please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . january 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message wabc city new york city broadcast area new york city area branding 77 wabc radio slogan where new york comes to talk . frequency 770 khz also on hd radio first air date october 1 1921 ; 95 years ago 1921 10 01 format news talk power 50 000 watts class a clear channel facility id 70658 transmitter coordinates 40 52 50 n 74 4 10 w 40.88056 n 74.06944 w 40.88056 ; 74.06944 main antenna 40 52 50 n 74 4 5 w 40.88056 n 74.06806 w 40.88056 ; 74.06806 auxiliary antenna callsign meaning we re the american broadcasting company former owner and affiliation former callsigns wjz 1921 1953 affiliations westwood one news wabc tv the weather channel owner cumulus media radio license holdings llc sister stations wnbm wnsh wplj wfas webcast listen live website www.wabcradio.com wabc 770 am known as newstalkradio 77 wabc is a radio station in new york city . owned by the broadcasting division of cumulus media the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the westwood one network successor to cumulus media networks ; formerly citadel media and abc radio networks . wabc shares studio facilities with sister stations wnsh 94.7 fm wplj 95.5 fm and wnbm 103.9 fm above pennsylvania station in midtown manhattan . wabc s transmitter is located in lodi new jersey . its 50 000 watt non directional clear channel signal can be heard at night throughout much of the eastern u.s. and canada . beginning january 2009 its programming has also been carried on wplj s hd3 digital sub channel . 1 one of the country s oldest radio stations wabc began broadcasting originally as wjz in newark new jersey in early october 1921 . contents 1 programming 1.1 sports programming 2 history 2.1 wjz newark 2.2 wjz new york city 2.2.1 initial network operations 2.2.2 nbc blue network flagship years 2.3 birth of abc 2.4 wabc s first era 1953 1960 2.5 the musicradio 77 era 1960 1982 2.5.1 early years 2.5.2 dominant years 2.5.3 disco era 2.5.4 the more music less talk era 2.5.5 77 wabc new york s radio station and the transition to talk 2.6 the newstalkradio 77 era 1982 current 2.6.1 early years and success 2.6.2 under citadel 3 previous programs segments 4 references 5 external links programming edit wabc has programmed a talk radio format since 1982 . the station uses on air slogans such as breaking news and stimulating talk new york s 50 000 watt beacon of freedom and where new york comes to talk . many wabc hosts moved on to national syndication . the station currently serves as the flagship for syndicated talk radio hosts mark levin john batchelor and don imus . it was where the nationally syndicated programs hosted by rush limbaugh and sean hannity got their start although those programs are now heard on wabc s talk radio rival in new york 710 wor . from 1981 to may of 1982 wabc ran a full service news intensive adult contemporary format with some talk weekday evenings . from 1960 to 1981 wabc broadcast a top 40 music format and until 1978 was the dominant contemporary music station in the new york city area serving as a template for many other top 40 stations around the country . during this time wabc was among the most listened to radio stations in north america . sports programming edit wabc s only current sports contract is with the united states military academy for army football games . in addition to the aforementioned yankees coverage the station served two separate stints as the flagship for the new york jets and was also the home of the new jersey devils beginning in 1988 . wabc also previously carried seton hall university men s basketball . early in its top 40 incarnation wabc served as the original radio flagship of the new york mets . a notable aspect of wabc s mets coverage was howard cosell and former brooklyn dodgers pitcher ralph branca handling the pre and post game shows . the station lost those rights to whn following the 1963 season . the jets first called wabc home in the 1980s but left toward the end of the decade for wcbs . the team would return to the station in 2000 after spending the previous seven seasons on wfan . after then sister station wepn became the jets flagship wabc began simulcasting the games over their airwaves due to its stronger signal . the arrangement ended in 2008 as wepn began simulcasting all its programming on two other stations . in december 2001 broadcast rights to the yankees were lost after 21 years to wcbs . wabc also lost the radio rights to the devils in 2005 as new jersey s hockey team moved to wfan to substitute for the station s loss of the new york rangers to wepn . wabc served as an overflow station for the rangers from 2005 through 2009 and also served the same purpose for the new york knicks when their games moved from wfan to wepn but those rights moved to wnym in 2009 . the loss of evening sports programming has forced wabc to attempt to solidify its evening talk lineup . history edit in november 1920 the westinghouse electric & manufacturing company had established its first broadcasting station kdka located in its plant at east pittsburgh pennsylvania in order to promote the sale of radio receivers . this initial station proved successful so the next year the company developed plans to set up additional stations in major population centers including in addition to the new york city area wbz originally in springfield massachusetts and kyw originally in chicago illinois . wjz newark edit original wjz newark studio . the microphone is the horizontal cylinder located at the upper right . 