October 27th, 2022 was an important day in the history of the legendary news radio brand 1010 WINS. After decades of giving listeners the world in 22 minutes on 1010 AM, the station began simulcasting on 92.3 FM.
Many observers were surprised at the announcement. Audacy New York Vice President of News Ben Mevorach said the move to an FM simulcast was a likely evolution for the venerable brand.
“It wasn’t a question of if, it was a question of when,” Mevorach told Barrett News Media. “A lot of things had to come together from a company perspective. I just think that the company saw that the world is changing, distribution platforms are changing, and 1010 WINS because of its longevity, its iconic stature, and its credibility, that there was a lot of upside that had not been realized in a market where the signal on an AM station like WINS had been a bit challenged in those later years as technology became stronger. All things sort of came together at the same time.”
While WINS-AM features 50,000 watts of power, it is a Class-B signal, meaning it must protect other stations on the 1010 frequency. That fact made it a prime target for an FM simulcast.
“There’s nowhere you can go in New York City and if you say ‘1010 WINS’ — and I don’t care what the age is, it doesn’t mean that they’re listening — but they know ‘If you give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world’. It’s a household brand,” said Mevorach. “Everybody knows it. Some people have moved to digital, some people have changed their radio listening habits, but we were top of mind. Always.
“So what I think happened on the FM was we were able to expand our reach, certainly in those pockets and areas where the signal was staticky. That all cleared up. Especially on the younger end of the demo, who are more inclined to sample FM, came to rediscover us, or find us for the first time. Not only did we see pretty explosive growth, the key is we’ve maintained that growth a year later. People came and they stayed.”
In the latest Nielsen ratings, 1010 WINS finished as the fifth overall station in the persons 12+ demographic. That represented a jump from seventh earlier this year.
Every news/talk radio brand is in search of a new and younger audience. 1010 WINS is no different, and Audacy New York knew adding the FM simulcast would be a driver in reaching those listeners.
“It was a critical factor to reach a younger demo. The sustainability of any brand is to find a new audience. It’s critically important to be on FM,” Mevorach said. “Young people will push it out and if they’re saying ‘I wonder if there’s a news station out there’, they’re more likely to go searching on the FM dial than the AM dial, and that’s why today it’s so important for us to be on FM.”
1010 WINS will always have an eye toward the future, Mevorach said, including how the FM simulcast plays into the branding of the all-news station.
“The question is, where are we five years from now? Or two years from now? And what do I do now to prepare for that? Do we one day become All News 92.3 FM? I would say to you probably, but not right now,” Mevorach admitted. “Because the 1010 WINS portion of this is still so incredibly entrenched in people’s minds. To diminish that part of the brand? It’s just not the right time to do that. So we will evolve, we will change, and we will find new ways.”
Mevorach concluded that while the brand will likely change one day, the station’s commitment to credible, unbiased, and trustworthy New York news coverage is unwavering.
