In 1926, WEAF became the flagship station of the NBC Red Network, one of two radio chains operated by the National Broadcasting Company.
In 1943, the United States Supreme Court, citing antitrust concerns, ordered RCA to sell off one of its radio networks.
During the 1960s, WNBC relied less on network programming and adopted a talk format, followed by a switch to a middle-of-the-road music sound.
By the middle of the 1980s, WNBC played less music and relied more on personality-driven talk programs with hosts such as Don Imus, Howard Stern, Joey Reynolds, Alan Colmes, and Soupy Sales.
The first voice heard on WFAN was that of Suzyn Waldman, with a sports update,[1] followed by the first show, which was hosted by Jim Lampley.
Her first show featured an exclusive interview with Doc Gooden, the Mets star pitcher from their 1986 World Series win, who had recently gotten out of Smithers Rehab.
Other hosts besides Lampley in the 1050 kHz years included Bill Mazer, Pete Franklin, Greg Gumbel, Art Shamsky, and Ed Coleman.
In February of that year, GE completed a multi-station deal with Emmis and, in New York City, the WNBC license for 660 was included in the sale.
After that deal was approved, WEVD's call letters and programming moved to 1050 AM (it is now WEPN and ironically a sports station), and SBS took over 97.9 as WSKQ-FM.
Emmis sold the 103.5 frequency to Westwood One, who also acquired the WYNY call letters and its country music format.
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 ratings gradually rose and at some points it was the top-billing station in New York and the country[citation needed].
In 1992 Emmis sold WFAN to Infinity Broadcasting, which would be purchased by Westinghouse Electric Corporation – CBS' then-parent company—in 1997, ironically, making WNBC's old frequency a sister station to its former rival WCBS 880AM WFAN's broadcast day begins at 6:00 a.m. (Eastern time) with Boomer and Carton, hosted by former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason and radio veteran Craig Carton.
The afternoon drive slot is now hosted by Evan Roberts and former New York Giant football player Tiki Barber.
John Jastremski who was the winner of the 2011 Fantasy Phenom contest, hosts weeknights or following coverage of live game broadcasts.
Over the years WFAN has established a tight bond with its listeners, to the point where one of them eventually landed a regular on-air spot.
WFAN also features the "20-20 Flash", a one- to two-minute update on sports scores and news, which occurs every 20 minutes (on the hour, twenty after and forty after).
The station also employs beat reporters to cover the Mets (Ed Coleman), Yankees (Sweeny Murti, no longer), Jets (Peter Schwartz) and Giants (Paul Dottino).
During baseball season, the Yankees have first priority of airtime over all other teams, and WFAN shifts some early-season Giants games over to one of its sister FM stations (currently WXRK or WCBSFM).
This is done in part because of the Mets' legacy on the station, and also because the Giants, Devils, and Nets all produce their own games and purchase their airtime from WFAN.
During the fall and early winter (when NFL, NHL, and NBA seasons overlap), the Giants have first priority, followed by the Devils and lastly the Nets.
The exclusive access seems to give WFAN an information edge over WEPN, which features Yankees television voice Michael Kay in drive-time.
Yankees announcers from YES and WCBS occasionally host shows on WFAN throughout the year, including John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman and Kimberly Jones.
WEPN carries the three aforementioned teams plus national ESPN Radio programming, all of which WFAN previously broadcast.
As of April 2010, WFAN, along with other CBS Radio stations, stopped streaming live on the Internet to listeners outside of the United States.
The three most recent beneficiaries of the radiothon were Tomorrow's Children's Fund,[7] the CJ Foundation for SIDS,[8] and the Imus Ranch.
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.
WWOR-TV sports anchor Russ Salzberg, who also worked an evening sportscast, was more than willing to assume the midday show duties.
McDonald, son of a former Mets general manager, was the weekend overnight host before leaving for sister station WIP in Philadelphia, nearer to his southern New Jersey home.
WFAN shares the building with four other CBS Radio stations – WCBS-FM, WINS, WNEW-FM, and WNYL.