The New York radio scene is set to go through a drastic alternate.
The time of WCBS information radio 880 AM is coming to an finish as its mother or father corporate Audacy has reached a deal to license the frequency to Excellent Karma Manufacturers’ ESPN New York, the corporations introduced on Monday.
ESPN New York can be transferring over to 880 from its longtime frequency 1050 AM.
ESPN New York is transferring to 880 AM in a bombshell settlement between Excellent Karma Manufacturers and WFAN’s mother or father corporate Audacy.
The 880 frequency has larger succeed in, and ESPN New York will transfer there starting Monday, Aug. 26.
The scoop is especially noteworthy for the reason that Audacy and Excellent Karma are competition.
ESPN New York and Audacy-owned WFAN are decades-long competitors who’ve fought bitterly over time at the airwaves and within the boardrooms.
This used to be particularly the case when “The Michael Kay Display” and Mike Francesa have been vying within the afternoon power scores combat.
“New York has all the time been proudly distinctive in supporting two all-news radio manufacturers, however the information industry has long gone via vital adjustments,” Audacy’s New York marketplace president Chris Oliviero stated in a remark.
“The headwinds dealing with native journalism national made it very important to strategically reimagine how we ship the inside track for essentially the most affect. WCBS-880 has been one of the vital revered radio stations in historical past, with a legacy cemented by means of the loads of world-class reporters, off and on the air, who willed it into lifestyles over the many years.”
Audacy continues to possess the inside track communicate station 1010 WINS, which used to be relatively redundant with WCBS.
ESPN NY radio is taking on the 880 AM sign lengthy utilized by WCBS. WCBS Newsradio 880
ESPN NY ditched its 98.7 FM sign to concentrate on AM and virtual. ESPN New York
Former Publish columnist Andrew Marchand in the past reported that ESPN New York is leaving behind its FM frequency, 98.7, and focusing its distribution on AM and streaming, on the finish of this month.
ESPN has been paying Ennis Broadcasting about $12.5 million a 12 months to license the frequency.
On the time of the file, Excellent Karma founder and CEO Craig Karmazin stated that the corporate’s analysis indicated that about 60 p.c of ESPN New York’s listeners have been virtual, and of the rest 40 p.c about 8 in 10 have been anticipated to concentrate at the AM dial.
