WNEW-FM Switches to Pop Hits

After three years as a Hot Talk radio station targeting young Men, WNEW-FM, the once mighty New York Rock station, began airing pop hits on Monday with the promise that its new format would be "coming soon."

The move had been anticipated since last August when the station's owner, Infinity Broadcasting, fired afternoon drive hosts Opie & Anthony (Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia) for an on-air stunt that encouraged couples to have sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral and other public places. Although a lightning rod for controversy, Opie & Anthony were the cornerstone of the station's programming, drawing WNEW's highest ratings. Without the duo, the ratings, which were weak to begin with, fell from 1.3 to 0.7 overall in the Fall survey.

According to buyers in New York, WNEW plans on playing Top 40 music this week, followed by another music format next week, before unveiling the station's true format the week of Feb. 10. "As if the listeners weren't confused enough already," said one buyer.

Infinity operates six stations in New York. The others are two news stations, WINS-AM and WCBS-AM; Oldies WCBS-FM; Modern Rock WXRK-FM; and Sports WFAN-AM.