WFAN (AM)

The 660 frequency in New York City originated as WEAF on March 2, 1922, owned by AT&T. In 1926 WEAF became the flagship station of the NBC Red Network, one of two radio chains operated by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). By 1928 WEAF was purchased by NBC's parent company, the Radio Corporation of America.

As a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement of 1941, WEAF became a clear-channel station and could be heard across most of the eastern half of North America at night. In 1943 the Supreme Court of the United States, citing antitrust concerns, ordered RCA to sell off one of its radio networks. The company decided to keep the Red Network, and it was rebranded as the NBC Radio Network after the Blue Network was divested to Edward J. Noble, which was later renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).

WEAF's call letters were changed to WNBC in 1946, then to WRCA in 1954, and back to WNBC in 1960. During the 1960s, WNBC relied less on network programming and adopted a talk format, followed by a switch to a MOR music sound. The station spent much of the 1970s and early 1980s flipping between the Top 40 and adult contemporary formats, with varying success. By the middle of the 1980s up until its closing, WNBC played less music and relied more on personality-driven talk programs with hosts such as Howard Stern, Don Imus, Joey Reynolds, Alan Colmes, and Soupy Sales.

At 3:00 p.m. on July 1, 1987, Emmis Communications-owned WFAN signed on at 1050 kHz, replacing country music station WHN, and billing itself as the world's first 24-hour-per-day sports talk station. (The WFAN call sign was suggested by the wife of "The Fan's" first program director, John Chanin.) The first live voice heard on WFAN was that of Suzyn Waldman, with a sports update,[3] followed by the first show, which was hosted by Jim Lampley. Waldman reported for the station, covering the New York Yankees and New York Knicks for 14 years. Other hosts besides Lampley during WFAN's fifteen months at 1050 kHz included Bill Mazer, Pete Franklin, Greg Gumbel, Art Shamsky, and Ed Coleman. Ann Liguori is also one of the original hosts and was the first woman to host a show on the station. "Hey Liguori, What's the Story" aired the first weekend the station was on the air in 1987 and continued until 2008. WFAN also inherited broadcast rights to the defending World Series champion New York Mets from WHN, who had held the rights since 1983; Mets games stayed on WFAN until 2013.

In early 1988 General Electric, which now owned NBC through its purchase of RCA two years earlier, announced that it would close NBC's radio division and sell its owned-and-operated stations. In February of that year GE made a multi-station deal with Emmis and, in New York City the WNBC license for 660 was included in the sale. On October 7, 1988 at 5:30 p.m., WFAN moved down the radio dial to replace WNBC at 660 kHz. The last voice heard on WNBC was that of Alan Colmes, who counted down the seconds to WNBC's demise with the NBC chimes (the notes G-E-C) playing in the background.[4]

In the complicated switch that saw WFAN move to the 660 frequency, the 1050 frequency that was formerly the home of WFAN became that of Spanish-language WUKQ, owned by Spanish Broadcasting System. However, SBS already owned an AM station in the market, Newark, New Jersey-based WSKQ at 620 kHz, and in those days Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules stipulated that companies could own only one AM station per market. As a result, SBS received a temporary waiver to run 1050 while exploring the sale of either AM frequency. SBS chose to keep 620, and 1050 was traded to Forward Communications, which owned WEVD, then at 97.9 FM. After that deal was approved, WEVD's call letters and programming moved to 1050 AM, and SBS took over 97.9 as WSKQ-FM. The October NBC-Emmis switch also saw Emmis's WQHT (then at 103.5 MHz.) move to 97.1 MHz., which had been the home of NBC's WYNY. Emmis sold the 103.5 frequency to Westwood One, which also acquired the WYNY call letters and its country music format.

As it had before when it took over the frequency formerly belonging to WHN, WFAN inherited broadcast rights from WNBC as WFAN to this day operates under WNBC's original license. The switch to 660 AM added the New York Knicks and New York Rangers to their lineup along with the Mets, who moved down the dial with the station.

