Earlier this week, the stations’ respective parent companies Good Karma Brands and Audacy announced that ESPN NY, which is leaving its 98.7 FM frequency and has long been broadcast at 1050 AM, will be taking over the 880 frequency, and that WCBS will be shut down.
Francesa spent over 30 years at WFAN, a competitor of ESPN New York and under the same corporate umbrella as WCBS, and reacted to the shocking news on his BetRivers podcast this week.
Mike Francesa was ‘very surprised’ about the shuttering of the iconic WCBS 880 AM. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kMonIxjU6E?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&start=2148&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]
“Was it surprising? The answer is yes,” Francesa said. “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.”
He said that a lot of the people who worked at WCBS were “like family” because of the close working environment he had with them throughout all his years at WFAN.
Francesa acknowledged that he hadn’t spoken to anybody at Good Karma or Audacy about the situation, but was surprised the two companies would work together like this after being ferocious competitors.
Mike Francesa speaks on his BetRivers podcast. Screengrab
“Am I surprised and saddened that that format is going away? Yes,” he 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.”
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