• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

CBS Radio News Closure: Effects on WBBM and Chicago

pattywells said:
I realize the BBC is a slightly different format, but what would stop them from filling with BBC content?
Click to expand...
Interesting one there are local PBS and NPR affiliates that do carry with BBC News for international news content. I'm not exactly sure how Audacy will replace CBS News for BBC News exactly.

American Public Media the owners of Minnesota Public Radio and KPCC Los Angeles is the distributor of BBC News for public radio stations.
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
Interesting one there are local PBS and NPR affiliates that do carry with BBC News for international news content. I'm not exactly sure how Audacy will replace CBS News for BBC News exactly.

American Public Media the owners of Minnesota Public Radio and KPCC Los Angeles is the distributor of BBC News for public radio stations.
Click to expand...
WBEZ carries the BBC overnight. I am unaware of any other station in the Chicago market that carry BBC News. Maybe WDCB on occasion?

WCPT carries AP news.

Just thinking about overlap with other stations in the market.
 
Besides sports, does CBS offer any other radio products? Or is it just Audacy branding itself as CBS sports? Seeing as how they're dumping the national radio news, it doesn't seem to make sense that they would keep sports seeing as how that probably costs way more money than putting on the News does and it seems like "local" stations would be carrying the teams in their area anyways or syndicated out by teams to various area stations.
 
Yabadabado1 said:
Besides sports, does CBS offer any other radio products? Or is it just Audacy branding itself as CBS sports?
Click to expand...

CBS isn't involved anymore. It was rebranded as Infinity Sports and now Westwood One Sports.

www.cumulusmedia.com

Cumulus Media and Audacy Announce the Launch of Westwood One Sports 24/7 Programming › Cumulus Media

“The Jim Rome Show” to Anchor New Lineup Audacy’s “You Better You Bet” and “BetMGM Tonight” Join Westwood One Sports Atlanta, GA and New York, NY – October 21, 2025 – Cumulus Media’s Westwood One and Audacy today announced that the Infinity Sports Network will be rebranded as Westwood One...
www.cumulusmedia.com www.cumulusmedia.com

www.insideradio.com

Infinity Sports Network To Become Westwood One Sports In December Rebrand.

Cumulus Media’s Westwood One and Audacy are rebranding the Infinity Sports Network as Westwood One Sports, effective Dec. 29. The 24/7 network will deliver live coverage, expert commentary, and syndicated
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

You can take it as an indication of how CBS feels about outside branded networks.
 
pattywells said:
WBEZ carries the BBC overnight. I am unaware of any other station in the Chicago market that carry BBC News. Maybe WDCB on occasion?

WCPT carries AP news.

Just thinking about overlap with other stations in the market.
Click to expand...

Broadcasts — American Public Media

American Public Media (APM) produces and distributes a dynamic mix of daily and weekly programs, documentaries, and exclusive specials.
www.americanpublicmedia.org www.americanpublicmedia.org


Here is the place where BBC News is distributed for radio in the US. Where Audacy goes after May 22nd is yet to bee seen here.
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:

Broadcasts — American Public Media

American Public Media (APM) produces and distributes a dynamic mix of daily and weekly programs, documentaries, and exclusive specials.
www.americanpublicmedia.org www.americanpublicmedia.org


Here is the place where BBC News is distributed for radio in the US. Where Audacy goes after May 22nd is yet to bee seen here.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe BBC really permits it’s news on for-profit stations, at least in the developed world.

At least for the English World Service and news headlines at the top of the hour, they either work with a local partner for an exclusive 24/7 simulcast on terrestrial radio (as they do in Bermuda, Singapore, certain African countries, and formerly Hong Kong) or they partner with a non-commercial entity for clearance on top of the hour/overnights/etc (think NPR stations in US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, etc.)

But I don’t think Audacy is in the business of running a non-commercial rolling news service in market #3.
 
TheBigA said:
CBS isn't involved anymore. It was rebranded as Infinity Sports and now Westwood One Sports.

www.cumulusmedia.com

Cumulus Media and Audacy Announce the Launch of Westwood One Sports 24/7 Programming › Cumulus Media

“The Jim Rome Show” to Anchor New Lineup Audacy’s “You Better You Bet” and “BetMGM Tonight” Join Westwood One Sports Atlanta, GA and New York, NY – October 21, 2025 – Cumulus Media’s Westwood One and Audacy today announced that the Infinity Sports Network will be rebranded as Westwood One...
www.cumulusmedia.com www.cumulusmedia.com

www.insideradio.com

Infinity Sports Network To Become Westwood One Sports In December Rebrand.

