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October 25, 2022 1:28 pm  #1


Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

By Thursday, a legendary radio station in New York City will be a shadow of its former self, replaced by a simulcast of its big brother. But it's not going out without a bang. 

WNYL-FM has been known by many names - including K-Rock 92.3 and the one-time home of Howard Stern - and has undergone a number of format changes over the years. Its next big change won't be music but availability, as it shifts to HD-FM only, to make way for a simulcast of 1010 WINS-AM's all news wheel. (WINS, once a great Top 40 station decades ago, was one of the first to switch to all news in 1965, making it only the third radio station in history to adopt the idea. It hasn't been anything else since.) 

As owner Audacy readies to flip the switch and add FM to WINS-AM listeners' choice, the station is going out in a big way, saluting the history of "modern rock" by playing a different era of alt rock hour every until the bitter end. If you have a VPN set to the U.S., you can listen to the end of this era online here. 

As for the AM, it has been branding itself "1010 WINS" for over 50 years. I'll be curious to see if that changes, as most simulcast stations do, once it adds the FM signal. But "92.3 WINS" just doesn't sound right somehow. 

WNYL Turns Back Clock On Alternative Radio’s History At 92.3. 

 

 

October 26, 2022 12:52 pm  #2


Re: Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

(as of now) It's going to be "1010 WINS, All News 92.3 FM".  Eventually, it'll be just 'WINS News'. 

Last edited by Mavridis (October 26, 2022 12:54 pm)

 

October 26, 2022 1:10 pm  #3


Re: Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

How strong is the FM signal? Why bother with the AM side anymore at all? 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

October 26, 2022 3:27 pm  #4


Re: Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

It's a full-power FM.

The AM's had its branding and format for 57 years, so there won't be a mass exodus to the FM in the shot-term. Nothing else to put on the AM anyway.

 

October 26, 2022 3:31 pm  #5


Re: Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

RadioAaron wrote:

It's a full-power FM.
 Nothing else to put on the AM anyway.

So, shut it down! Unless it can be rented out to a religious source...or whatever.


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

October 26, 2022 4:45 pm  #6


Re: Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

Radiowiz wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

It's a full-power FM.
 Nothing else to put on the AM anyway.

So, shut it down! Unless it can be rented out to a religious source...or whatever.

I think the idea for a bit will be a few things.   

a) Make sure the audience moves over to FM.   This will take time and require an transition period.   There is no advantage of trying new things on 1010 at this point. 

b) Make sure they don't damage a successful brand/station.   It is doing well on 1010, but sadly the future is against them with AM nearing end of life with electric cars. 

c) should things not work out, they can go back to just being on 1010, and do something else on FM with no damage to 1010's audience. 

d) Religious programming is already on AM and FM in NYC on a few stations, which seems like adding another voice at this point to be over kill and possibly maxed out, unless they find some sort of hole missed.   I would bet Spanish, or  multi-cultural may be an option, but I have a feeling they may choose to just shut it down should things work out perfectly for them on the FM side OR sell to another existing broadcaster who may have a weaker signal.

Give them a few years.  If things goes as planned, I think 1010 will disappear as a repeater.   As will KNX's am signal in LA

Last edited by radiokid (October 26, 2022 4:46 pm)

 

October 26, 2022 6:28 pm  #7


Re: Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

New York's Newsday has this story on the end of an era on FM and looks at what the owner claims is the reason for the format shift.

"One of the major issues is that we're still governed by FCC cap rules," said Chris Olivero, president of Audacy New York, referring to a federal limit on how many stations any company can own in any one city. "Any time we wanted to add something to FM, we had to take something away." (Audacy owns eight New York-based stations.) 

"We had to make a choice [and] news and sports is what we do really well." 

The move is expected to be a boon for 1010, much as it was for WFAN a decade ago. Audacy's bet is that younger listeners will come upon 1010 — listeners who may not even know what an "AM" radio station is. Moreover, the FM simulcast should dramatically extend 1010's reach throughout the tristate area; 1010's signal has traditionally been weaker than 880's which this move should remedy. 

Howard Stern's old radio home switches to all-news format

     Thread Starter
 

October 27, 2022 4:03 pm  #8


Re: Death Throes: N.Y.C. Radio Station Says Goodbye By Looking Back

Here's what the last song played on Alt 92.3 was.

Legendary N.Y. radio station plays its last tune as it switches formats

     Thread Starter