as an urban contemporary station. 1970s Michael Cuscuna from the University of Pennsylvania's WXPN replaced Herman in 1970, but was quickly hired away by WABC-FM (now WPLJ) in New York City. Michael Tearson, also from WXPN, replaced Cuscuna and remained a mainstay at WMMR for over 20 years. Herman went to WABC-FM and then for a couple of decades on WNEW-FM, and later on WXRK. Tearson later worked at WMGK in Philadelphia, from April 2002 until January 2013. He was also heard on Sirius XM's Deep Tracks channel. Later in the 1970s, two other Philadelphia radio stations became competitors: WYSP (formerly WIBG-FM) and WIOQ. WYSP later became a classic rock outlet while WIOQ became a Top 40 radio station. One of WMMR's most influential disc jockeys during the 1970s was Ed Sciaky, who was known for playing and boosting the careers of new artists such as Billy Joel and Yes. Sciaky is credited with introducing Bruce Springsteen to Philadelphia, and decades later, the city remains one of Springsteen's strongest fan bases and the scenes of many of his best-received concerts. WMMR alumni include David Dye, host of the World Cafe on WXPN and syndicated on many NPR stations. Another former WMMR DJ is Nick Spitzer, now a New Orleans resident and host of "American Routes" on NPR. One-time WMMR midday DJ Dick Hungate later switched to WYSP, pioneering the classic rock format in Philadelphia. John DeBella, now hosting mornings on co-owned WMGK, was the morning drive time DJ for many years, alongside newscaster and sidekick Mark "The Shark" Drucker, who later was a reporter on all-news KYW. Some WMMR DJs such as Dave Herman and Carol Miller would later go onto longtime careers on New York stations. 1980s On July 17, 1980, Metromedia applied for a construction permit to increase the station's ERP to 29,000 watts. The FCC granted the permit on July 17, 1981, followed by a new license with the upgraded facilities on August 1, 1981. WMMR's license was transferred to Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation on October 22, 1986. On October 26, 1987, Metropolitan Broadcasting applied for a construction permit to change the transmitter location to "Building Rooftop 1650 Market St., Philadelphia, PA" (the address of One Liberty Place) and increase the station's HAAT to . The FCC granted the permit on May 1, 1989. On October 26, 1989, WMMR was purchased by Group W. Radio Acquisition Company, with