbor International Airport, and broadcasts with 5,000 watts—directional at night—from a transmitter site at the intersection of 30th and Maryland Avenues in north Phoenix. In addition to a standard analog transmission, KGME is relayed over the third HD Radio subchannel of KESZ and is available online via iHeartRadio.

KGME is the third-oldest radio station in Phoenix. It began broadcasting in October 1940 at 1200 kHz (soon reassigned to 1230) as KPHO, the first new station on air in the Valley since KOY and KTAR, both built in the early 1920s. Founded by local insurance salesman M. C. Reese, the station grew with its sale to Phoenix Broadcasting, Inc., in 1943; for several years after the sale, Gene Autry was a minority owner. KPHO became the affiliate of the Blue Network, later ABC, in 1944; moved to 910 kHz and increased power in September 1949; and launched KPHO-TV, the first television station in Arizona, that December. From 1952 to 1972, KPHO was owned by the Meredith Corporation; by the end of Meredith ownership, KPHO was a news-intensive station.

After the transaction was delayed by protests and complications, Meredith sold KPHO to Dairyland Associates in 1972. The call letters were changed to KJJJ and the format to country music. KJJJ was one of the Valley's leading stations in the 1970s, though its fortunes declined under several owners in the late 1970s and early 1980s as music listening shifted away from AM and KNIX-FM became the market leader for country music. As a result, in 1985, owners The Broadcast Group changed the format to news/talk as KFYI. The station established itself as the second-rated talk outlet in the market behind KTAR and was a stop in the careers of several notable hosts, including Tom Leykis.

KFYI was sold twice in rapid succession in 1998 and 2000. The second sale, to iHeartMedia forerunner Clear Channel Communications, saw the KFYI format and call sign move to 550 kHz, longtime home of KOY, while KGME's sports talk programming migrated to 910. An affiliate of iHeart-owned Fox Sports Radio, the station also airs several local talk shows and is the current home of Arizona State Sun Devils men's ice hockey. However, with the intermittent exception of the Arizona Coyotes, most of Phoenix's major sports franchises continue to be heard on KMVP-FM and/or KTAR.

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KGME". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.