KSUN
KSUN (1400 AM and K293CO 106.5 FM) is a Spanish-language radio station broadcasting out of Phoenix, Arizona and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is locally owned by the Marques brothers and operates a regional Mexican music format under the branding "La Mejor". The station is also the Spanish-language play-by-play home of Phoenix Suns basketball games.
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City | Phoenix, Arizona |
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Broadcast area | Phoenix metropolitan area |
Frequency | 1400 kHz |
Branding | La Mejor 1400 |
Slogan | ¡Aquí Nomás! |
Programming | |
Format | Regional Mexican |
Affiliations | MVS Radio |
Ownership | |
Owner | Marquez Communications, Inc. (Fiesta Radio, Inc.) |
History | |
First air date | August 28, 1954 |
Former call signs | KONI, KXIV |
Call sign meaning | Valley of the SUN (a common nickname for the Phoenix area) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 21430 |
Class | C |
Power | 1,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°23′23″N 111°59′52″W |
Translator(s) | 106.5 K293CO (Phoenix) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen (requires RealPlayer or Winamp) |
Website | www |
History
![](../I/KSUN_logo.jpg.webp)
1400 AM in Phoenix signed on August 28, 1954 as KONI, the 9th radio station in Phoenix;[1] originally KBLR, the station's callsign changed by the time it signed on. KONI became KXIV in 1961. Until 1982, KXIV was programmed with a middle of the road (MOR) music format. The station was co-owned by Ira Lavin and actor Dick Van Dyke (an Arizona resident).[2][3] Disc jockeys included George Scott, Jack Dey, Jim Hutton, Paul B. Mundt, and Jim Spero (who also served as program director).[4]
Van Dyke and Lavin sold KXIV in 1982 to local real estate developer Michael Levin, who relaunched the station with a news/talk format as KSUN, featuring personalities from ABC's TalkRadio Network, NBC's Talknet and audio from CNN2.[5] The call letters had been sold to Levin by the previous KSUN in Bisbee, at the time silent and in receivership.[6] Hourly discount auctions through a segment called "BarterBank" were also heavily advertised. Levin's tenure running KSUN was marred by suspicious vandalism[7] and layoffs.[8] The station fell into bankruptcy and went silent on Memorial Day weekend 1983.[9]
CAZ Broadcasting bought KSUN out of bankruptcy in 1984,[9] and brought the station back the next year as an affiliate of the original Radio AAHS, a radio service developed for children, with adult-oriented music at night.[10] By 1986, KSUN was running jazz full-time with minor league baseball play-by-play of the Phoenix Firebirds, having lost Radio AAHS when Children's Radio Network opted to cease distributing it outside of its owned-and-operated stations.[11] After an abortive attempt to sell the station to TransCom, owners of KLZI 99.9 FM,[12] and going silent again at the end of summer, Fiesta Radio purchased the station in November 1986.[13] Radio Fiesta officially signed on March 23, 1987.[14] The station became a sports play-by-play specialist; it was the long-time home of Spanish broadcasts of the Arizona Diamondbacks (now on KHOV), first carrying all 162 games in 2004,[15] and continues to carry Suns games.
In 2015, the station partnered with Mexican radio company MVS Radio to launch its regional Mexican La Mejor format in Phoenix.
References
- "9th Valley Radio Station Takes To Air 6 A.M. Today". Arizona Republic. August 28, 1954. p. 10. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- "Ownership changes", Broadcasting. August 23, 1965. p. 84. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- "Changing Hands", Broadcasting. July 5, 1982. p. 69. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2008-09-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Wilkinson, Bud (August 8, 1982). "Owner tones down programming game plan for KSUN". Arizona Republic. p. 99. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Hatfield, David (June 4, 1982). "Quality picks are NBC, new 'Arizona Illustrated'". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- "KSUN down: Vandals twice knock radio station off the air". Arizona Republic. February 21, 1983. p. D20. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Wilkinson, Bud (January 2, 1983). "Stiff competition inspired better programming in 1982". Arizona Republic. p. F12. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Wilkinson, Bud (June 21, 1984). "KSUN sold; new owners plan autumn debut". Arizona Republic. p. F5. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Wilkinson, Bud (May 17, 1985). "KSUN plans to usher in dawn of children's radio programs". Arizona Republic. p. E15. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Wilkinson, Bud (April 3, 1986). "Radio station KSUN forced to drop children's format". Arizona Republic. p. E5. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Wilkinson, Bud (June 25, 1986). "'NewsChannel 3' adds new sportscasters to lineup". Arizona Republic. p. G5. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Wilkinson, Bud (December 11, 1986). "NBC's '1986' TV news magazine will never see 1987". Arizona Republic. p. F6. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- Wilkinson, Bud (March 23, 1987). "KTVK-TV wins contract to show ASU sports package". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- "MLB: Diamondbacks". Arizona Republic. January 30, 2004. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
External links
- KSUN in the FCC's AM station database
- KSUN on Radio-Locator
- KSUN in Nielsen Audio's AM station database