When KTAR altered its branding to Arizona Sports in 2011, it provided a greater emphasis on the content focus on the airwaves and did not tie it to a terrestrial radio frequency. Although the outlet had been broadcasting on the 620 AM frequency, management could evince signals of a dynamic media landscape with consumers tuning in through a variety of touchpoints. At the same time, it better positioned the station to add an FM simulcast three years later and prepare for the actualization of hypothetical modifications, such as the gradual extinction of radio masts and towers.
Aside from expanding its brand beyond the AM band, Arizona Sports has also prioritized building its digital presence and garnered significant followings. The evolution, paired with a cadre of compelling and perceptive talent who strive for excellence, has helped the product retain its mass appeal. Scott Sutherland, the executive vice president of regional media operations for Bonneville International, has been part of the station since its formative years but did not exhibit complacency despite early success.
“I think moving to Arizona Sports in 2011 even helped us more as we went into the FM [band] because it wasn’t just one of the kind of stale names, not to impugn others, but I just think it set us up to sound big and own the whole category of Arizona sports,” Sutherland said. “We’re much more than a radio brand.”
Constructing a model that is premised on offering exclusive content with ubiquitous distribution, programming on then-Sports 620 KTAR officially began in January 2007 as the first station owned by Bonneville International broadcasting in the sports talk format. As one of its first steps, the station signed the duo of John Gambadoro and Mark Asher away from XTRA 910 to host afternoon drive. Doug Franz paired with Ron Wolfley in the mornings, while ESPN Radio national programming hosted by Colin Cowherd and Dan Patrick occupied middays.
Ryan Hatch, the senior vice president and market manager of Bonneville Phoenix, was responsible for overseeing programming amid the station launch. Both he and Sutherland remember being hired by Erik Hellum, the current chief operating officer of Townsquare Media who they consider to be an architect of Arizona Sports. Part of his managerial approach was emphasizing that the best idea would be victorious no matter who it came from. Shows on the station quickly resonated with the audience and the station became one of the preeminent sports media outlets in the region.
“We had this blend of the local and the national from a content side,” Hatch said, “and then it went into the evenings where we were producing hundreds of local play-by-play events a year, but those talents were front and center.”
The 98.7 FM frequency had previously been a variety hits station branded as The Peak, but in early 2014, it officially commenced a simulcast of KTAR-AM. Part of the rationale for this brand extension was through the review of quantitative metrics, one of which indicated that the station had achieved 83% of male penetration on AM radio.
Recognizing the limiting nature of the proverbial ceiling, management decided to bolster its growth potential and total addressable market by adding the new stream. Before moving Arizona Sports exclusively to 98.7 FM nine months later and subsequently offering ESPN 620 AM, Sutherland and Hatch were nonplussed to evince that the audience was down 40% from that realized on the AM band.
“I remember Scott and I looking at each other and going, ‘Oh boy – okay, this is interesting,’” Hatch recalled. “But it was everything for us, and we would not have been able to do what we did in the digital space either, let alone have a brand that has evolved over 18 years that’s in a dominant position in this market. We got in early, and first in wins in a lot of cases, and again, just the evolution and the talent along with it, but being on FM was absolutely paramount to our success.”
Sutherland and Hatch have worked together for more than a decade and have profound respect for one another and their aptitudes. Humility is a fundamental part of the culture, along with authentic and self-effacing humor. Whereas Sutherland previously worked in Hatch’s role, he now oversees Bonneville radio interests with company president Tanya Vea and spends less time overall on Phoenix than other markets.
Even though there are times when Sutherland and Hatch will disagree on business matters, they ultimately arrive at a final decision and align in trying to execute the goal. Brian Long was part of that structure for the last 18 months before recently accepting a job to return to Los Angeles and program KFI AM 640 and AM 570 LA Sports, assuming positions previously held by Robin Bertolucci and Don Martin, respectively.
“He did everything we asked him to do and raised our level of performance and did it with bringing in new thoughts and ideas,” Hatch said. “I’m going to miss him like mad because of all that.”
Arizona Sports started airing its shows live on digital platforms last year, including its app and website, while also producing podcasts that have video elements. Although the current programming lineup remains strong, Hatch emphasized how evolution in the digital space has altered the process of evaluating talent.
“Those former P1s or current P1s, if we want to call them that on the radio side, yes, they’re hard-core users, they love our hosts and the content that we’re putting out there, and they’ll go there, but what we’re finding more than anything else [is] our younger demos are being introduced now,” Hatch said. “Look at YouTube and the subscribers and what’s happening there with that content. It’s exploded over the last year, and really, it’s been the last 18 months in Phoenix, but with our company, Seattle set that tone early on.”
