KAFN

For the Gould, Arkansas radio station that held the call sign KAFN at 102.5 FM from 1997 to 2011, see KOTN (FM).

KAFN
City	Benton, Arkansas
Broadcast area	Saline County, Arkansas
Branding	ESPN Radio 690
Frequency	690 kHz
Translator(s)	93.7 K229CX (Benton)
First air date	1992
Format	Sports
Power	250 watts (day) 73 watts (night)
Class	D
Facility ID	4839
Transmitter coordinates	34°31′57.00″N 92°34′16.00″W / 34.5325000°N 92.5711111°W / 34.5325000; -92.5711111
Former callsigns	KBBA (1952-1992) KEWI (1992-2015)
Affiliations	ESPN Radio
Owner	Saline River Media

KAFN (690 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Benton, Arkansas, the station mainly programs local content for Saline County, along with the southern portion of the Little Rock metropolitan area.

Currently owned by Saline River Media, the station carries ESPN Radio sports programming. The station also carries network play-by-play for the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Cardinals, and Arkansas Razorbacks football, basketball and baseball, and local play-by-play for Benton High School.

History

The radio station was put on the air in 1952 and was known as KBBA until 1992. During this time, it broadcast a mostly country/western format with local news, weather,and sports. It was the only radio station in Benton until 1966, when competing radio station KGKO signed on the air at 850 kHz.

The station was owned by the Winston Riddle family of Benton for a number of years before being sold in the early 1990s. The station's call letters were changed to KEWI by new owner Bernie Bottenberg. After falling on hard times, the station was sold to a partnership consisting of longtime Arkansas television broadcaster Jim Landers, and his nephews Steve and Lance Landers who were prominent local car dealers. Jim Landers would later purchase full ownership stock in the station.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the station enjoyed a number of formats, including classic country and, later on, adult standards. It has been known for its tradition of broadcasting local sports, most notably Benton High School football, basketball, and baseball.

In fall 2011, the station was sold to an ownership group headed by broadcaster Grant Merrill. The station switched to a news, talk, and sports format and developed an online newspaper known as Saline 24/7. The station serves as a home base for the syndicated "Sports Night" program broadcast across the Arkansas Radio Network. The show is owned and hosted by Merrill and longtime print journalist Andy Hodges.

The station applied for a FM translator (K277BT), which signed on the air in the fall of 2013 at 103.3 FM. The translator moved to 93.7 FM in Benton, Arkansas on February 29, 2016, as K229CX.

On February 7, 2014, KEWI went silent and then returned to the air on June 20, 2014 with a sports format with programming from ESPN Radio. The call sign was changed to the current KAFN on August 1, 2015.

Previous logo

External links

Query the FCC's AM station database for KAFN

Radio-Locator Information on KAFN

Radio stations in the Little Rock, Arkansas market

By FM frequency	88.3 89.1 90.5 90.9 91.1 91.7 92.3 92.7 93.3 94.1 94.9 95.7 96.5 96.9 98.5 99.5 100.3 101.1 101.7 102.1 102.5 102.9 103.7 104.7 105.1 105.5 106.3 106.7 107.7

By AM frequency	690 760 880 920 1050 1090¹ 1250 1350 1380 1440 1530

By WX frequency	162.400 (Russell) 162.400 (Star City) 162.425 162.450 162.475 162.525 162.550

By callsign	K288EZ KAAY¹ KABF KABZ KAFN KANX KARN KARN-FM KASR KBDO KDIS-FM KDJE KDXE KFLI KHKN KHLR KHTE KIPR KJBN KKPT KKSP KLAL KLRG KLRE KMJX KMTL KNFR KOKY KOLL KPZK KPZK-FM KSSN KTUV KUAR KURB KVDW KVLO KWLR KZTD KZTS KXI91 KXI92 KXI96 WWF96 WXJ54 WXJ55 WXL66

Nearby radio markets Clarksdale El Dorado Ft. Smith Hot Springs Jonesboro Memphis See also List of radio stations in Arkansas ¹ = Clear-channel stations with extended nighttime coverage.

Sports radio stations in the state of Arkansas

Stations:	KAFN - Benton KAKS - Goshen KARN - Little Rock KASR - Vilonia KBCN-FM - Marshall KBTA - Batesville KELD - El Dorado KHGG - Van Buren KHGG-FM - Waldron KHOM - Salem KKSP - Bryant KNAS - Nashville KNEA - Jonesboro KPOC - Pocahontas KQPN - West Memphis KQSM - Fayetteville KREB - Bentonville-Bella KSMD - Searcy KTTG - Mena KUOA - Siloam Springs KYNG - Springdale

See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Arkansas See also ESPN Radio ESPN Deportes Radio Fox Sports Radio CBS Sports Radio NBC Sports Radio Yahoo! Sports Radio Sports Byline USA

ESPN Radio stations in the state of Arkansas

Full-time affiliates	KAFN – Benton KAKS - Goshen KBTA – Batesville KREB – Bentonville KTTG – Fort Smith KUOA - Siloam Springs

Part-time affiliates	KCAB – Dardanelle

See also List of ESPN Radio affiliates See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Arkansas See also ESPN Radio ESPN Deportes Radio Fox Sports Radio CBS Sports Radio NBC Sports Radio Yahoo! Sports Radio Sports Byline USA

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