WYSP giving up rock for sports

A classic rock station bites the dust.

The day after Labor Day, classic rock station WYSP will begin broadcasting the all-sports content of station WIP. It could spell trouble for the entire AM band.

WYSP, on the FM band, was the first station outside New York to pick up shock jock Howard Stern. More recently, it has been the home of Danny Bonaduce.

WIP, on the AM band, is the home of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Both are CBS affiliates. One is climbing the stairway to heaven.

On Sept. 6, 94-WYSP will become SportsRadio 94 WIP, simulcasting the content of WIP.

“There are increasingly fewer young people listening to the AM band,” said WIP operations manager Andy Bloom. “The sports audience requires an increasing presence of younger listeners–people under 35 and 40–for it continue to grow its audience.”

With four other classic rock stations in the region, Bloom says ad revenue is too tight for WYSP to thrive.

CBS is giving the current on-air talent at WYSP nearly three weeks to bring their shows to closure, a rarity in the radio industry. Many will be laid off.