WCBS (AM)
WCBS (880 kHz.), often referred to as
"WCBS Newsradio 880", is a
radio station in
New York City. The station is on a
clear channel and is owned by
CBS Radio, and is the flagship station of the
CBS Radio Network. [
1]. Its studios are located within the
CBS Broadcast Center in midtown
Manhattan, and the transmitter is located on
High Island in the
Bronx, New York.
Even though the station has been broadcasting as WCBS since November 2,
1946, its history goes back to
1924 when Alfred Grebe started
WAHG 920 AM. WAHG was a
radio pioneer and was one of the first commercial radio stations to broadcast from remote locations including horse races and yachting events. Two years later, in
1926, Alfred Grebe changed the call sign to
WABC after concluding a business arrangement with the Ashland Battery Company and moved his studios to W. 57th St, not the last time the station would operate from 57th St. In
1928 the station
moved to 970 AM and became a part time affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System who was looking for a full time radio presence in New York City. After a short time broadcasting CBS programming 3 days a week, CBS president
William S. Paley purchased WABC and it became a
subsidiary of CBS.
Soon after this purchase the station moved to a new frequency, this time 860 AM. The station also moved its studios into the building CBS occupied on Madison Ave. The station, still operating as WABC, featured a mix of local interest programming,
ethnic content and music shows from CBS's national feed. As time went by WABC turned more and more to the national programming provided by CBS and its
affiliates, and its broadcast day was influenced by CBS's growing interest in news programming. In
1941 WABC moved to the
frequency it currently occupies, 880 AM, and soon after
World War II changed its call letters to
WCBS on November 2,
1946.
Over the next 20 years WCBS developed a series of radio
soap operas, afternoon talk shows and an all night music show sponsored by
American Airlines. During this time WCBS featured well-known personalities including
Arthur Godfrey, future CBS News President
Bill Leonard, author
Emily Kimbrough and folk singer
Oscar Brand. By the late 1950's, WCBS evolved into a
MOR music and personality format. Like many MOR stations at the time, WCBS did mix in softer songs by rock and roll artists, as their ratings at the time were mediocre compaired to the higher ratings at
WOR and
WNEW, both of which also had MOR formats.
During the
1960s CBS Chairman William Paley was concerned about the station's low ratings and started a process that would lead to a highly successful all-news format that would become known as
Newsradio 88. This format debuted on August 27, 1967 (although on WCBS'
FM station, as a
small airplane had crashed into, and destroyed its AM transmitter just a few hours earlier) and its original roster of anchors included
Charles Osgood and
Pat Summerall. Initially, the station had news in the drive time periods but stayed with a MOR format during middays and overnights, as within a couple of years, they were all-news except for overnights. Newsradio 88 began its transformation into an
all-news format in
1970 when the overnight American Airlines'-sponsored
Music Till Dawn ended in January of that year, and completed the process in
1972 when Arthur Godfrey's weekday morning variety show came to an end. The station built a reputation as an
all-news powerhouse during the 1970s, and has continued with an all-news format to this day.
In October of
2000, WCBS made another move, this time from CBS corporate headquarters at 51 West 52nd Street in Manhattan (Black Rock) to the
CBS Broadcast Center at 524 West 57th Street. Its transmitter is located on
High Island in
The Bronx, New York.
In December 2001 WCBS won the rights to carry radio broadcasts of the
New York Yankees beginning with the 2002 season. The station had previously carried the Yankees from 1939 to 1940 (when the outlet had the WABC call letters) and from 1960 to 1966, a period that included a time in which the team was owned by CBS, Inc. (prior to its conversion to an all-news format). CBS bought a majority interest in the Yankees in 1964 and sold the club to
George Steinbrenner in 1973.
In late
2004, WCBS introduced an online simulcast on its website. The biggest difference between the online feed and the AM broadcast is the absence of Yankee games, which
Major League Baseball webcasts on its own website. During Yankee games, the WCBS webcast provides the same news forecast it broadcasts the rest of the day.
*
WCBS-FM, aka "
Jack-FM" (101.1 MHz.)
*
WCBS-TV (channel 2)
*
New York City AM Radio History*
WCBS Historical Profile - 1978*
WCBS Website*
WCBS Newsradio88 Appreciation Site
