WFAS (AM): Difference between revisions

| branding = ''TalkDigital FMAM 103.91230, andNew DigitalTalk AMfor 1230New York''

| repeater = [[WFAS-FM]] (103.9 [[MHz]], [[Bronxville, New York|Bronxville]]) =

| format = {{ubl|[[Conservative talk radio]] (weekdays)|[[Sports radio]] (weekends)}}

| power = 1,000 [[watt]]swatts

| coordinates = {{coord|41|011|32.35|N|73|49|37.48|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC}}

| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WBRS (1926–281926–1928)|WCOH (1928–321928–1932)}}

| former_frequencies = {{ubl|1420 kHz (1927–281927–1928)|1210 kHz (1928–411928–1941)|1240 kHz (1941–431941–1943)}}

| affiliations = {{ubl|[[Westwood One]]|[[CBS Sports Radio]]|[[USA Radio Network]]}}

| sister_stations = [[WFAS-FM]]

'''WFAS''' (1230 [[AM broadcasting|AM]] [[HD Radio]]) is a commercial [[digital radio|digital-only]] [[radio station]] [[City of license|licensed]] to serve [[White Plains, New York]]. The station is owned by [[Cumulus Media]] and broadcasts atwith 1,000 [[watt]]swatts from aits [[transmitter]] site on Secor Road, in [[Hartsdale, New York]]. On weekdays, WFAS airs a [[Conservative talk radio|conservative talk]] [[radio format]] with programming from [[Westwood One]], which is itself owned by Cumulus Media. News updates are supplied by [[USA Radio Network|USA Radio News]]. On weekends, WFAS carries [[CBS Sports Radio]] programming.

The station began all-digital HD Radio broadcasting on May 24, 2021, after notifying the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?call=WFAS |title=WFAS Facility Record |work=United States [[Federal Communications Commission]], audio division }}</ref> Since January 2022, WFAS has been simulcast in analog on [[WFAS-FM]] (103.9) in [[Bronxville, New York|Bronxville]].

WFAS's first license, as WBRS, was granted on August 19, 1926, to Universal Radio Manufacturing, Inc., located at 1062 [[Broadway (Brooklyn)|Broadway]] in [[Brooklyn]], New York.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106763060&view=1up&seq=383 "New Stations"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', August 31, 1926, page 3.</ref> In 1928 the station was taken over by the Westchester Broadcasting Corporation, which changed the [[call sign]] to WCOH and relocated to the [[Edgemont, New York|Greenville]] neighborhood in [[Yonkers, New York|Yonkers]].<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106763078&view=1up&seq=333 "Alterations and Corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', May 31, 1928, page 7.</ref>

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 [[WFAS-FM]] (103.9) 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 21, 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 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 continuescontinued 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 20, 2021|work=RadioInsight|access-date=24 May 24, 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-December 18, 2021|website=RadioInsight|date=December 15, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> the simulcast ended on February 6, 2023, after 103.9 (which had returned to the WFAS-FM call sign) was sold to [[VCY America]] and became [[WVBN (FM)|WVBN]].<ref name="ri-wfasfmtowvbn">{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=VCY America Debuts In New York - RadioInsight |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/248388/vcy-america-debuts-in-new-york/ |access-date=February 7, 2023 |work=RadioInsight |date=February 6, 2023}}</ref>

* {{Official website|https://www.wfasny.com/}}

{{AM station data|14381|WFAS}}

*[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=52256 {{FCC History Cards for letter|letterid=52256|callsign=WFAS]|hcards=yes}} (covering 1927-1981 as WBRS/WCOH/WFAS)

[[Category:Radio1926 stationsestablishments in New York (state)|FAS (AM)City]]

[[Category:1926Radio establishmentsstations in New York City(state)|FAS (AM)]]