One of the most traditional and impactful radio stations in the whole United States will no longer be on the air to the sadness and disappointment of its listeners. WCBS New Radio 880 in New York has been acquired by ESPN and its content will change.
It is yet to be seen whether the faithful listeners will stick to the airwaves that they so dearly listen to. After 57 years of tradition, ESPN Radio NY will now be heard in the eastern part of the country with many sports contents.
WCBS News Radio’s parent company, Audacy, struck a deal to license the frequency to Good Karma Brands’ New York transmitter and now ESPN New York will be moving from its long-time frequency 1050AM to 880AM to the fans disbelief.
A tradition broken
It is well known that the 880 frequency has greater reach towards the east and this will help ESPN. However the fact that WCBS New Radio will no longer exist, will have an impact on the people that since daylight started listened to the station and now the rivals have reached a deal.
Audacy and Good Karma are competitors, no question about it. ESPN New York and Audacy-owned WFAN have been going at it for many years and now the fact that they talked about a sell-buy to a station is overwhelming.
“New York has always been proudly unique in supporting two all-news radio brands, but the news business has gone through significant changes,” Audacy’s New York market president Chris Oliviero 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. 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.” While ESPN New York has a lot of listeners, it is yet to be seen how much people will tune in.