KESP

KESP (970 AM) is a sports radio station in Modesto, California, United States. The station serves Modesto, Stockton, Lodi, and surrounding communities of the northern San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by Cumulus Media.^[2] Its studios are in Stockton, and its transmitter is located in Modesto.

Broadcast areaModesto, California

Frequency970 kHz

BrandingSportsradio 970

FormatSports

Quick facts Broadcast area, Frequency ...

KESP

Modesto, California United States
Broadcast area	Modesto, California
Frequency	970 kHz
Branding	Sportsradio 970
Programming
Format	Sports
Affiliations	Westwood One Sports Modesto Nuts Minor League Baseball Pacific Tigers College Basketball
Ownership
Owner	Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC)
Sister stations	KATM, KDJK/KHKK, KHOP, KJOY, KWIN/KWNN
History
First air date	November 1, 1951 (1951-11-01) (as KBOX)
Former call signs	KBOX (1951–1956) KBEE (1956–1983) KHYV (1983–1988) KOOK (1988–1992) KBEE (1992–1996) KBUL (1996–1998) KANM (1998–2000)
Call sign meaning	ESPN (former affiliation)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	11233
Class	B
Power	1,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates	37°41′23″N 120°57′12″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.sportsradio970.com

Close

KESP is a member of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, San Jose Sharks, and Golden State Warriors, radio networks. Most of its daily programming, as the call letters imply, came from ESPN Radio, until January 2, 2013, when KESP switched to CBS Sports Radio. It now currently airs the Westwood One Sports Network.

KESP gained its current call sign, and format, in the early 2000s. Other call signs used since it came on the air in 1951 were: KBOX (1951–1956), KBEE (1956–1983), KHYV (1983–1988), KOOK (1988–1992(?)/1996(?)),^[3] KBUL (1996–1998), and KANM (1998–2000).^[3]

The station was owned by the McClatchy family, which also owned McClatchy Newspapers, publisher of the Modesto Bee. The McClatchy Company later sold the station to Citadel Broadcasting, which merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.^[4]

In a sports-related note, Kevin McClatchy, a member of the publishing family, owned the Pittsburgh Pirates until the team was sold to Robert Nutting in 2007.^{[citation needed]}

KESP carried Oakland Athletics baseball as an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics Radio Network through the 2024 season. Following the temporary move of the Athletics (A's) to West Sacramento as part of their relocation to Las Vegas, and the move of the team's Sacramento radio broadcasts from KHTK to KSTE, the A's released an affiliate list that did not include KESP.^[5] On March 4, 2025, the station announced that it had joined the San Francisco Giants Radio Network.^[6]