I never knew until this morning that 660 WNBC was ever Simulcast on 97.1 FM
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66 WNBC/97.1 FM
- Thread starter Always interested
- Start date
Hmmm. Perhaps for a short period of time. 97.1 was owned by NBC from appx 1947 to 1988. It had several formats including classical and all news. For some brief periods it might have simulcast the AM, but all simulcasts ended in the mid-60s by order of the FCC. So they did a light rock format for a while before switching to news, then back to light rock, and finally country. In 1988, the country format on 97.1 moved to 103.5, and the Hot format replaced it.
Thanx so much for the info. I watch & listened to the videos on YouTube this morning
Did the videos give a year? Because I'm not aware that Imus, for example, was ever simulcast on 97.1 FM.
Yes October 11 1973 & Imus was on the Air
Yes October 11 1973 Imus was on air
I'm not sure about that. In 1973 and 1974 WNBC was airing an automated rock format called The Rock Pile
Here's an aircheck:
It wasn't successful, and they flipped to a pop format in 1974
Here is a timeline of NYC radio from that period:
I remember when they were WYNY. Mostly light rock, like Billy Joel. Don't believe I ever listened them before about the late 70s. Never knew about the simulcast.
I found that video on YouTube. Yes I hear him give an ID for both AM & FM. Very surprised to hear that. Perhaps they only simulcast him and then went to the Rock Pile format for the rest of the day. I don't know.
His best of Imus on that aired on Sunday evenings was the best.
I found an old post from RadioDiscussions on this subject.
There was some selective simulcasting that was done during that time. Rambling With Gambling was simulcast for a time on WOR-FM. WNEW simulcast it's AM top of the hour newscasts on the FM. It happened from time to time. I imagine the Imus simulcast ended when the format of the FM changed in 1974.
There was some selective simulcasting that was done during that time. Rambling With Gambling was simulcast for a time on WOR-FM. WNEW simulcast it's AM top of the hour newscasts on the FM. It happened from time to time. I imagine the Imus simulcast ended when the format of the FM changed in 1974.
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Just an aside: "Rambling with Gambling" ran continuously on WOR from 1925 through 2000 featuring three generations of John Gambling; The son took over in 1959 and his son, in 1991, after being brought in as co-host in 1985. The show was canceled in 2000 and shortly thereafter John III moved to WABC but WOR owned the name. In 2008, he moved back to WOR but didn't return to "Rambling with Gambling" and retired in 2013.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
In the earliest days of FM, with so relatively little in the way of reception equipment by the public (the earliest adopters tended to be audiophiles) it was very common for co-owned FMs to simulcast their AMs 24/7 (or at least in morning drive). In fact, until the FCC edict to stop simulcasting, the only separately-programmed FMs in most markets were the ones without existing AMs.
But if you go back to the post-WW II 40's, many FMs offered programming that the AMs did not provide. When there was little commercial success, some tried things like "buscasting" which was a format designed for bus passengers that was piped into all city busses in some markets.
By 1950, there were roughly 1000 FMs and by 1960, it was down to under 700 and most were simulcasting and few independents remained.
When Armstrong´'s patents expired and FM AGC was introduced, there was a surge in the early 70's of radio sales. Later, FM stereo, which developed very slowly , helped further the high quality image of the band.
I’m happy there is interesting conversation about this. I hesitated before I posted this thread. Glad I followed through
Due to publication deadlines, the information in the annual BROADCASTING yearbooks often lagged what was actually going on in any given year of publication. 1972 & 1973’s editions show WNBC-FM as simulcasting the AM station 40%. In the ‘74 edition, it was down to 13% duplication. It was still listed at 13% duplication in the 1975 annual. But we know that on June 18, 1975, NBC launched their “News and Information Service” on their FM flagship. The calls were changed to WNWS-FM. That ended the years of simulcasts. (With a big tip of the hat to David Eduardo’s worldradiohistory.com)
I recall 97.1 FM carrying Imus-in-the-Morning c.1972, but only up until 9:00 AM. The last hour was on 660 only.
Broadcasting Yearbook pages at worldradiohistory.com
I recall 97.1 FM carrying Imus-in-the-Morning c.1972, but only up until 9:00 AM. The last hour was on 660 only.
Broadcasting Yearbook pages at worldradiohistory.com
There was John B. first, followed by John A., and finally John R. There was never a John Gambling II/Jr. or John Gambling III.
And John R. didn't fully retire. WNYM coaxed him back to do a midday show from 2014 until 2016, when he finally decided to pot down his mic once and for all.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
It would appear, given the New York Times article being dated December 18, 1974, that the "Love of New York" automated format that was successor to the "Rockpile" format was the last music format before NIS was launched six months later.
Per an article in Radio & Records' December 17, 1976 issue, the WYNY format was to begin January 1 as NIS was "phased out" (it shut down at the end of May 1977). The article said they would be running Bonneville's "Soft Rock" so apparently they still had the WNBC-FM automation.
Per an article in Radio & Records' December 17, 1976 issue, the WYNY format was to begin January 1 as NIS was "phased out" (it shut down at the end of May 1977). The article said they would be running Bonneville's "Soft Rock" so apparently they still had the WNBC-FM automation.
Perhaps initially, but the soft rock format would add local hosts at some point. I've seen airchecks of Bree Bushaw, Herb Barry, and Dick Summer starting in 1977. So perhaps the music came from Bonneville with live assist. That's how WRFM operated during that time.
This NYTimes article says Bree started in January. She later changed her name to Bree Walker.
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I know. I was just trying to keep it brief. That's why I called him John III and didn't go into his return when he unretired. The fact that one of three men with the same first and last names held down morning drive for 88 years strikes me as more than a little interesting!