WFAS (AM)

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

Due to the limited number of frequencies available for the highly congested New York City region, it was common beginning in the mid-1920s to require multiple stations to share a common frequency. On June 15, 1927, WBRS was assigned to 1420 kHz along with two other area stations.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106763078&view=1up&seq=92 "Broadcasting Stations by Wave Lengths"] (effective June 15, 1927), Radio Service Bulletin, May 31, 1927, page 14. On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of the Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40, the now-WCOH was reassigned to 1210 kHz on a shared time basis with three different stations.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c021003683&view=1up&seq=243 "Revised list of broadcasting stations, by frequencies, effective 3 a.m., November 11, 1928, eastern standard time"] Second Annual Report of the Federal Radio Commission (June 30, 1928), page 208.

In 1932 the call letters were changed to WFAS,[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000842031c&view=1up&seq=35 "Broadcasting Stations"], Radio Service Bulletin, July 30, 1932, page 31. and the station relocated to White Plains.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000842031c&view=1up&seq=84 "Broadcasting Stations"], Radio Service Bulletin, September 30, 1932, page 14. This call sign honored the two owners' husband and father, Frank A. Seitz, Sr.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. WFAS made its debut on August 11, 1932, from the Roger Smith Hotel,[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. on the corner of Post Road and Chester Avenue 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 kHz, including WFAS, were reassigned to 1240 kHz.[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) By March 1943, the station had moved to 1230 kHz, becoming a full-time operation which no longer had to share its frequency with any other stations.FCC license file and application record, Application B1-ML-1073, March 9, 1943 In 1947, the transmitter site moved to Secor Road in the Town of Greenburgh.FCC license file and application record, Application B1-P-4392, July 29, 1946 Concurrent with that move, 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.{{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=December 21, 2014|agency=Broadcasting|date=June 28, 1948}} 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.FCC license file and application record, Application BP-12387, October 10, 1962

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' 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 formats from talk radio to sports, branded as "Sportsradio 1230", with programming from CBS Sports Radio.[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/96560/wfas-shifts-to-cbs-sports/ "WFAS Shifts to CBS Sports"] by Lance Venta, February 3, 2016 (radioinsight.com)

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 was 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 continued to fill weekend timeslots.[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){{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=May 20, 2021|work=RadioInsight|access-date=May 24, 2021}} On December 15, 2021, Cumulus announced that WNBM would begin simulcasting WFAS on January 3, 2022, giving the station an analog signal;{{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=December 18, 2021|website=RadioInsight|date=December 15, 2021 |language=en-US}} 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.{{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}}

On October 7, 2024, Cumulus Media surrendered WFAS's license to the FCC.[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/283689/cumulus-surrenders-suburban-new-york-digital-am/ Cumulus Surrenders Suburban New York Digital AM] Radioinsight - October 7, 2024

The Federal Communications Commission cancelled the station’s license on October 15, 2024.{{cite web|url= https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=14381|title=License Cancelled|work=Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System|date=October 15, 2024|access-date=October 15, 2024}}

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{{AM station data|14381|WFAS}}

• {{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=52256 |title= History Cards for WFAS|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards) (covering 1927-1981 as WBRS/WCOH/WFAS)

{{Hudson Valley Radio}}

{{Cumulus Media}}

Category:1926 establishments in New York City

Category:2024 disestablishments in New York (state)

Category:Cumulus Media radio stations

Category:Digital-only radio stations

Category:Radio stations established in 1926

Category:Radio stations disestablished in 2024

FAS (AM)

FAS (AM)

Category:Defunct radio stations in the United States