WCBS-AM 880 is dropping its all-news format and instead will become the new home of ESPN New York. Audacy, the owner of the New York station, announced the change today, one that leaves WINS-FM as the only all-news format station in the nation’s largest market.
The changes are effective on Aug. 26. “The headwinds facing local journalism nationwide made it essential to strategically reimagine how we deliver the news for the most impact,” Chris Oliviero, New York market president of Audacy, said in a statement.
According to the Writers Guild of America East, 23 members were laid off. Audacy will continue to own the 880 frequency, but as part of the deal with Good Karma Brands, which runs the ESPN radio network, the call letters of WCBS will be changed to WHSQ-AM.
The station has had an all-news format since 1967, when it was launched at the urging of CBS founder William S. Paley. In 2017, CBS merged its radio stations with Entercom, which later changed its name to Audacy.
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