A lot of marketing terms were thrown out when the Coyotes and iHeartMedia jointly announced their partnership Tuesday.

But there’s one simple reason why the Coyotes ended their long-term relationship with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM to move to Fox Sports 910, a story first reported by The Athletic on Monday.

Exposure.

The Coyotes were tired of being the red-headed stepchild at Arizona Sports. Their games often were moved to 620 AM if they were in conflict with Suns or Diamondbacks broadcasts. Also, according to a source, the Coyotes only got an average of 21 minutes of conversation time per week on Arizona Sports. At Fox Sports 910, they’ll be the center of attention.

“That’s a major feature of this deal, the excitement and commitment of iHeart to really be more focused on the Coyotes,” said team president and CEO Ahron Cohen. “Now our fans have a place where they can turn to hear more Coyotes talk. That’s something very important for us.

“Another feature is the consistency fans will have when they want to listen on the radio. In our previous relationship, it was tough on any given night. You didn’t really know what station we were going to be on based on subordination to other teams. Now fans know they can listen to it on this channel.”

IHeart’s commitment to the Coyotes will be developed across several platforms, most notably a 24/7 Coyotes channel on the iHeartRadio app. In addition, Cohen said iHeartMedia’s eight FM stations in the Valley will feature Coyotes content, including player interviews and constant cross-promotion with Fox Sports 910. Arizona’s games will be broadcast on Fox Sports 910, the iHeartRadio app and an open FM HD channel.

“It’s an opportunity to reach a broader segment of the population through iHeart’s different music channels,” Cohen said. “For us, that’s one of our core pillars, reaching new fans.”

Cohen called the opportunity to have a dedicated Coyotes channel on iHeart’s app a “complete game changer.”

“Our casual and avid fans will be able to get nonstop Coyotes content to consume,” he said.

The Coyotes are not concerned about the ratings differential between Arizona Sports and Fox Sports 910. In the spring book for listeners 25-54, Arizona Sports had a 3.6 share and Fox Sports a 0.6 share. The team believes listener habits are changing with technology and that consumers are more likely to listen to games on the iHeartRadio app than they are the radio.

‘Coop’ and Friday Night Fever

It’s not an exaggeration to say Friday Night Fever, Channel 12’s weekly wrap-up of high school football action, is sports anchor Bruce Cooper’s signature element.

In 1987, Cooper covered Mesa Dobson’s state championship victory and was so taken by the atmosphere at the game that he told one of his bosses the station should produce a weekly highlights show during the high school football season. It took three years but Friday Night Fever debuted in 1990.

This will be Cooper’s 30th season on the show — and his last. Cooper is retiring in August 2020.

“I don’t want people to get to the point where they’re looking at my last season more so than looking at the kids and their excitement,” Cooper said. “I don’t want to distract from that. But I do look at it quietly to myself as, ‘Wow, this is the last everything.’ When that last championship game comes it will be an exhilarating time but it will be an empty time.

“This is where it all got started for me. And at the end of the day, it’s brought me the most joy, being out there in the field, the parents, the kids’ faces, their excitement of being on the air and the student body cheering, ‘We’ve got Fever, yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how about you?’ There’s nothing like that old chant.”

Cooper said he doesn’t even want to think about what his emotions will be like during his final show, which will be Friday Night Fever’s annual awards presentation in December.

“It’s just the finality,” Cooper said. “That’s it. I move one step closer to leaving the business I’ve known, the only job I’ve known for the last 33 years.”

Cooper already has an idea of what he’ll do the first Friday of the 2020 high school football season.

“I’ll go to a game,” he said. “Definitely. Heck, I might cry. I just might cry.”

Friday Night Fever kicks off this season on Aug. 30.

Ring surfaces at Channel 15

Sports anchor Tim Ring, laid off in May from Channels 3/5 as part of a corporate downsizing, will co-host a Saturday night college football show with Craig Fouhy this coming season on Channel 15.

The one-hour show will air following ABC’s primetime Saturday night game. Those games begin at 5 p.m. in Phoenix until the Nov. 2-3 weekend time change, after which they will begin at 6 p.m.

Ring will be a freelancer for Channel 15; he said he also would work two to three days a week gathering material for the show, which will include content on Valley sports teams in addition to focusing on college football.

“I’m excited. It’s a great opportunity and there’s obviously a big audience out there following the primetime game,” Ring said. “For me, as I continue to seek out my next full-time opportunity, I was thrilled to jump at the chance to do this and get those reps in and stay fresh.”

Ratings are in

No surprise but Arizona Sports dominated in the spring ratings book. According to national radio consultant Jason Barrett, the president of Barrett Sports Media, the station for the first time in history ranked in the top 10 (eighth overall) for weekday prime shows (6 a.m. to 7 p.m.) for the prized 25-54 demographic.

Arizona Sports had a 3.6 share for the 25-54 demographic. Fox Sports 910 came in at 0.6, ESPN 620 at 0.5 and NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM at 0.3

(Photo: Matt Kartozian / USA Today)