WINR (680 AM, "US 96.9") is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station broadcasting a classic country format licensed to

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

, and owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. WINR's studios are on North Jensen Road in Vestal. By day, WINR is powered at 5,000 watts. Since

680 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 680 kHz: 680 AM is a North American clear-channel frequency. KNBR and KBRW share Class A status on 680 kHz. WRKO, WPTF, CJOB and CFTR also broadcast on 680 kHz, with 50,00 ...

is a clear channel frequency, WINR must reduce power at night to 500 watts to protect other stations from interference. Programming is also heard on

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

96.9 W245BV in Endwell. It uses the FM dial position in its moniker, "U.S. 96.9."

History

Early years

WINR is Binghamton's second-oldest radio station, signing on the air on August 5, 1946, at 1490

kilocycle The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the ''hertz'' (Hz). Cycles per second may be denoted by c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just "cycles" (Cyc., Cy., C, or c). The term comes from repetitive ph ...

s. It was an

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

of the

NBC Red Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

. The station was founded by the Southern Tier Radio Service, Inc., a firm owned by Donald W. Kramer (1907–1986), a Binghamton attorney who later served as that city's mayor from 1950 until 1957. Early print advertisements for the station, such as in the ''

Binghamton Press The ''Press & Sun-Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper serving the area around Binghamton, New York. History The newspaper was formed by the 1985 merger of ''The Evening Press'' (which was known as ''The Binghamton Press'' prior to 1960) and ''Th ...

'' and ''

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

'' magazine featured the likeness of locally raised

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

Exterminator, winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby who served as the inspiration for the WINR call letters ("Winner"). In April 1951 the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

granted WINR permission to relocate from 1490 to its present dial location at 680 AM. The move occurred in early 1952.

TV station

In August 1954, WINR was awarded a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to build Binghamton's second television station. It took the call letters WINR-TV (channel 40) when it went on the air in November 1957. Several months earlier in January 1957, Southern Tier Radio Service sold WINR and its channel 40 permit to the ''Binghamton Press'', an arm of the then- Rochester-based

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as severa ...

newspaper chain. WINR-TV was primarily an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate, since the radio station also carried NBC programming. Gannett split up the stations through separate sales in 1971: WINR radio was sold to a

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

-based broadcaster, while WINR-TV went to tower manufacturer Stainless, Inc., which changed that outlet's call sign to

WICZ-TV WICZ-TV (channel 40) is a television station in Binghamton, New York, United States, affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Imagicomm Communications, the station has studios on Vestal Parkway East (NY 434) in Ves ...

Standards, Oldies and Classic Country

In the late 1990s, WINR switched to an

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

format. Its core artists included

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

. In the early 2000s, WINR was host to the nationally syndicated nightly

radio program "The Clinton Ferro Program" starring Clinton Ferro. It ran from 2000 to 2002. The show was syndicated in 82 markets nationwide until Ferro's passing in 2002. On January 25, 2012, WINR changed its format from adult standards to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

, branded as "Oldies 680". On April 11, 2013, WINR rebranded as "Oldies 96-9" after the station added an FM translator, W245BV (96.9 FM) in Endwell. On December 8, 2014, WINR changed its format to classic country. It began calling itself the moniker "US 96.9".Oldies 96-9 Binghamton Flips to Classic Country
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References

External links

FCC History Cards for WINR
;FM translator * * {{Clear Channel 1946 establishments in New York (state) Classic country radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations Radio stations established in 1946 INR