ESPN New York Radio begins anew on WHSQ/880 AM as WCBS Radio vanishes overnight
ESPN New York Radio can now be heard on 880 AM. Credit: ESPN Images/Gabby Ricciardi
The transition could not have been more jarring.
There was Wayne Cabot, a signature voice of WCBS/880 AM, with a heartfelt final signoff as Sunday turned into Monday.
It was a moment in radio history for a station that had been around for 100 years, had used the WCBS call letters since 1946 and had featured a news format since 1967.
Then, after a minute of respectful silence, New York radio took a detour at 12:01 a.m.
An ESPN Radio update led with Washington beating Atlanta in a baseball game, followed by a national show called “GameNight.” First topic: Georgia Tech’s Week 0 college football upset of Florida State.
It was like someone swiping your pastrami sandwich and replacing the mustard with mayo and the rye with Wonder bread. And the pastrami with American cheese. ESPN New York Radio can now be heard on WHSQ/880AM. Credit: ESPN
Just like that, WCBS became WHSQ, and all-news became all-sports.
While the format change understandably was not a big story nationally, the local announcers who make up the bulk of the station’s day did note the occasion.
“Welcome,” ESPN New York co-host Dave Rothenberg said at 6 a.m. “A new era in sports talk radio as [Rick] DiPietro and Rothenberg lead the way: 880 AM.”
“Start of a new era,” midday co-host Alan Hahn said as his show began. “The Michael Kay Show” also opened afternoon drive with a nod to the change. “I love it,” Kay said. “There are so many options.”
How and why did this happen? It’s complex and convoluted, but here goes:
Good Karma Brands, which runs the business end of ESPN New York, was set to abandon the expensive 98.7 FM signal at the end of this week and use only 1050 AM and digital distribution for its programming.
Then came the news two weeks ago that Audacy, which owned WCBS, would license 880 AM to Good Karma, citing the redundancy of running two all-news stations in the same market. Audacy retained WINS for that genre.
The wrinkle here is that Audacy also owns WFAN, ESPN’s longtime local sports rival, and now it was selling ESPN a juicy 50,000-watt clear channel signal on 880.
But business priorities trumped the programming and ratings rivalry.
The ripple effects are many, including the oddity that Yankees announcer Kay’s ESPN New York radio show now will lead into Mets games on WHSQ.
Part of the licensing agreement calls for Mets games to continue on 880. When Kay noted the station being the home of the Mets, he jokingly added, “Oooh, so awkward to say!” When Knicks, Rangers and other ESPN content conflicts with the Mets, it will move to 1050. Otherwise, 1050 will carry national ESPN shows.
Got that?
Bottom line: ESPN New York fans — at least those who still prefer AM radio over digital streams — will be in a better place than they otherwise would have been.
So will the station’s announcers, whose voices will carry greater distances more reliably than 1050 AM affords.
Vinny DiMarco, market manager for ESPN New York, told Newsday on Monday that as a radio veteran, he understood the heartache at WCBS. But DiMarco said his staff is excited about its new home on the dial.
“We have the opportunity to put our content on a 50,000-watt clear channel radio station that can be heard up in Canada at night,” he said. “It was a great opportunity for us.”
Adding 162 Mets games alone is a huge programming boon.
“It’s good for the Mets, it’s good for us,” DiMarco said. He believes some Mets fans will stick around and sample other station content.
What about having Kay lead into Mets games?
“Listen, there are two big baseball teams in this market, and a lot of fans that care about each team,” DiMarco said. “So the opportunity is unique.”
The final moments of WCBS 880 through studio 11a at Hudson Square. pic.twitter.com/w26ziRhdgh
— Ray Martel (@Marteljr) August 26, 2024
WCBS’ news operation has been a part of New York-area folks’ lives for decades, and this development cost people jobs and careers. Everyone is sensitive to that.
Audacy executives did right by the station in letting its personalities say a proper goodbye with two weeks of retrospectives.
That is rare in radio, and Cabot expressed gratitude for the gesture. But business is business.
Sometimes that will mean Michael Kay and Howie Rose back-to-back and belly-to-belly. Other times it will mean Georgia Tech and Florida State.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.