Cumulus Media’s Westwood One and Audacy are rebranding the Infinity Sports Network as Westwood One Sports, effective Dec. 29. The 24/7 network will deliver live coverage, expert commentary, and syndicated
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

You can take it as an indication of how CBS feels about outside branded networks.
Click to expand...
Unless it's soccer, I don't really listen to sports on the radio and even soccer is iffy if there's a TV broadcast. I sorta knew that CBS had changed to Infinity to Audacy to What Are We Named This Year? but this stupid Alzheimer's makes me forgot some things and then it gets kicked back into my brain by answers like this.
 
On the Dial said:
WBBM had been CBS since almost the beginning of broadcasting. I'm disappointed that they switched affiliations before airing the last CBS newscast.
Click to expand...

WBBM existed a few years before CBS, and it was the second network affiliate in 1928.

CBS bought WBBM in 1929, and sold it with the rest of its radio stations in 2016.

Once it was sold, the station didn't have an obligation anymore.

Same with WMAQ and NBC or WLS and ABC. In fact WLS now airs Fox News.
 
I was able to get a studio quality .mp3 of the final CBS World News Roundup. It was sent to a station owner by a CBS Radio affiliate representative who then shared with me. Happy listening!

I sent a copy over to DCRTV.com and he posted. Here it is:

dcrtv.com

(Audio) The Last World News Roundup

The World News Roundup aired for the final time Friday morning, ending the longest-running newscast in American broadcasting history….
dcrtv.com dcrtv.com
 
Last edited:
TheBigA said:
WBBM existed a few years before CBS, and it was the second network affiliate in 1928.

CBS bought WBBM in 1929, and sold it with the rest of its radio stations in 2016.

Once it was sold, the station didn't have an obligation anymore.

Same with WMAQ and NBC or WLS and ABC. In fact WLS now airs Fox News.
Click to expand...
Yes, I know all that. I'm still disappointed that WBBM didn't stick with CBS for its final newscast. I believe that when WMAQ Radio signed off the air -- years after NBC sold it -- it honored its heritage in its final moments by playing a recording of all a long-ago station announcement: "This is WMAQ, NBC in Chicago. If I recall correctly, the final sound heard on WMAQ was the NBC chimes. That was class.
 
BarryATL said:
I was able to get a studio quality .mp3 of the final CBS World News Roundup. It was sent to a station owner by a CBS Radio affiliate representative who then shared with me. Happy listening!

I sent a copy over to DCRTV.com and he posted. Here it is:

dcrtv.com

(Audio) The Last World News Roundup

The World News Roundup aired for the final time Friday morning, ending the longest-running newscast in American broadcasting history….
dcrtv.com dcrtv.com
Click to expand...
A superbly crafted newscast to the end!
 
On the Dial said:
I believe that when WMAQ Radio signed off the air -- years after NBC sold it -- it honored its heritage in its final moments by playing a recording of all a long-ago station announcement: "This is WMAQ, NBC in Chicago. If I recall correctly, the final sound heard on WMAQ was the NBC chimes. That was class.
Click to expand...

The difference is that WBBM didn't go off the air or change format or call letters. It's still doing the same thing today that it did yesterday. The concern at WBBM was that people would think the shutdown of CBS News Radio meant that WBBM was going away. That was a bad message. WBBM had no involvement in the decision by CBS to shut down its radio network. WBBM really had no involvement in the decision by CBS to get out of the radio business by selling all its stations. That's when the real connection to the company and heritage ended. Not when they changed networks. The station is still there even though CBS abandoned them.

The day that WBBM changes format and stops doing news programming will be the day it airs it honors its heritage. The heritage of CBS radio ended ten tears ago.
 
TheBigA said:
The concern at WBBM was that people would think the shutdown of CBS News Radio meant that WBBM was going away.
Click to expand...
THIS! The number of questions we've fielded from listeners, and even people who understand the business, along the lines of "where will I get my news, traffic and weather with CBS shutting down?" has been stunning. I get it, WBBM=CBS has been the norm for all of our lives.

But what's been really telling is the lack of reaction to our switch to ABC on Thursday, aside from the ex-employees and radio dorks. The vast majority of our listeners, including my wife, haven't even noticed we made the switch. 99% of the people listening just don't care about the things those of us inside the walls think about.
 
tvnut said:
The heritage of CBS Radio ended Friday.
Click to expand...

Not to WBBM. CBS sold them ten years ago. Screw them. Why should WBBM still honor a company that sold them? For the employees of WBBM, their work rules changed, their benefits changed, and then the company that bought them went bankrupt because of the debt caused by CBS. Tell me why anyone who still works at WBBM should want to honor CBS. Screw them.

The heritage of WBBM still exists even though the company that once owned them has given up on radio. The people who work there are still reporting the news that matters to the people of Chicago. Nothing really changed Friday. Nothing. CBS News Radio existed because of WBBM. Then CBS News Radio shut itself down. They had ocean front property on one of the biggest radio stations in Chicago, and they threw it away.
 


Back
Top Bottom