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1010 WINS simulcast on 92.3


Bananaman

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Looks like Alt 92.3’s days are numbered as Audacy announces that 1010 WINS will begin simulcasting on that frequency on October 27th. 
 

https://audacyinc.com/press/audacy-bolsters-commitment-to-new-york-news-powerhouses-1010-wins-and-wcbs-880/

 

Among other news, WINS and WCBS will begin to share anchors and reporters, much like KFWB and KNX did before the demise of KFWB’s newsradio product.

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Similar to what KNX does here in LA. The station still broadcasts on legacy frequency 1070 AM. In December 2021, Audacy dropped the music format on KNOU-FM 97.1 and added KNX to 97.1 FM. The station now brands itself as KNX News 97.1 FM while still being broadcast on 1070.

 

 

Edited by FiveNews
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Audacy has also done this with WBBM and KYW. I do wonder if they will still refer to it as 1010 WINS, KYW seems to refer to itself as KYW Newsradio 103.9 more often than Newsradio 1060. Audacy is very much doubling down on their FM frequency branding replacing their legacy AM frequency branding. 

5 minutes ago, FiveNews said:

Similar to what KNX does here in LA. The station still broadcasts on legacy frequency 1070 AM. In December 2021, Audacy dropped the music format on KAMP-FM 97.1 and added KNX to 97.1 FM. The station now brands itself as KNX News 97.1 FM while still being broadcast on 1070.

 

 

 

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Absolutely, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the legacy AM changes format or eventually gets sold a la KFWB. Then again, the New York market seems to have a bigger appetite for Newsradio than LA, and KFWB has a much weaker signal than WINS, which also lead to its demise as a Newsradio station.

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Good news: WINS finally gets a stronger signal.

 

Bad news: The newsrooms are merging (if I read the article correctly). It sounds to me like the first step in winding down WCBS (not right away of course, but it may not be around in ten years).

 

I rather liked the fact that WCBS and WINS retained not only their independent identities, but also their independent newsrooms even under common ownership. They were not only distinct in terms of identity, but also in terms of style (WINS being the traditional “22 minute headline news” station, and WCBS being “more than just the headlines”). It sucks that their newsrooms will no longer be independent. However, with the way radio is going, that was never going to last, regardless of who owned the stations. 

6 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

Which brand is bigger in NYC, WINS or WCBS?

In terms of ratings, definitely WINS. That’s not to say that WCBS isn’t big (it’s an institution in its own right).

Edited by nycnewsjunkie
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3 minutes ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

Good news: WINS finally gets a stronger signal.

 

Bad news: The newsrooms are merging (if I read the article correctly). It sounds to me like the first step in winding down WCBS (not right away of course, but it may not be around in ten years).

 

I rather liked the fact that WCBS and WINS retained not only their independent identities, but also their independent newsrooms even under common ownership. They were not only distinct in terms of identity, but also in terms of style (WINS being the traditional “22 minute headline news” station, and WCBS being “more than just the headlines”). However, with the way radio is going, that was never going to last, regardless of who owned the stations. 

In terms of ratings, definitely WINS. That’s not to say that WCBS isn’t big (it’s an institution in its own right).

 

So be prepare for WINS 1010 and 880, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there won't be a simulcast. 880 spectrum number is going to be sold.

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12 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

So be prepare for WINS 1010 and 880, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there won't be a simulcast. 880 spectrum number is going to be sold.

I doubt there will be any simulcasting or brand unification; Audacy’s press release says that the stations will retain their separate identities, but that their newsrooms (along w/ on-air personalities/reporters) will be shared. The stations aren’t merging under one identity, but the newsrooms are beginning to integrate. Note that the VP of NY News will oversee both stations. It sounds like the first step in a long-term process more than an immediate wind-down of 880.

 

That said, the whole point of having two stations was that you had two independent newsrooms. If those newsrooms are no longer independent (and will eventually merge), a second all-news station will be redundant.

Edited by nycnewsjunkie
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23 minutes ago, 24994J said:

 

No clue.

