Mike Francesa ‘surprised and saddened’ by WCBS radio news: ‘It’s tough to take’

After decades of working alongside WCBS-AM 880 in New York, Mike Francesa is saddened to see WFAN’s sister station go.

Earlier this week, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that WFAN’s parent company, Audacy, reached an agreement with Good Karma Brands to license 880 AM to ESPN New York beginning this fall.

The agreement marks the end of a nearly six-decade-long run for the all-news format on WFAN’s sister station, WCBS-AM 880. And considering Francesa’s deep connection to WFAN, the legendary radio host addressed the news of WCBS-AM 880 flipping formats on his podcast.

“Was it surprising? The answer is yes,” Francesa acknowledged. “Does it sit well? It’s not going to sit well with anybody who grew up like I grew up, with 880 being our sister station and being a legendary, iconic station as FAN grew to be. They were an iconic station before we were.”

Francesa refrained from discussing the business side of the format change, noting he hasn’t spoken to anyone from Audacy or Good Karma Brands about the agreement. But Francesa did state he was surprised by Audacy giving ESPN New York a local marketing agreement.

“Am I surprised and saddened that that format is going away? Yes,” Francesa continued. “And do I feel for the people who have worked there and done a great job there? Yeah, of course you do. You don’t want to see anyone lose their job. So, from that standpoint, it’s tough to take…Very surprised and very saddened because like I said, we had a very close relationship with 88. They’re our sister station. We shared a lot of radio history together. We both filled up a lot of trophy cases with awards. We both have become iconic stations together. It’s like a family thing, I feel very much for the people there.”

While the biggest story is undoubtedly the fact that a heritage radio station is changing formats after nearly 60 years and jobs will be lost, ESPN New York and WFAN operating on signals owned by the same company is a bizarre subplot. Francesa spent a large portion of his career fostering a rivalry with ESPN New York, specifically The Michael Kay Show , and that brand will now be airing on WFAN’s sister station.

[ The Mike Francesa Podcast ]

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