2 on september 30 1921 westinghouse was issued a broadcasting authorization for a station with the randomly assigned call letters wjz 3 located at the company s meter factory at orange and plane streets in newark new jersey and transmitting on a wavelength of 360 meters 833 khz . 4 wjz s studio and transmitter were initially housed in a shack located on the factory roof that was only accessible by ladder . the station later expanded to a larger studio on the factory s ground floor . 5 the station began test transmissions around october 1 1921 followed beginning october 5 by broadcasts of the 1921 world series baseball games . announcer thomas h. cowan in newark simply relayed the description phoned in from the polo grounds playing field by newark sunday call sportswriter sandy hunt . 6 at first station announcers were identified only by initials in cowan s case as acn for announcer cowan newark . the station soon expanded to feature a wide variety of live programming . a popular early feature were the man in the moon bedtime stories written by josephine lawrence and read over the air by bill mcneary . both were newark sunday call employees . beginning on november 27 1921 a weekly 90 minute show presented by vincent lopez band was aired . 7 when it began its broadcast service wjz was the only station in the new york city area transmitting on 360 meters . in mid december 1921 station wdy operated by the radio corporation of america rca from roselle park new jersey began sharing the wavelength with wjz now broadcasting on sundays tuesdays thursdays and saturdays and wdy operating on the other three nights . this soon ended when wdy ceased operations in mid february 1922 and was merged with wjz with rca now assuming half of wjz s expenses . however within a few months a large number of additional broadcasting stations began operating on 360 meters and wjz was stubborn about having to share its wavelength . in may 1922 a proposed timesharing agreement among 15 local stations assigned more than half of the available airtime to wjz but the station did not feel this was sufficient which in turn led the radio broadcasting society of america to petition that wjz s license be canceled for being uncooperative . 8 the nightly man in the moon bedtime stories were a popular early feature . 9 there were no formal standards in the united states defining broadcasting stations until december 1 1921 when the department of commerce which regulated radio at this time issued a regulation specifying that stations making broadcasts intended for the general public now had to hold a limited commercial license that authorized operation on 360 or 485 meters . 10 wjz was one of a small number of stations that already met this standard at the time of its adoption . it was also the second oldest of the two licenses previously issued for the state of new jersey preceded by rca s wdy grant . however wjz was the first to go on the air as wdy didn t begin operations until two and a half months after wjz s debut . wjz had difficulty convincing new york city performers who were not paid to make the trek to newark so on february 5 1922 a more convenient remote studio was opened at the waldorf astoria hotel fifth avenue and thirty fourth street . 11 the american telephone & telegraph company at & t was unwilling to provide a telephone line to connect the waldorf astoria studio to the newark transmitter so the link was instead made using specially prepared telegraph wires provided by western union . however this expedient only provided marginal audio quality and the line was so noisy that when newcomb carleton the president of western union broadcast over it his voice was completely drowned out . 12 on march 15 1922 wjz broadcast a studio performance of mozart s impresario probably the first full length opera broadcast in the new york city area . in october 1922 the station aired its second world series this time also feeding it to wgy in schenectady new york . shortly after midnight on december 9 1922 wjz became the first broadcasting station confirmed to have been heard in europe consisting of a short program featuring greetings from the british consul in new york to british listeners and vaughn de leath singing her oliver twist song . wjz new york city edit may 15 1923 saw a number of simultaneous major changes . most notably on this day the station moved from newark to new york city and the ownership was changed from joint westinghouse rca responsibility to full control by rca . wjz now occupied studios on the sixth floor of the building where the aeolian hall was located and station publicity heralded the upgrade located in the heart of the city s musical and theatrical district where entertainment of the highest order is ever available this station will offer to the american public the most elaborate radio programs yet attempted and with a degree of faithfulness in reproduction that marks the beginning of a new era in radio broadcasting . 13 this was also the day that the department of commerce implemented an expansion of the broadcast band which now consisted of a range of transmitting