| WINZ | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Miami, Florida |
| Broadcast | South Florida metropolitan area |
| Branding | AM 940 The Sports Animal |
| Frequency | 940 kHz |
| Format | Sports |
| Power | 50,000 watts daytime 10,000 watts nighttime Currently operating @ 25,000 watts during nighttime under a special temporary authority |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 51977 |
| Sister stations(s) | WBGG-FM, WHYI-FM, WIOD, WLVE, WMGE, WMIB |
| Former callsigns | WRFX (2002-2004) WIVK (9/1988-11/1988) |
| Affiliations | FOX Sports Radio Miami Heat |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications |
| Sister Stations | WBGG-FM, WHYI-FM, WIOD, WLVE, WMGE, WMIB |
| Webcast | Listen Live to AM 940 The Sports Animal |
| Website | AM 940's Website |
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 & as far west as Ft. Myers & Naples. The station has managed to score ratings in the Ft. Myers-Naples & West Palm Beach-Boca Raton radio markets despite it's transmitter being far away, over 100 miles away in the case of Ft. Myers-Naples & having no promotion.
The station is directional to the southeast, even more so @ night, to protect clear channel Class-A stations CINW in Montreal & XEQ-AM in Mexico City.
WINZ's former talk-host lineup included Nova M hosts Randi Rhodes & Mike Malloy, Stephanie Miller of the Jones Radio Networks, Lionel & Thom Hartmann of Air America Radio & Don Imus in the morning from 6 until 9 AM.
The station signed on it's liberal talk format @ 12:06 PM on July 12, 2004. Al Franken's program was the 1st in the new format. Before this station adopted liberal talk as it's format, it was 940 FOX Sports Radio, an all-sports station that competed with WQAM & WAFN. On April 3 2009, the format shifted back to sports & is now known as "The Sports Animal".
Currently, WINZ is owned by Clear Channel Communications, the largest US 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 & 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 & The Nicole Sandler Show.
Miami Heat NBA basketball games went back to WINZ from WIOD starting in the 2008-2009 NBA season. 1 game will be simulcast monthly on 103.5 The Beat. WINZ previously carried Heat games from 1993-1996.
On April 2 2009, it was reported on radio-info.com that the station would switch to sports the following day, making it the 6th sports station in Miami; this follows Clear Channel's trend of changing liberal talk formats (regardless of success) to it's own FOX Sports network.