Radio station in Tempe, Arizona
KDUS
(1060
AM
) is a
commercial
radio station
licensed
to
Tempe, Arizona
, and serving the
Phoenix metropolitan area
. It airs a
sports
radio format
and is an
affiliate
of the
Vegas Stats & Information Network
, along with some programming from
Fox Sports Radio
. It is owned by
Hubbard Broadcasting
, Inc., with the license held by Phoenix FCC License Sub, LLC. Its
studios
are on North 52nd Street west of
Papago Park
.
By day, KDUS is powered at 5,000
watts
non-directional
. But
1060 AM
is a
clear channel frequency
. So at night, it reduces power to 500 watts to avoid interference with
Class A
stations
KYW
Philadelphia
and
XECPAE
Mexico City
. It uses a
directional antenna
with a three-
tower array
after sunset. The
transmitter
is on Calle Bella Vista near
Interstate 10
in
Guadalupe
.
[1]
The station can also be heard on
HD Radio
receivers at 100.7 FM
KSLX-FM
-HD2.
History
[
edit
]
MOR and Top 40
[
edit
]
The station
signed on
the air on April 16, 1960
; 64 years ago
(
1960-04-16
)
. The original
call sign
was
KUPD
(pronounced Cupid). It was owned by the Tri-State Broadcasting Co. and by the 1960s featured Phoenix veteran
disc jockey
Bill Heywood in the morning. KUPD had a
full-service
Middle of the Road
(MOR) format. It competed with
KOY
550 AM
.
As the
Top 40
format became more popular, KUPD flipped to a
contemporary hits
sound in the early 1970s. Around 1971, the station added a
simulcast
on 97.9
KUPD-FM
, which remained Top 40 until about 1978 when the FM station switched to
album rock
and became a dominant presence in the Phoenix radio market.
The flip of KUPD-FM to rock sparked 1060 AM to also change. It became
KKKQ
"The New KQ" under Program Director Steve Casey, formerly with Top 40 leader
KHJ
Los Angeles
and later one of the co-creators of
MTV
. KKKQ played
oldies
with a less talk, more music approach. The staff included Joe Bailey - mornings; Don Richards - Middays; Steve Casey - Afternoons. Don Richards would later take over as PD when Steve Casey left for MTV.
R&B, Country, Alternative
[
edit
]
In the 1980s and early 1990s, AM 1060 cycled through various musical formats such as
R&B
'KQ' from 1981 to 1987. The call letters slightly changed to
KUKQ
after a public outcry about having '
KKK
' in the call letters for an R&B station.
[2]
It then tried
country music
as "KQ Country") from 1987 to 1989.
[3]
Then it flipped to
alternative rock
from 1989 to 1993.
[4]
During this time, KUKQ's original license was not renewed as the result of a 1988 comparative renewal hearing for KUKQ and KUPD-FM. Both stations lost their original licenses for lying to the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) about an alleged secret owner. An additional owner was ruled unfit to hold a license due to a 1982 criminal conviction in Arizona.
[5]
The stations were instead awarded to former owner Jack Grimm, his wife Jackie, Ruth Clifford, and radio executive Robert Fish, doing business as G&C Broadcasting.
[6]
In 1992, G&C took over KUKQ and KUPD-FM on new licenses, retaining the call letters, facilities and formats of the stations.
Talk and Sports
[
edit
]
The new owners switched to a
talk radio
format in 1993.
[7]
The station returned to alternative rock again the next year after the station was sold to Sandusky Newspapers.
[8]
The alternative revival did not last long. For a brief time in 1996, 1060 AM became "KUPD-2" (billed by management as "rock entertainment").
[9]
It flipped to
sports talk
later that year.
After the switch to sports, the station started referring to itself as "The Deuce," and the call letters officially shifted to
KDUS
in 1997. Once its identity as a sports talk station become established, KDUS stopped using "Deuce" in its slogans, and adopted "The Fan AM 1060" as its identifier ("The Fan" for short) and "The Voice of the Fan" as its slogan.
