WFAS (AM): Difference between revisions

▲In 1932 the call letters were changed to WFAS,<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000842031c&view=1up&seq=35 "Broadcasting Stations"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', July 30, 1932, page 31.</ref> and the station relocated to [[White Plains, New York|White Plains]].<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000842031c&view=1up&seq=84 "Broadcasting Stations"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', September 30, 1932, page 14.</ref> This call sign honored the two owners' husband and father, Frank A. Seitz, Sr.<ref>WFAS entry, ''The Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921-1996'' by Bill Jaker, Frank Sulek and Peter Kanze, 1998, pages 68-70.</ref> WFAS made its debut on August 11, 1932 from the [[Roger Smith Hotel]],<ref>[https://news.hrvh.org/veridian/?a=d&d=bronxvillereviewpressreporterBRONXVILLE19621220.1.10& "WFAS: Thirty Years Young"], ''Bronxville (New York) Review Press and Reporter'', December 20, 1962, page 10.</ref> on the corner of Post Road and Chester Street in White Plains. WFAS initially broadcast with 100 watts using a T-top antenna located on the hotel's roof.

▲In 1941, with the implementation of the [[North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement]] (NARBA), most stations on 1210&nbsp;kHz, including WFAS, were reassigned to 1240&nbsp;kHz.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32437010939748&view=1up&seq=576 "Assignments of United States Standard Broadcast Stations Listed by Frequency"] ''United States Statutes at Large'', (1941)</ref> By March 1943, the station had moved to 1230&nbsp;kHz, becoming a full-time operation which no longer had to share its frequency with any other stations.<ref>FCC license file and application record, Application B1-ML-1073, March 9, 1943</ref> In 1947, the transmitter site moved to its current location on Secor Road in the Town of Greenburgh.<ref>FCC license file and application record, Application B1-P-4392, July 29, 1946</ref> Concurrent with that move, 103.9 [[WNBM|WFAS-FM]] signed on the air on August 1, from the same location. The T-top antenna continued to be used as an auxiliary while the studios remained at the Roger Smith Hotel.

▲In 1948, WFAS and WFAS-FM moved to new studios and offices in the building of the ''White Plains Reporter Dispatch'' newspaper.<ref>{{cite news|title=WFAS WFAS-FM Finish New Studios and Offices|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1948/1948-06-28-BC.pdf#page=59|access-date=21 December 2014|agency=Broadcasting|date=June 28, 1948}}</ref> By 1954, the studios had moved out of the City of White Plains into the Secor Road location. In 1963, the station increased power to 1,000 watts.<ref>FCC license file and application record, Application BP-12387, October 10, 1962</ref>

▲In 2011 WFAS began a trial of sports programming with Bob Wolfe, in addition to station originals such as ''Bruce Hall's Second Opinion'', which featured Bruce Hall and Roy G. Edwards, founder of Sports Mancave, which aired for 3 years before WFAS moved transmitters. ''Second Opinion'' hosted such events as the Westchester Golf Show, and had recurring guests of Clarke Judge, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, and NFL Network contributor Russle Baxter.

▲In 2014, WFAS-FM changed its call sign to [[WNBM]], moved its transmitter site to [[The Bronx]] and its studios to Cumulus' [[Pennsylvania Plaza|Penn Plaza]] facilities in [[Midtown Manhattan]], to become an [[Urban adult contemporary]] station serving the [[New York metropolitan area]].

▲On February 3, 2016, WFAS changed [[Radio format|format]]s from [[Talk radio]] to sports, branded as "Sportsradio 1230", with programming from CBS Sports Radio.<ref>[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/96560/wfas-shifts-to-cbs-sports/ "WFAS Shifts to CBS Sports"] by Lance Venta, February 3, 2016 (radioinsight.com)</ref>

▲On April 20, 2021, it was announced that WFAS had notified the FCC of their intentions to convert to an exclusively digital HD Radio signal, their plan being to complete the process by May 24. The station would be the third AM station in the United States to do so, following [[WWFD]] in Frederick, Maryland (broadcasting to the [[Washington D.C.]] area) and [[WMGG]] near Tampa, Florida. However, unlike these other two stations, WFAS's programming is not also carried over an analog FM translator. With the announcement, WFAS would also flip to [[conservative talk]] the same day, branded as "Digital AM 1230, New Talk for New York", featuring a variety of conservative talk shows otherwise not cleared in the market. CBS Sports Radio will continue to fill weekend timeslots.<ref>[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/207306/suburban-new-york-am-to-go-all-digital-next-month/ "Suburban New York AM To Go All Digital Next Month"] by Lance Venta, April 20, 2021 (radioinsight.com)</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/208468/wfas-sets-lineup-for-its-all-digital-talk-flip/|title=WFAS Sets Lineup For Its All-Digital Talk Flip|last=Venta|first=Lance|date=20 May 2021|work=RadioInsight|access-date=24 May 2021}}</ref> On December 15, 2021, Cumulus announced that WNBM would begin simulcasting WFAS on January 3, 2022, giving the station an analog signal.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WNBM To Bring Westwood One Talkers To New York|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/216919/wnbm-to-flip-to-talk/|access-date=2021-12-18|website=RadioInsight|language=en-US}}</ref>