WINZ (AM)
Encyclopedia
WINZ, AM 940 The Sports Animal is a sports talk radio station that serves Miami
-Fort Lauderdale
. The stations airs primarily syndicated programming. It daytime signal reaches as far north as Ft. Pierce and as far west as Ft. Myers and Naples
and as far south as The Bahamas. The station has managed to score ratings in the Ft. Myers-Naples and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton radio markets despite its transmitter being far away, over 100 miles away in the case of Ft. Myers-Naples, and having no promotion.
The station is directional to the southeast to protect a clear channel Class-A station allocation in Montreal
(former occupant CINW fell silent in February 2010; however, the allocation still exists by international treaty), as well as clear channel Class-A station XEQ-AM
in Mexico City
.
During the early 1960s, WINZ competed with top 40 powerhouses WQAM and WFUN
, with personalities including Bruce Morrow
, who was heard there during 1960 but returned to his home town of New York and began a long run at WABC
the following year.
WINZ's former talk-host lineup included Nova M hosts Randi Rhodes
and Mike Malloy
, Stephanie Miller
of Jones Radio Networks
, Lionel
and Thom Hartmann
of Air America Radio
, and Don Imus
in the morning from 6:00 AM until 9:00 AM.
WINZ is affiliated with CBS
for hourly network newscasts and includes twice hourly updates from The Weather Channel
.
The station signed on in its liberal talk format at 12:06 p.m. on July 12, 2004. Al Franken's program was the first in the new format. Before this station adopted liberal talk as its format, it was 940 Fox Sports Radio, an all-sports
station that competed with WQAM
and WAFN. On April 3, 2009, the format shifted back to sports, and is now known as "The Sports Animal".
Currently, WINZ is owned by Clear Channel Communications
, the largest U.S. radio owner. Clear Channel purchased the station from West Palm Beach
-based media entrepreneur Bud Paxson
. WINZ management changed in early 2007 from Peter Bolger to Ken Charles. New weekend shows included Clout with Richard Greene and 7 Days in America
with new Air America Radio network co-owner Mark Green (no relation). Other local shows have been dropped recently, such as Radioactive Politics and The Nicole Sandler Show.
In 2008, Miami Heat
(National Basketball Association
) games moved back to WINZ from WIOD
. One game will be simulcast monthly on 103.5 The Beat
. WINZ previously carried Heat games from 1993 to 1996.
On April 2, 2009, it was reported on Radio-Info.com that the station would switch to sports
the following day, making it the sixth sports station in Miami; this follows Clear Channel's trend of changing liberal talk formats (regardless of success) to its own Fox Sports network.
Since the change of format, ratings for WINZ have dropped from a 1.0 in the Spring of 2009 to a 0.3 in April, a 06 in May, and a 0.5 in June, behind the sports station WAXY and WQAM.
The National Football League
's Miami Dolphins
announced on March 1, 2010, that it had entered an agreement with Clear Channel that would make WINZ and WBGG-FM
flagship stations of the Dolphins Radio Network for the next six years.
On November 14, 2010, the Dolphins and Heat played on the same day at the same time. Per contract, WINZ aired the Dolphins game while another station had the Heat broadcast. Clear Channel then threatened to sue the Heat for breach of contract. Sometime after that, the Heat switched its flagship station to competing station WAXY
.
Most of the stations lineup is feeded in from national feeds of FOX Sports Radio and ESPN Radio
Weekday Schedule
1-5 AM: JT The Brick Show on FOX Sports Radio
5-6 AM: Sportscenter AM by ESPN Radio
6-10 AM: Mike and Mike in the Morning
by ESPN Radio
10 AM-Noon: Jeff DeForest
Noon-3PM: Jim Rome
3-5PM: Dan Patrick Show by FOX Sports Radio
5-7 PM: The Finsiders with Jesse Aguilar
7-10 PM: Petros and Money by FOX Sports Radio
10 PM-1AM: FOX Sports Radio
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
-Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
. The stations airs primarily syndicated programming. It daytime signal reaches as far north as Ft. Pierce and as far west as Ft. Myers and Naples
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
and as far south as The Bahamas. The station has managed to score ratings in the Ft. Myers-Naples and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton radio markets despite its transmitter being far away, over 100 miles away in the case of Ft. Myers-Naples, and having no promotion.
The station is directional to the southeast to protect a clear channel Class-A station allocation in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(former occupant CINW fell silent in February 2010; however, the allocation still exists by international treaty), as well as clear channel Class-A station XEQ-AM
XEQ-AM
XEQ-AM, also known as Bésame , is a Mexican clear-channel station on 940 kHz and licensed for Mexico City. It is licensed to Cadena Radiodifusora Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. and operated by Radiópilis, a company owned by Televisa Radio and PRISA's Unión Radio.XEQ-AM is licensed domestically in...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
During the early 1960s, WINZ competed with top 40 powerhouses WQAM and WFUN
WAXY
WAXY is a radio station licensed in South Miami, Florida broadcasting on 790 kHz with a sports talk format. The station is owned by Lincoln Financial Media, which was previously known as Jefferson-Pilot Communications...
, with personalities including Bruce Morrow
Bruce Morrow
Bruce Morrow is an American radio personality known to many listeners as Cousin Brucie.-Radio work:...
, who was heard there during 1960 but returned to his home town of New York and began a long run at WABC
WPLJ
WPLJ is a radio station in New York City owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media. WPLJ shares studio facilities with sister station WABC inside 2 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building. The station currently plays a Hot Adult...
the following year.
