WCBS All News Radio Gives New Yorkers a Bitter Milestone
The all news station, WCBS-AM 880 on your dial will be turning to all sports and broadcasting ESPN radio instead by the end of this month. The parent company, Audacy, one of the largest radio broadcasters in the country, had filed a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in January.
| 13 Aug 2024 | 04:19
On August 12, Audacy announced that WABC 880 would stop being an all-news station, after 57 years. The building that houses Audacy’s corporate HQ, in Hudson Yards, is pictured above. (
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Even in New York, where we keep a stiff upper lip and roll with the punches as a way of life, some news developments are tougher to take than others.
It was a punch in the stomach to many local news hounds when we learned on Aug. 12 that WCBS 880 AM will terminate its 57-year activity as an all-news radio station, its parent Audacy said. It will be presented as ESPN New York commencing on Aug. 26. ESPN New York will control the programming on 880 AM for three years, sources told The Athletic. Audacy will remain the station owner, though ESPN New York will control the content.
Audacy, one of the largest radio broadcasters in the country has been troubled for several years. It purchased CBS Radio in 2017 but by October 2023 it was delisted on the New York Stock Exchange. With cash reserves dwindling in a tough ad market, it filed a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January in a bid to reduce its debt from about $1.9 billion to $350 million.
In the latest saga, Auday will technically continue to own the station, but ESPN New York will control the programming on 880 AM for three years, according to The Athletic.
Of course, here in 2024, we have no shortage of ways to get the news. There are numerous hyperlocal news vehicles as well as a plethora of national and international resources. Want to know if it will rain in three days or whether the L train will be running on the weekend or what’s what with the latest scandal in city politics.
But some institutions stand for something.
It is a sign of the times when our favorite bodegas, 24-hour diners, eateries and neighborhood favorite restaurants go belly-up. These are events that tear at the fabric of daily city life, forcing us to improvise about where we can buy a quart of milk after midnight or grab a bite if our flight gets in to JFK Airport two hours late.
In its own way, the WCBS news does the same.
Forget, for a moment, the nostalgic pull we invariably feel when a local institution suffers a business setback. There are practical implications as well.
What are you going to do the next time you plan to drive over to New Jersey or out to Long Island and want to know immediately about the inevitable delays on the highways?
New York Mets games will continue to be aired on 880 AM as well as stream on the Audacy app, the corporation pointed out.
This is also par for the course in the news biz. Change is the only constant, as companies scramble to get ahead of the stream of changes that has engulfed news and information outlets.
To put this announcement in some sort of perspective, let’s consider what life was like 57 years ago – in 1967 -- in the city.
* Tom Seaver was a rookie pitcher with the New York Mets.
*Yankee legendary pitcher Whitey Ford had just retired.
*An unheralded guard from Southern Illinois University, named Walt Frazier –his nickname of Clyde was in the future–joined the woeful New York Knicks
*Fran Tarkenton was the Giants quarterback. Joe Namath was a year after from leading the Jets to a Super Bowl victory (and need I remind anyone that the Jets have not even played in a Super Bowl since then?).
*John Lindsay was in his first term as mayor of New York.
*It cost 20 cents to ride on a city bus or subway.
*The Beatles released their landmark album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Maybe I am overstating the upheaval. Maybe it is no big deal. The city will go on. We will adjust to the WCBS news.
But you know what? It just feels sad.