 

It depends on where you are and what your preference is.

 

WINS has long been tops within New York City and the immediate suburbs as it has traditionally been a headline-based station with a tight NYC focus. WCBS did more LI/NJ/Westchester County NY/Fairfield County CT stories as its 50kw non-directional signal got into those places easier than WINS. And back in the day, WCBS was heavy on sports and other CBS Radio Network features. Of course, all that has changed in recent years (the presence of baseball on WCBS over the past two decades notwithstanding.)

Edited by Big Rollo Smokes
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18 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

Which brand is bigger in NYC, WINS or WCBS?

WINS's strength is in the City itself, while WCBS mainly appeals to the suburbs, New Jersey and Connecticut, but that's because of how their signals are; WINS has to bend southeastward to protect CFRB, while WCBS isn't directional. That difference has slowly melted away as digital has grown over broadcast.

 

The newsroom merger had been inevitable since the late 90s and you had to assume that the stawarts of each station had to leave in order to actually get it done.

 

As for Alt/Now/K-Rock...they had seventeen years to fix the station post-Stern, and it was long time for it to die; the morning show idiots who flouted their contract to whine about a WINS simulcast effectively (and finally) killed it.

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9 minutes ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

I doubt there will be any simulcasting or brand unification; Audacy’s press release says that the stations will retain their separate identities, but that their newsrooms (along w/ on-air personalities/reporters) will be shared. The stations aren’t merging under one identity, but the newsrooms are beginning to integrate. Note that the VP of NY News will oversee both stations. It sounds like the first step in a long-term process more than an immediate wind-down of 880.

 

That said, the whole point of having two stations was that you had two independent newsrooms. If those newsrooms are no longer independent (and will eventually merge), a second all-news station will be redundant.

KNX and KFWB had this happened to them in the mid 2000s, and by the end of the decade, KNX was all news and KFWB switched to news/talk and was eventually sold. I won’t be surprised if WINS overtakes WCBS and the same happens to WCBS.

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This whole thing just seemed inevitable as it's been nearly 5 years since 92.3 went back to alternative rock and has had no ratings traction whatsoever.

 

I do recall WINS on 92.3 for a day right after Sandy almost exactly a decade ago (and WFAN on 101.9 started that same week).

 

As for KFWB, CBS only sold it because they were above the cap in terms of combined AM/FM/TV holdings.

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3 minutes ago, MD TV said:

This whole thing just seemed inevitable as it's been nearly 5 years since 92.3 went back to alternative rock and has had no ratings traction whatsoever.

 

I do recall WINS on 92.3 for a day right after Sandy almost exactly a decade ago (and WFAN on 101.9 started that same week).

 

As for KFWB, CBS only sold it because they were above the cap in terms of combined AM/FM/TV holdings.

Even if those cap issues didn’t exist for CBS, KFWB would’ve still merged w/ KNX by the time Entercom/Audacy were running things. Especially since, if memory serves me, there seems to be less of an audience for radio news in LA than NYC.

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11 minutes ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

I doubt there will be any simulcasting or brand unification; Audacy’s press release says that the stations will retain their separate identities, but that their newsrooms (along w/ on-air personalities/reporters) will be shared. The stations aren’t merging under one identity, but the newsrooms are beginning to integrate. Note that the VP of NY News will oversee both stations. It sounds like the first step in a long-term process more than an immediate wind-down of 880.

 

That said, the whole point of having two stations was that you had two independent newsrooms. If those newsrooms are no longer independent (and will eventually merge), a second all-news station will be redundant.

 

I think WCBS (AM)'s future path will be determined by whatever Audacy decides to do with WFAN (AM), its other 50 kw, non-directional signal emanating from the single tower in the Bronx.

 

The WFAN 660/101.9 FM simulcast is closing in on the five-year mark in November 2022. Audacy has spent the last year de-emphasizing 660 AM as part of the FAN's brand, as per its usual M.O. And several of its sports-formatted AMs have been converted to either CBS Sports Radio and/or the BetQL/CBS Sports Radio hybrid that KGO San Francisco just switched to. I've seen several posts on this board and elsewhere suggesting that WCBS will go the sports-betting route, but I expect that that is 660's future path.

