New York’s WCBS-AM signs off to make room for ESPN Radio
57 years of radio history ends
In an unusual move, Audacy is letting ESPN New York owner Good Karma Brands lease the 880 AM signal in New York City in a local marketing agreement (LMA), effective August 26.
The frequency is currently occupied by all-news WCBS-AM, but with this move, the station is shuttering after 57 years in operation, leaving co-owned WINS-AM as the Big Apple’s only all-news outlet. Audacy already owns crosstown rival WFAN-AM, so the company will now own TWO frequencies with all-sports stations, but Good Karma will operate 880 AM and keep control of all editorial content and ad revenue. As a result, don’t look for any anti-trust complaints or concerns.
The New York Mets will continue to air games on 880AM with Audacy producing games and keeping all ad revenue from the telecasts, including pre and post-game shows.
The decision comes as Good Karma decided not to renew its leased frequency at 98.7 FM, which expires at the end of this month but retains its 1050 AM signal and now has a stronger 880AM signal with the call letters changing from WCBS-AM to WHSQ-AM. Good Karma took over several big-market ESPN Radio stations, including WMVP-AM in Chicago, known as ESPN 1000.
Emmis Communications has yet to decide what would fill the soon-to-be-vacant 98.7 FM frequency.
“New York has always been proudly unique in supporting two all-news radio brands, but the news business has gone through significant changes,” said Chris Oliviero, Audacy’s New York market president. “The headwinds facing local journalism nationwide made it essential to strategically reimagine how we deliver the news for the most impact. WCBS 880 has been one of the most respected radio stations in history, with a legacy cemented by the hundreds of world-class journalists, on and off the air, who willed it into existence over the decades. If it happened in New York or the world, you heard about it on WCBS 880.”
Audacy noted there will be layoffs due to the move. The cash-strapped company is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Launching its all-news format a year before WBBM-AM did, WCBS covered New York City’s biggest news stories from the 1977 blackout to 9/11. In 1995, WINS owner Westinghouse merged with CBS, with both all-news stations and rivals now under the same corporate roof, similar to WBBM and Westinghouse’s WMAQ. In 2000, WMAQ-AM gave way to The Score (WSCR-AM) at 670 AM, ending 78 years of operation, going back to NBC ownership and their days at the Merchandise Mart.
WCBS-AM parent owner CBS re-merged with Viacom in 1999, when the radio division was rebranded Infinity Radio. It was rebranded again in 2006 when CBS and Viacom split as CBS Radio. The radio division was sold to Entercom in 2017, which rebranded as Audacy in 2021.
WCBS-AM will air a three-hour retrospective on August 22 reflecting on the station’s 57-year history and the stories they covered.