The iconic all-news radio station WCBS 880 AM sent its final transmission at midnight Sunday night, closing out a 57-year career.
The station’s parent company, Audacy, said challenges facing the news business were responsible for the decision to move to a sports talk format from the station’s news, traffic and weather format.
“New York has always been proudly unique in supporting two all-news radio brands, but the news business has gone through significant changes,” Chris Oliviero, Audacy’s New York Market president, said in a statement. “The headwinds facing local journalism nationwide made it essential to strategically reimagine how we deliver the news for the most impact.”
For nearly three generations, WCBS 880 all-news radio provided news, traffic and weather to the tri-state area. But at one minute after midnight on Monday, the station transitioned to its new sports format – and new call letters — as WHSQ-AM ESPN New York.
The sole remaining all-news radio station in New York City at this point is 1010 WINS 9.3 FM, covering New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and some parts of Connecticut with its iconic pledge: “You give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world.”
Plummeting advertising sales in terrestrial radio have also forced cuts at WYNC-New York. The station is set to slash its staff by at least eight percent next month, the second such cut in a year.
LaFontaine Oliver, president and chief executive of New York Public Radio, WNYC’s parent company, told staff in a memo that the company’s rising deficit was responsible for the decision. “It has become painfully clear that without swift action, we will soon face significant questions about our ability to continue to serve New York,” Oliver said.