Yahoo, NBC Sports, Sports Map
[
edit
]
On April 1, 2013, The Fan AM 1060 changed its affiliation from
Yahoo! Sports Radio
to the new
NBC Sports Radio
network. Its branding switched to "NBC Sports Radio AM 1060".
[10]
But the NBC Sports Radio network did not get as many
affiliates
as management had hoped. So in 2019, it announced it would be shutting down most of its 24/7 programming. On August 30, 2019, KDUS removed all associations with NBC Sports Radio. It rebranded simply "KDUS AM 1060" and began an affiliation with
SB Nation Radio
. In July 2020, the radio network changed its name to SportsMap.
Programming
[
edit
]
Sports talk shows
[
edit
]
KDUS airs four hours worth of local programming on weekdays. It also carries three
nationally syndicated
sports programs:
The Dan Patrick Show
from
Premiere Networks
,
The
Doug Gottlieb
Show
from
Fox Sports Radio
(Phoenix's primary Fox Sports affiliate, 910
KGME
, runs local programming instead of Patrick and Gottlieb), and
The Rich Eisen Show
from
Westwood One
.
Overnights and most weekend programming is provided by
Vegas Stats & Information Network
, a radio network based in
Las Vegas
.
Brokered specialty programs
air in random time slots at night and on the weekend.
Play-by-play
[
edit
]
KDUS is the Phoenix radio home of
Northern Arizona University football
and
NAU men's basketball
. The station also broadcasts nationally syndicated NCAA and NFL football games and NCAA men's basketball games via the Sports USA Radio Network and Compass Media Networks.
KDUS is also the
flagship station
for
Arizona State University baseball
and
ASU women's basketball
. KDUS was the flagship station of the
National Hockey League
's
Phoenix Coyotes
on AM from the team's first year in 1996 through the 2007?08 season, after which its rights were acquired by 910 KGME.
KDUS carried the
National Football League
's
Arizona Cardinals
on AM from 1997 through the 2004 season, after which its rights were acquired by 620
KTAR
. KDUS also aired broadcasts from the
Arizona Hotshots
of the short-lived
Alliance of American Football
. Since the AM signal of KDUS doesn't completely cover the Phoenix area, particularly at night, both the Cardinals and Coyotes arranged to have their games
simulcast
on FM
sister stations
KDKB
or
KSLX-FM
.
Previous logo
[
edit
]
(KDUS's logo under its previous "The Fan" branding)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Radio-Locator.com/KDUS
- ^
Wilkinson, Bud (April 17, 1981).
"AM, FM country stations unite under familiar call letters"
.
Arizona Republic
. p. D9
. Retrieved
June 28,
2019
.
- ^
Wilkinson, Bud (March 30, 1987).
"Radio's KUKQ changes format from urban to country"
.
Arizona Republic
. p. B10
. Retrieved
June 28,
2019
.
- ^
Wilkinson, Bud (March 31, 1989).
"KUSK-TV suitor claims operation needs bailout"
.
Arizona Republic
. p. D11
. Retrieved
June 28,
2019
.
- ^
"Judge Revokes KUKQ & KUPD License"
(PDF)
.
Radio & Records
. 18 August 1988
. Retrieved
12 July
2017
.
- ^
Newberg, Julie (January 18, 1992).
"KUPD and KUKQ to be reclaimed by former owners"
.
Arizona Republic
. p. D7
. Retrieved
June 28,
2019
.
- ^
"KUKQ turning to talk format"
.
Arizona Republic
. October 1, 1993. p. D4
. Retrieved
June 28,
2019
.
- ^
Newberg, Julie (August 8, 1994).
"KUKQ offers another fragmented alternative"
.
Arizona Republic
. p. C5
. Retrieved
June 28,
2019
.
- ^
Van Dyke, Charlie (January 13, 1996).
"KVRY general manager 'correctively spins' out the station's front door"
.
Arizona Republic
. p. D7
. Retrieved
June 28,
2019
.
- ^
"The Fan AM 1060 Becomes NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 on April 1st"
. Archived from
the original
on 2013-06-29
. Retrieved
2013-04-25
.
External links
[
edit
]
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33°21′43″N
111°58′03″W
/
33.36194°N 111.96750°W
/
33.36194; -111.96750