Tuesday, August 13, 2024

An era ends: WCBS AM ends its all-news format

 After 57 years on the air, WCBS-AM 880, an all-news channel, will sign off on August 26, giving way to an all-sports channel that will compete with WFAN.

WCBS TV devoted two minutes to reporting this piece of news.


Living here in the 518 my entire life, I first discovered WCBS-AM on my transistor radio in the late 70's after moving into my current home. Sure, the signal was faint, but audible enough to hear. News, sports, weather, updated every half hour. Today, Audacy, its parent company, streams WCBS-AM & FM online. The AM band is the home of Mets baseball, and, to the relief of Mets fans gobsmacked after the Mets were swept by Seattle over the weekend, Audacy will continue to carry Mets baseball even with the format change.

That all sports channel will be the new home of ESPN radio in NYC, which won't exactly make Mets fans in the city happy, as they feel the "Worldwide Leader" seems to be biased against the team. Audacy's other news channel, WINS, will continue unabated.

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