As Don Imus had already been the morning show host at WNBC, WFAN left his program in place when they took over the frequency. WFAN's original morning show on 1050 was hosted by Greg Gumbel; his was a straightforward sports show, but it was not doing well in the ratings. At the time of the switch, sports talk radio was still an untested format with questionable prospects, and the idea of bringing on board a host that appealed to a broader audience would get more people to try the station out. WFAN also benefitted from the inertia from Imus's fans who were used to tuning into 660 kHz on weekday mornings to listen. WFAN instantly took advantage of its Imus inheritance; for example, it featured a special live monologue by Imus character "Billy Sol Hargus" from Shea Stadium moments after taking over the 660 frequency. Imus slightly altered his show for his new employer, adding sports updates and replays of last night's big plays. Discussions of sports stories that crossed over to general interest were also featured on the program, although Imus also kept many of his regular comedy bits that were not sports-related.

Initially WFAN aired sports news and score updates every 15 minutes (at the quarter-hour), but by 1991 began doing updates every 20 minutes (at :00, :20 and :40 past the hour). These updates, called 20-20 Sports Flashes, are now considered an industry standard. Additionally, in a nod to the former WNBC, update anchors often end their top-of-the-hour updates with the catchphrase "And that's what's happening ...", which is how WNBC on-air news readers had ended their updates. WFAN discontinued the thrice-hourly updates on January 2, 2018; updates now occur only at the top of the hour.[5]

Other programming that WFAN had at its launch included a mid-morning show with Ed Coleman and Mike Francesa, and an afternoon drive time show with Pete Franklin, who in Cleveland had become one of the first polarizing, outrageous talk show hosts. During his stay in New York City Franklin was probably best known for an incident where he used a four-letter expletive on air, in error, when trying to say "All you folks" (he was not disciplined for the incident).

Running a close second was a 30-second Franklin diatribe on whether he had been offensive – "Do I offend anyone? I'm not here to offend you, dammit!" – that has been replayed ever since, especially on the July 1 WFAN anniversaries.

In a further drive to boost ratings, Imus instigated a feud with Franklin, much as he had with Howard Stern at WNBC in the mid-1980s. Both Imus and Franklin took shots at each other during their shows, Franklin calling Imus "Minus" and Imus recording parodies of radio commercials where he bashed Franklin as a "dinosaur", among other things. Ratings did not increase, and Franklin left WFAN in August 1989.

On September 5, 1989, a jointly hosted afternoon drive show with Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo – who had been a weekend/fill-in host to that time – would premiere. The Mike and the Mad Dog show became the defining show of WFAN, one of the most consistently popular radio shows in New York City and one of the most influential sports talk radio shows in the country.

The combined success of Mike and the Mad Dog and Imus in the Morning helped WFAN become the number-one billing station in America during the 1990s. It also proved that the all-sports format worked as a radio format, prompting the explosion of sports talk radio across the country.

In 1992, Emmis sold WFAN to Infinity Broadcasting, which would be purchased by Westinghouse Electric Corporation – CBS' then-parent company – in 1997.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Philadelphia-based Entercom.[6] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated eight days later.[7][8]

Currently, WFAN airs broadcasts of MLB's New York Yankees, the NFL's New York Giants, and the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. During baseball season, the Yankees have first priority of airtime over all of the other teams. During the fall and early winter, the Giants have first priority followed by the Nets. The station is the flagship outlet for Westwood One's NFL broadcasts and some of its National Collegiate Athletic Association college football and basketball broadcasts. Since 2013, sister station WCBS has been utilized as WFAN's main "conflict" station for pre- and regular-season Giants and regular season Nets games, and some of Westwood One's NFL broadcasts.

WFAN has marketed itself in recent years as the "Flagship Station for New York Sports." Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Giants quarterback Eli Manning make exclusive appearances on WFAN during their respective baseball and football seasons.

The station was the longtime radio home for the New Jersey Devils, New York Mets, New York Jets, New York Rangers and New York Knicks (the latter two were inherited from WNBC while the Jets coverage was moved from WCBS). Currently, WFAN's primary competition is WEPN-FM, the New York ESPN Radio affiliate which now carries the Jets, Knicks and Rangers plus national ESPN Radio programming, all of which WFAN previously broadcast.

During the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, WFAN broadcast New York Islanders games produced by Hofstra University-owned WRHU in Hempstead.[14] Beginning in 2018-19 both the Devils and Islanders moved their broadcasts to the Radio.com platform, though WFAN is expected to broadcast a limited number of Devils contests.[15] The station also carried matches of New York City FC during its inaugural 2015 season.[16]

WFAN was the sole flagship of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship carried over Westwood One, but beginning in 2006, competitor WEPN took over a majority of the coverage including early round games as well as of conference tournament finals that Dial Global had the rights to; WFAN would air some of the conference tournament games but would not usually air the early round tournament games opting instead for local programming. WFAN does broadcast some of the tournament, but the majority of it—including the Final Four and the National Championship Game—is carried by WEPN-FM.

