They gradually reduced the amount of music and adopted a talk format, incorporating "shock jock" humor and regular appearances by stand-up comedians.

[4][5] In mid-1994, Gregg "Opie" Hughes was the host of The Nighttime Attitude, a late night music radio show on WBAB on Long Island, New York.

to the tune of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding, performed by Rotgut, a local band featuring Anthony Cumia, a construction worker, on vocals and his brother Joe.

[6][8] During this time Ron Valeri, the program director at rock station WAAF in Boston, Massachusetts, went to Long Island to visit family and heard the two on the air.

[10] WAAF general manager Bruce Mittman recalled that he "almost drove off the road laughing" from listening to them,[11] and subsequently hired them to take over afternoons from Liz Wilde.

[6][12] Before they left WBAB, the station offered Cumia to take over Hughes' night shift, which the two later saw as "a scumbag move" as their bits (excerpts) were being played on the morning show without their permission.

[16] Cumia recalled the desire to ignore the rules and advice from management and began to play less music and talk more, which changed the dynamic of the show "within months".

[18] It was at WAAF where the show started its long running Whip 'em Out Wednesday segment that involves women flashing their breasts to drivers with a "WOW" sticker on their car.

Mittman put an end to the promotion after police contacted him over public safety surrounding it, but claimed the suspension was unrelated and over an "internal matter".

[24][25] The stunt and firing received national attention from the press,[6] and many listeners believed the story as Menino was on a flight during the prank, so he was out of contact while the event unfolded.

[30] In addition, the pair had hired Robert Eatman as their new agent and entered secret negotiations to move to New York City, the country's largest radio market, before going ahead with the prank.

[31] After their firing from WAAF, Hughes recalled that he and Cumia became "a wanted commodity" as they received offers from one station in Atlanta, Georgia, and WXRK and WNEW in New York City.

As WXRK was already the flagship station of the popular syndicated morning program The Howard Stern Show, they chose WNEW to make it easier for them to build an audience.

[6] They entered a deal with the station's newly hired program director Garry Wall, who wanted them for their talent and ability to attract ratings,[24] which required a meeting with management Infinity Broadcasting, the owner of WNEW, in Washington, D.C.[32] On June 17, 1998, Hughes and Cumia had signed a three-year contract with Infinity Broadcasting,[33] and Opie and Anthony began in afternoons from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. later that month[34][35][36] with Rick Del Gado assigned as their new producer.

[39] When WNEW switched radio formats from classic rock to talk in September 1999, the show held an on-air mock funeral to bury the records the station no longer played.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared the segment degraded and humiliated the contestants, and that it was immoral to hold such an event on the same day the city was to do a census count of the homeless townspeople.

He helped bring in future regulars on the show, including comedians Rich Vos, Patrice O'Neal, Robert Kelly, and Keith Robinson.

Hughes and Cumia claim the feud was started by Stern, adding that he "saw there was potential for 'The Opie & Anthony Show' to get an audience and perceived it as some kind of threat.

[42] By the end of July 2001, the show was broadcast to nine cities,[58] and returned to Boston in August on WBCN, a long time rival of their former station WAAF.

[66] In the segment, comedian Paul Mecurio, on a cellphone, described Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, having simulated sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral, several feet away from a Mass service.

[73] Infinity appealed both fines issued in 2002 until Viacom, its parent company, agreed to a $3.5 million settlement in 2004 which cancelled all pending indecency violations against the broadcaster.

[88] Before their start on XM, Hughes, Cumia and Norton completed a media tour, visiting several radio markets to promote their return to the air.

[98] The hosts later believed that the developing merger between XM and Sirius Satellite Radio at the time played a role, as management were trying to get government officials on their side and needed to show some responsibility.

The decision came after The David Lee Roth Show was cancelled four months after its launch as it failed to attract an audience for CBS following Stern's departure from WXRK for Sirius Satellite Radio.

[118] Breitbart stated that the photo was published without his permission, and later told KFI radio, "These people have admitted that they did this surreptitiously and illicitly and they lied in the process saying that they didn't even have a camera in the place.

[133][134][135] In April 2015, Hughes and Cumia were involved in a public feud on Twitter regarding their growing strained relationship over the years, and both addressed their differences on their respective shows.

Later that month Hughes, Cumia, and Norton agreed to separate interviews for Newsweek, which revealed that the hosts had not been on friendly terms since 1999, and spats over their former relationships and contract negotiations.

The footage showed an uncomfortable Hilton unwilling to answer questions and leaving the studio, feeling she was wasting time being "berated" by the hosts.

[102][147] While at WNEW the show's regular comedians included Rich Vos, Colin Quinn, Patrice O'Neal, Brian Regan, Otto & George, and Paul Mecurio.

Ocean Township police questioned the man, who faced a possible assault charge if WABC-TV reporter Anthony Johnson suffered hearing damage.