 

Audacy doesn't need a third sports signal in NYC, and we don't need essentially a fourth sports station (counting WEPN [AM] and WEPN-FM as separate stations), so in this scenario maybe WCBS goes to news/talk, maybe in the KMOX vein.*

 

(*Funny, but that was speculated two decades ago after the first Viacom-CBS merger)

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If I'm not mistaken, the plan for 660 10 years ago was to join the then-new CBS Sports Radio after WFAN went to FM. But there was enough listener outcry to stop that, as their AM signal is listenable in places where 101.9 isn't.

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I'm waiting for Audacy to drop the hammer in Minneapolis next. "The Wolf" has only once ever beat K102 (iHeart) in the PPM ratings (and it was under their old country branding as Buz'n 102.9) and is the weakest of Audacy's three stations in the cluster (Jack-FM does really well here). Wolf just tweaked from "New Country" to "Everything Country" (That's New Country with a LOT of Shania Twain, by the way). Given the NY Move, guessing if this tweak doesn't instill life, WCCO 830 and 102.9 becomes reality very soon. There have also been moves to upgrade the talent on 830 in the last year including plucking popular WCCO-TV anchor Jason DeRusha to host afternoon drive. Ironically, 102.9 began life as WCCO-FM playing lite rock...

 

Where else does Audacy need to find and FM for talk? KRLD in Dallas?

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17 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

Where else does Audacy need to find and FM for talk? KRLD in Dallas?

KRLD/1080 is on an HD-2 in Dallas (which sucks if my rental car doesn't support HD when I'm visiting; I get a lot of electrical interference in the McKinney area which adds a buzz and hum to most AM stations (probably due to the Raytheon facility not too far away...).  It would be nice to get them on a clean FM signal...

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18 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

Where else does Audacy need to find and FM for talk? KRLD in Dallas?

WTIC 1080 in Hartford as well. They simulcast on an HD-2 feed from WTIC-FM but there is practically no FM availability left even with translators in the market, and I can't see Audacy flipping any of their other 3 stations here since they perform extremely well.

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19 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

I'm waiting for Audacy to drop the hammer in Minneapolis next. "The Wolf" has only once ever beat K102 (iHeart) in the PPM ratings (and it was under their old country branding as Buz'n 102.9) and is the weakest of Audacy's three stations in the cluster (Jack-FM does really well here). Wolf just tweaked from "New Country" to "Everything Country" (That's New Country with a LOT of Shania Twain, by the way). Given the NY Move, guessing if this tweak doesn't instill life, WCCO 830 and 102.9 becomes reality very soon. There have also been moves to upgrade the talent on 830 in the last year including plucking popular WCCO-TV anchor Jason DeRusha to host afternoon drive. Ironically, 102.9 began life as WCCO-FM playing lite rock...


I have to agree with you on that, because WCCO on AM 830 (eight-three-o) and FM 102.9 could become a reality one of these days. As a matter of fact, if KMNB drops their country music format one of these days, then the WCCO-FM call letters would make its return to 102.9 for the first time since 1983, the year they changed 102.9 to adult contemporary WLTE.

I would like to also mention that radio stations have come and gone over the years. As a matter of fact, I remember a radio station out of Texas, KOGT, and it was based in Orange, Texas. In fact, I got an opportunity to listen to the station via their livestream during their final days on the air as well as the last few minutes of the station on the evening of December 31st, 2021. The reason they signed off the air was in part due to changing media. However, as I am replying to this post, I went to http://www.kogt.com and their website is still active even after the station signed off the air back on New Year's Eve 2021 as they update the latest news each day. So, when they sign the station back on the air will be interesting to watch, but I'm not for sure if it will ever sign back on since they have been off the air for almost a year.

Getting back to WCCO, I will restate that WCCO on AM 830 and FM 102.9 could become a reality, and would give WCCO a clear FM signal.

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