On April 11, 2006, WFAN started streaming live on the Internet.[17] Web streaming of live games, however, is limited due to broadcast rights (Yankees and Nets games are offered separately through the MLB and NBA websites as annual subscriptions). When these games are broadcast over the air, listeners who have Internet access receives alternate sports talk programming through CBS Sports Radio. As of April 2010, WFAN stopped streaming live on the Internet to listeners outside of the United States.

Due to MLB and NFL blackout rules, WFAN is only allowed to air sporting events involving the New York-area teams within its home market; therefore, stations that carry WFAN on a HD radio subchannel are required to broadcast alternate programming in its place.

Each spring from 1990 until 2007, WFAN conducted the "WFAN Radiothon" to benefit children's charities that seek to ensure the continuity of life in its earliest stages and the treatment and eventual elimination of childhood cancer. The three most recent beneficiaries of the radiothon were Tomorrow's Children's Fund,[18] the CJ Foundation for SIDS,[19] and the Imus Ranch. WFAN has also done other radiothons and special broadcasts to raise money for assorted charities.

On August 15, 2008, Mike Francesa announced during the final broadcast of Mike and the Mad Dog that WFAN would broadcast a new fundraising radiothon. The new fundraiser would benefit both the Boomer Esiason Foundation for cystic fibrosis research, and the Mike Francesa Champions of the Heart Foundation, a new charity created by Francesa. The first radiothon took place in September 2008.[20]

The midday slot has been one of the better slots from a ratings perspective for WFAN. However, this slot's hosts have often found controversy.

In the mid-1990s, popular hosts Ed Coleman and Dave Sims had their show cancelled. WFAN then announced that New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica and WNBC-TV sports anchor Len Berman would co-host the new midday program. The show seemed all set to go when, at the last minute, Berman decided to back out of the show. He cited that he would have to work a near 14-hour day, combining his 10 a.m. start on radio with his WNBC-TV duties, which consisted of him appearing on all three of the station's evening newscasts. WFAN would not let Berman out of his contract, and as a result, the slot was split into two shows: Lupica hosted from 10 a.m. to noon, while Berman hosted from noon to 2 p.m. The split format did not work, and eventually Berman's show would be cancelled and Lupica's show soon followed.

WWOR-TV sports anchor Russ Salzberg, who also worked an evening sportscast, was more than willing to assume the midday show duties. In 1995, he was joined by longtime overnight host Steve Somers and the show became known as "The Sweater and The Schmoozer", playing off Salzberg's habit of wearing sweaters on the air and Somers' on-air nickname.

The midday show featured one of the most famous incidents in WFAN history. It occurred when Salzberg "banned" Eli from Westchester[21] from calling his show due to his comments that Salzberg considered to be inappropriate. Salzberg notoriously said to Somers, during another Atlanta Braves World Series appearance talking about Braves' manager Bobby Cox: "What about Cox, Steve? You like Cox ... don't you, Steve?"

In 1999, with the ratings not being what WFAN management expected, the Salzberg/Somers show was cancelled and both men were fired. However a large outcry from listeners over the termination of the popular Somers—including comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a native of Long Island—led to WFAN management giving Somers the evening shift, which (despite frequent pre-emptions for live games) he continues to hold to the present day. In middays, Salzberg and Somers were replaced by Suzyn Waldman and Jody McDonald. Waldman had been with WFAN since its infancy, as she was the first update anchor, and had served as the station's Yankees beat reporter and the Knicks' studio host.[22] McDonald, son of a former Mets general manager and also one of the original WFAN personalities, was the weekend overnight host before leaving for sister station WIP in Philadelphia, nearer to his southern New Jersey home. Both Waldman and McDonald had their fans and detractors at WFAN.

Waldman would leave WFAN in late 2001, joining the Yankees television broadcast team the following year.[22] She would be replaced by Sid Rosenberg who, despite his shock jock reputation, had a vast knowledge of sports. Many felt there was great chemistry between McDonald and Rosenberg. However, the ratings still weren't what WFAN expected and in 2004 McDonald was let go, later to join WEPN, Sirius Satellite Radio, and WPEN radio in Philadelphia before returning in 2012. Overnight host Joe Benigno would replace McDonald and in 2014, Waldman returned to become the first woman color commentator for the station's Yankees broadcasts.