WINZ's former talk-host lineup included Nova M hosts Randi Rhodes
Randi Rhodes
Randi Rhodes is an American progressive talk radio personality, formerly featured on Air America Radio and Nova M Radio and now on Premiere Radio Networks. Her eponymous program, The Randi Rhodes Show, airs live Monday through Friday from 3 pm to 6 pm Eastern Time.-Early life:Rhodes was born in...
and Mike Malloy
Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy is an American radio broadcaster from Atlanta, Georgia. Previously his show has been carried by WSB Atlanta, WLS Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, Nova M Radio and the On Second Thought network. He is now self-syndicated...
, Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Catherine Miller is an American comedienne and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by Dial Global. Talkers magazine ranked her as the 24th most important radio talk show host in America for 2010.-Early...
of Jones Radio Networks
Jones Radio Networks
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such as news and talk programs, syndicated radio shows,...
, Lionel
Lionel (radio)
Michael William Lebron , popularly known as Lionel, is an American nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Beginning May 2007, he hosted a daily three-hour radio talk show on Air America Radio. Lionel was a consistent performer for Air America and drew weekly audiences of around 1.5 million...
and Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is an American radio host, author, former psychotherapist and entrepreneur, and progressive political commentator. His nationally-syndicated radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, airs in the United States and has 2.75 million listeners a week...
of Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
, and Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
in the morning from 6:00 AM until 9:00 AM.
WINZ is affiliated with CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
for hourly network newscasts and includes twice hourly updates from The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
.
The station signed on in its liberal talk format at 12:06 p.m. on July 12, 2004. Al Franken's program was the first in the new format. Before this station adopted liberal talk as its format, it was 940 Fox Sports Radio, an all-sports
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
station that competed with WQAM
WQAM (AM)
WQAM is a South Florida radio station owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. The call letters WQAM were claimed to stand for We Quit At Midnight .....
and WAFN. On April 3, 2009, the format shifted back to sports, and is now known as "The Sports Animal".
Currently, WINZ is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, the largest U.S. radio owner. Clear Channel purchased the station from West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
-based media entrepreneur Bud Paxson
Bud Paxson
Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson is an American media executive.A native of Florida, Paxson began his career at a little 500 watt radio station in upstate New York, and later as the owner of a small AM radio station, WWQT 1470 AM, in Clearwater, Florida. There, in 1977, an advertiser had plenty of product...
. WINZ management changed in early 2007 from Peter Bolger to Ken Charles. New weekend shows included Clout with Richard Greene and 7 Days in America
7 Days in America
7 Days In America is a one-hour syndicated radio program in the United States, airing on the Air America Radio Network. The show is hosted by Mark Green, Arianna Huffington, and Bob Kerrey and debuted May 26, 2007, airing Saturday evenings from 6-7PM ET, with a replay on Sunday mornings from 9-10AM...
with new Air America Radio network co-owner Mark Green (no relation). Other local shows have been dropped recently, such as Radioactive Politics and The Nicole Sandler Show.
In 2008, Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
(National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
) games moved back to WINZ from WIOD
WIOD
WIOD is a news/talk formatted radio station in Miami, Florida. For over 80 years, it has been a major information station in South Florida...
. One game will be simulcast monthly on 103.5 The Beat
WMIB-FM
WMIB is a Clear Channel-owned Spanish Hot Adult Contemporary format radio station, licensed to Fort Lauderdale. For 25 years, the station call letters were WSHE, and the station slogan was "She's only Rock n Roll." In 1995, a format change was made from album oriented rock to an alternative/hot...
. WINZ previously carried Heat games from 1993 to 1996.
On April 2, 2009, it was reported on Radio-Info.com that the station would switch to sports
the following day, making it the sixth sports station in Miami; this follows Clear Channel's trend of changing liberal talk formats (regardless of success) to its own Fox Sports network.
Since the change of format, ratings for WINZ have dropped from a 1.0 in the Spring of 2009 to a 0.3 in April, a 06 in May, and a 0.5 in June, behind the sports station WAXY and WQAM.
The National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
announced on March 1, 2010, that it had entered an agreement with Clear Channel that would make WINZ and WBGG-FM
WBGG-FM
WBGG-FM, branded as Big 105.9, is a classic rock radio station licensed to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and serving the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station is licensed for HD Radio and carries WIOD 610 AM on HD2....
flagship stations of the Dolphins Radio Network for the next six years.
On November 14, 2010, the Dolphins and Heat played on the same day at the same time. Per contract, WINZ aired the Dolphins game while another station had the Heat broadcast. Clear Channel then threatened to sue the Heat for breach of contract. Sometime after that, the Heat switched its flagship station to competing station WAXY
WAXY
WAXY is a radio station licensed in South Miami, Florida broadcasting on 790 kHz with a sports talk format. The station is owned by Lincoln Financial Media, which was previously known as Jefferson-Pilot Communications...
.
Most of the stations lineup is feeded in from national feeds of FOX Sports Radio and ESPN Radio
Weekday Schedule
1-5 AM: JT The Brick Show on FOX Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
5-6 AM: Sportscenter AM by ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
6-10 AM: Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning is an American sports-talk radio show hosted by Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio and simulcast on television, normally on ESPN2. If ESPN is broadcasting a live sporting event during the show's timeslot, Sportscenter will air on ESPN2, and the show's...
by ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
10 AM-Noon: Jeff DeForest
Noon-3PM: Jim Rome
Jim Rome
Jim Rome is an American sports radio talk show host syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications....
3-5PM: Dan Patrick Show by FOX Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
5-7 PM: The Finsiders with Jesse Aguilar
7-10 PM: Petros and Money by FOX Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
10 PM-1AM: FOX Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...