It’s officially a new world in New York City radio where 1010 WINS has added a full FM simulcast with the addition of 92.3FM.
It’s also a move that continues the trend of talk joining the FM band with big splashes. Just a few weeks ago in Dallas, it was 97.1 The Freak launching after a format flip from music. Now in New York, the monster brand of 1010 WINS joins the FM band, as Audacy says goodbye to ALT 92.3FM, which was also the old home of Howard Stern for years.
As we look at this latest move, Talkers publisher Michael Harrison put it well, telling Newsday, “as natives of the 20th century, you and I still think there’s a difference between AM and FM but to natives of the 21st century, these are irrelevant facts. The flip doesn’t mean anything other than Audacy is doing the best it can to keep up with the times.”
Keeping up with the times is exactly why this is the right move. And giving WINS a chance to compete as now the only all-news platform on FM, could be a game-changer. Yes, Audacy also owns all-news 880 WCBS, but this move for WINS made more sense.
880 WCBS and 1010 WINS both have 50,000 watts of power on the AM dial. However, 1010 WINS is a directional Class B signal, while 880 WCBS is a Class A non-directional signal. WYNL, the call letters of the 92.3 FM frequency, has 6,000 watts of power. So if there was one of the two that needed the lift, it was WINS. And if nothing else, from a business perspective, the reward far exceeds the risk.
Now back to Harrison’s comments to Newsday, in which this next one rang even more true. When asked about seeing ALT 92.3FM get moved (it will still be on HD2), he said, “It’s sad to see it go on a certain level, but radio gave up ownership of music years ago. It’s been a slow fade and this is another one of the lights going out. It doesn’t indicate anything beyond that.”
He’s spot on. And it won’t be the last. In fact, there might be more industry news on this front before the Barrett Sports Media editors hit “publish” on this article.
Radio’s greatest asset is its local news and personalities. 1010 WINS defines exactly that as the oldest continuously operating all-news station in the United States in the No. 1 market in the nation. From the anchor, reporters, producers and writers, these are some of the most recognizable voices and names in the city. The listener makes those anchors or, in the case of talk, personalities, part of their lives and daily routines. That can’t be duplicated, copied, or replaced. Music of choice can be and will continue to be.
Leveraging that is paramount for the business. Spotify, YouTube, etc. can beat Audacy (and all radio companies for that matter) at certain things. But they can’t beat Audacy in that game of local, reliable, live and local news around the clock (at least not yet). And they can’t beat (yet) local personalities who are ingrained in their communities.
The trend will continue. This story is just the latest example.
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