Rosenberg was forced to resign from WFAN on September 12, 2005 after being given an ultimatum by station management for not showing up to host the New York Giants' pregame show the day before. Benigno hosted the show solo for over a year, and on January 2, 2007, part-time overnight host Evan Roberts became Benigno's new midday co-host.[23][24] The pairing continues to consistently out-rate rival station WEPN, which broadcasts network and local programming opposite it. Benigno retired in November 2020 and was replaced by former morning host Craig Carton.

On July 1, 2007, WFAN celebrated its twentieth anniversary. On the weekend of July 4, past WFAN hosts such as Suzyn Waldman and Jim Lampley did guest-hosting stints, and the station's current hosts provided career and station retrospectives throughout the weekend. The station also invited listeners to vote on the "Greatest New York sports moments", and the "Top 20 New York sports celebrities", during WFAN's 20-year history.

On June 25, 2012, notable current staff announced their favorite moments, interviews, and teams.[25]

On June 28, 2012, it was revealed that Mike Francesa would join Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton on the Boomer and Carton program on June 29, 2012 as part of the festivities. It marked the first time they had appeared together since 2009, when Francesa was still the number one sports talk show host in New York. Later in the day, Carton and Esiason would join Francesa on his show, Mike's On: Francesa on the FAN.[26]

The same day—Carton surprised everyone by welcoming back host Sid Rosenberg,[27] and Rosenberg later joined Francesa for a short interview the next day. Other notable former hosts who joined Mike Francesa included Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo[28] and Don Imus.[29]

On October 10, 2009 WFAN moved from its studio location for its first 22 years, the landmarked Kaufman Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens.[30] The station began broadcasting from CBS Radio's then-new Hudson Square studios in Manhattan.[31] Along with the move, the station changed its longtime call-in phone number from 1 (718) 937-6666 to 1 (877) 337-6666.

On October 6, 2012, CBS Radio announced the purchase of WRXP (101.9 FM) from Merlin Media for $75 Million. CBS began operating 101.9 under a local marketing agreement (LMA) at 11:57 p.m. on November 1, 2012, with the call sign changed to WFAN-FM.[32]

On the April 4, 2007 broadcast of Imus in the Morning, Don Imus made a sexually and racially controversial comment in reference to the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Imus made the remarks during a conversation with the show's producer, Bernard McGuirk, and Sid Rosenberg (who was on the phone).[33]

Two days after making the comments, Imus issued a public apology. By that time, however, there were various calls for his dismissal, particularly from civil rights activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who threatened to protest both CBS Radio and MSNBC (which aired a video simulcast of the program), and to boycott companies who advertised on the program.[34] WFAN offered its hosts and listeners a sounding board for their own feelings and comments, which were both for and against his dismissal. Chris Russo, in particular, expressed his disappointment at Imus for waiting two days before retracting his comments.

Imus was initially given a two-week suspension which was scheduled to begin on April 16, allowing him to work the annual WFAN Radiothon on April 12 and 13.[35] On consecutive days Imus appeared on both Sharpton's syndicated radio show (April 9) and NBC-TV's Today Show (April 10) to reiterate his regret for the remarks. But on April 11, MSNBC announced the cancellation of the video simulcast of Imus in the Morning. The following day, CBS Radio dismissed Imus,[33] at the time leaving WFAN with a very large programming—and money-earning—void in its schedule.

Imus' last WFAN program was aired on the opening day of the radiothon. Imus's wife Deirdre joined his longtime co-host, comedy writer, and news reader, Charles McCord, to anchor the final segment of the radiothon on April 13. Imus revived his program at WABC radio in December 2007, and took his fundraiser with him—with the charities intact—and conducted a radiothon there in May 2008.[36]

From that point on, the 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. time slot was filled by various hosts. McCord and Chris Carlin remained on all the replacement shows as assistants and staff, in similar roles as they were on Imus's show, and the replacement shows continued to be syndicated via Westwood One. Mike Francesa and Chris Russo were the first to fill the spot, hosting for the two weeks (April 16–27) immediately after Imus' firing. Francesa and Russo also worked the shift separate from each other, as did fellow WFAN staffers Richard Neer, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts, and Carlin, who worked both alone and with co-hosts, notably Kimberly Jones and Washington Post sports columnist John Feinstein.