Analyzing and refining the digital model instantiated by Seattle Sports 710, Arizona Sports has been able to flourish in the space and serve its partners. The station prides itself on being a trusted source of shrewd conversation, strong opinion and enterprise journalism, generating original content proprietary to its airwaves.
“We’re a Bonneville station,” Sutherland said. “This cannot be the home of guy talk, the bikini girl calendars. We have to run it differently, and again, not impugning anyone else, but I think it’s always been a smart level of sports. It’s not weedy into the, ‘We don’t need to know what the left tackle is doing,’ but I just think it’s been wide-ranging entertainment blended with good sports opinion.”
In addition to the local programming, Arizona Sports has the radio play-by-play broadcasting rights to three professional teams in the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals, along with collegiate athletics at Arizona State University. Beyond simply airing game commentary, rights partnerships with teams enable the station to receive more insider opportunities and air exclusive content.
Despite strong ratings performance, Arizona Sports has utilized a different evaluation system that combines a variety of data to provide a more complete view. Hatch conveyed that the system routinely calibrates what metrics matter most to the business, going beyond PPM methodology in an area with nearly 5 million people. The company has had discussions about the implications of Nielsen moving to a three-minute threshold to receive listening credit in a quarter hour and hopes that higher AQH ratings will help generate additional revenue.
“We’re in the nascent stages of this,” Sutherland said. “It’s not going to affect this year at all, and so business as usual, and if we get more credit, the credit that we frankly deserve, so be it, but I don’t think it changes a lot with anything that we’re doing.”
Arizona Sports made adjustments to its programming lineup three years ago with the introduction of Dan Bickley and Vince Marotta in morning drive after previously working together in middays. Hatch asserts that the show combines entertaining qualities with sports knowledge, which leads into Ron Wolfley and Luke Lapinski in middays. The fusion of an industry veteran with a rising star has cultivated an extraordinary pairing with significant growth potential. Burns and Gambadoro remain situated in afternoon drive, but in being the longest-tenured program on the station, the duo safeguards against becoming stale or hackneyed in its approach.
“Every single day, no matter where you are on the radio, there’s a new audience potential of people, whether it’s on the radio side or coming in through the app or being introduced on YouTube or anywhere else,” Hatch said, “and you’ve got to make sure that you’re putting on a product that’s going to be appealing, and these guys have just really dialed in.”
Bonneville Phoenix continues to invest in local content, something that Sutherland feels distinguishes the company across its 22 radio stations in six markets. Arizona Sports recently introduced a new evening program featuring hosts Kellan Olson and Mitch Vareldzis, along with tabbing Lauren Koval as lead producer of Burns & Gambo. Moreover, ESPN 620 is now airing a local afternoon drive show featuring Mike Muraco, Dan Manucci and Jim Brinson previously broadcast on Fox Sports 910 Phoenix for approximately five years. The studio and live game programming has optimized keen insights and marketplace tendencies to offer a value proposition effectuating auspicious results.
“Competitors have come and gone on the radio side,” Hatch explained, “and the brand has evolved into what was a radio-based brand of Sports 620 KTAR when we were unbundling what was the old news talk [and] sports-type full service station into a brand that has a dominant position in a major market and a lot of growth left to go from an audience size and a revenue side.”
Accomplishing the feat requires having a plan for talent as the media ecosystem is filled with competition disseminating content across multiple verticals. Sports talk radio will sometimes lose talent to television networks, something that Arizona Sports seeks to combat through innovations, coaching and remuneration. Yet the station has retained a preponderance of its talent and continues to expand in new areas as Sutherland portends a complete paradigm shift to video being a primary driver of content instead of audio.
“It was probably a bigger deal years ago, I would add, than it is now because we have so much video,” Sutherland said, “and so I think people see if they want to be in the sports business in Phoenix and you want video, you want podcasting, you want to be on air… you want to work closely with the teams, then we’re a great place.”
With local teams competing to bring a championship to the city for the first time since 2014, Arizona Sports will embrace its local focus and serve as a reputable source of knowledge and entertainment for the audience. The station is content with its programming lineup and remains loyal to its consumers while amplifying its reach with cutting-edge technology and digital mediums. Despite economic headwinds amid larger industry vacillations in balancing ratings and revenue with future ambiguity, Arizona Sports remains committed to the future while honoring its tradition.
“As more and more companies are moving away from truly investing in local and are looking to regionalize and looking to put more products on the national side of things, I think our potential at Bonneville Phoenix to dig even deeper into a market that is growing exponentially, that is pro-business, that is bringing in sports fans from all over the country, and our sports teams – we’ve got some owners who are really aggressive and some big narratives and big decisions to come,” Hatch said. “I couldn’t be more excited about 2025 and beyond for us here at Bonneville Phoenix.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
