Like Kasem's prior show, Casey's Top 40 aired on weekends, emanated from Hollywood, California, and was a countdown of the 40 biggest hits of the week on the popular music chart.
In January 1988, Kasem was entering the final year of a seven-year contract as host of American Top 40 with syndicator ABC Watermark.
The two sides were unable to come to an agreement for renewal, so on February 9, ABC Watermark announced that it would begin searching for a replacement host.
Westwood One, who was already producing several countdown programs between itself and its recent acquisition Mutual, offered Kasem a contract that would have paid him triple what he was making on AT40.
However, it did not stop them from promoting his arrival, and stations that signed up to air Kasem's new show were sent a promotional package that included a “Westwood One Survival Kit” for the interim period that was labeled “What to Do Until Casey Comes.” Inside the kit were a “shadow simulator” (portable flashlight), a button reading “Casey in ‘89,” and a pin with the date of his premiere on Westwood One.
In one example, WSTR in Atlanta, Georgia, being an anti-rap station and a very Adult Contemporary-leaning CHR, edited "Another Night" by Real McCoy (a Euro disco record with rap breaks) out of its broadcasts of Casey's Top 40 in 1994, even while the song was at No.
[2] Casey's Hot 20 featured only thirty-five songs in its abbreviated first year countdown, but beginning in 1995 this was expanded to sixty over two programs.
While Casey’s Top 40 was still a popular program domestically and overseas, by 1997 it was not airing on as many stations as it had during its peak and had disappeared from several large markets altogether.
Westwood One felt that the decline in affiliates and the subsequent loss of advertising revenue did not justify the demands made by Kasem.
Kasem was also upset, as a series of mergers made during the previous contract period brought Westwood One under the CBS corporate umbrella and he felt that the new parent had not taken advantage of potential crossover marketing opportunities.
Still, Westwood One was not willing to risk losing Kasem to a competitor after having him on their roster for the previous nine years and the two sides struck an agreement in December.
[13] Unlike the previous contracts, Westwood One agreed to only a one-year renewal and included a contingency plan regarding advertising revenue; this would prove important in what followed.
As part of his exit from American Top 40, Kasem negotiated a deal with ABC Watermark for the potential return of the branding to him and his co-creator, Don Bustany.
In late 1997 they decided to end the licensing agreement, but since Bustany had retired from any involvement with the program in 1988 the rights reverted solely to Kasem.
On the weekend of February 21, which was also the week of the annual presentation of the Grammy Awards, Kasem presided over all three of his Westwood One shows for what would prove to be the final time.
He gave no indication on air that he would be leaving, instead signing off as he always did by inviting the listeners to join him on the following program and saying his famous “keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars” catchphrase.
Westwood One gave no indication of the cancellation on any of the three countdowns that week, as Wyatt and Tesh both continued to solicit for Requests and Dedications as well as updates from past senders.