WFAN and Westwood One also brought in outside personalities into the slot. Among them were Boomer Esiason, Patrick McEnroe, Geraldo Rivera, Lou Dobbs, and Chicago market sports radio host Mike North. As MSNBC also held its own claim to the slot, the cable network was able to have its own replacement shows simulcasted; these programs were hosted by in-house personalities David Gregory, Jim Cramer, and Joe Scarborough; eventually Scarborough would become the permanent replacement host on MSNBC with Morning Joe.

On September 4, 2007, Esiason took over as the permanent host of the WFAN morning show, with veteran radio personality Craig Carton (previously of WKXW-FM in Trenton, New Jersey) serving as co-host, and Chris Carlin remaining to do sports updates. The new program is not distributed nationally by Westwood One. Charles McCord left the station shortly after the announcement was made and has since rejoined Don Imus at WABC. Carlin was also given his own show in the one-hour time slot immediately preceding Esiason's show. The television simulcast, which had been on MSNBC since 1996, was not immediately brought back; it was not until September 2010 that WFAN reached an agreement with MSG Network to simulcast Boomer and Carton live each weekday;[37] each four-hour show was simulcast live with a condensed one-hour "best-of" program airing later each day and throughout the weekend. In January 2014, the show's televised simulcast moved to CBS Sports Network.

Carton was arrested on September 6, 2017, along with Michael Wright, and charged with four counts of fraud in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme that duped investors of millions of dollars by promising them a share of the profits from the sale of concert tickets. The two were reportedly trying to pay off millions of dollars in gambling debts. Carton was suspended indefinitely by CBS Radio[38] and later resigned from the station until his return in November 2020. Esiason hosted the morning show by himself with guest hosts until Gregg Giannotti was announced as Carton's full time replacement.

During their 19-year run as WFAN's afternoon drive team, Mike Francesa and Chris Russo had enjoyed a relationship—both on- and off-air—which varied from respect to contempt. The two hosts did not get along well during the early days of their partnership, and had several differences which potentially put their program in jeopardy. In spite of the disagreements, the duo always seemed to patch things up for the benefit of the station and their listeners.

In early 2008, several reports surfaced that Francesa and Russo were on the outs again, and these reports came as both men's contracts with WFAN were in the early stages of renegotiation. On June 22, 2008, sports columnist Neil Best of Newsday reported that the Francesa/Russo relationship had cooled, and they were considering ending their radio show.[39] Francesa, reached by Newsday while vacationing, refused to comment. Russo, doing the show alone on June 23, denied the rumors. But on the June 27, 2008 broadcast, Francesa (working alone as Russo was on vacation) acknowledged the show was at a "crossroad", and could not guarantee the show would last through the summer. Francesa also stated he and Russo had not spoken since reports of their possible breakup came out.[40]

On July 11, 2008, Francesa and Russo reunited for their first show together since news of their possible breakup came out. Both men were coy about their future beyond the summer.[41] Francesa and Russo then continued their normal summer routine of alternating vacation weeks, and on August 5, 2008, they would do their final show together at the New York Giants' training facility at the University of Albany.

On August 14, 2008, Russo reached a mutual agreement with WFAN to let him out of his contract, which ran until October 2009.[42][43][44][45] Russo insisted it was solely a personal decision and said, "This has nothing to do with Mike and I hating each other... This is about doing something different. I'm 48 years old and there are not going to be too many more opportunities to break away. It's time to try something else, but it was a tough decision to make."[44] On August 15, Russo phoned Francesa on the show to say goodbye. A highly emotional Russo began to break down on air as he talked about his partnership with Francesa.[46][47]

At the same time, while Russo left WFAN, Francesa signed a five-year deal to stay at WFAN and continue to host the afternoon drive-time show.[48] On August 19, 2008, Russo signed a five-year contract worth about 3 million per year[49] with Sirius XM to headline a new sports talk channel called Mad Dog Radio on both Sirius and XM satellite radio.[50][51] Russo said there was nothing WFAN could have done to keep him[52] after Sirius XM provided him an opportunity to not only do a show, but have his own channel, which he could not pass up.[53]