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WFNX about to go way of WBCN?
By adamg on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 1:06pm
The Weekly Dig, which, granted, isn't the most disinterested observer in such things, reports (third item) the hot rumor in local radio circles is that Entercom wants to throw some money at the Phoenix to buy 'FNX and replace it with that milquetoast Mike format from 93.7 so it can move faltering WEEI onto FM and try to smack the Sports Hub around.
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Comments
What would happen if WFNX closed?
Some potential scenarios:
- One of the 'bot radio stations picks up the slack. I noticed Mike put a lot more heavy rock in its rotation after WBCN threw in the towel to pick up some of that audience; why not do the same for FNX's audience?
- WERS or one of the other college stations figures out there's a need that needs to be filled, and changes its programming accordingly.
- WAAF's Greg Hill finally gets an opportunity to indulge his passion for spinning Death Cab For Cutie and Duran Duran in the morning drive time.
- Everyone under the age of 25 shrugs, goes back to their iPods and online music fixes.
WERS - do not change
"WERS or one of the other college stations figures out there's a need that needs to be filled, and changes its programming accordingly."
I don't know what that need might be. WERS already plays the new alternative music WFNX tries to program and does it without commercials. WERS is ahead of WFNX in promoting new artists. The only changes WERS could make would be bad ones.
Dear people who listen to
Dear people who listen to sports radio:
I hate you.
Try it
you'll like it
There's worse...
Worse than sports Radio:
Rush Limbaugh and friends
Country Music
Christian Rock
Year Round Xmas music
Radio is a dying medium, that means less choices.
Sign of Aging Population?
I wonder. Kill the last remaining current music station that teens, young adults and Gen-Xer parents prefer and replace it with more CONTINUOUS SOFT HITS ON THE HEAD for the area's aging population that loves songs it knows all the words to and can sing along with and can't get enough of sports jabber, either.
Culture . . .
. . . these days seems to be one big theme park for baby boomers. It's anemic. Every movie is a re-make. Every song a ripoff.
And we'll know the end is very near when they do a re-make of "Tommy Boy" starring Jonah Hill.
One problem: nobody under
One problem: nobody under thirty (which I barely qualify for) listens to the radio. Get an iPod.
Can you listen to live sportscasts on an iPod?
or, if you can, can you do so without paying a hefty subscription fee? Free commercial radio broadcasting will always have its place.
"Radio"?
Oh, right, that's what I used to listen to to decide which "45s" to buy when I went to the "record store". Then I'd scan the "newspaper" to see if any of the bands I liked were playing any of the local "venues".
WEEI is painful to listen to
WEEI is painful to listen to and I'm not just talking about those angry old men in the morning. AM radio is just plain terrible, even for talk. Not helping matters is the fact that my new car gets worse AM reception than my old car, go figure. 'EEI is getting killed by not being on FM, I bet a move is made soon. For the sake of Red Sox and Celtics games, switch bands, please!!
AM signals travel much further than FM signals
especially at night. So if the Red Sox and Celtics games move to FM, they'll lose a lot of their regional audience beyond Route 128 or 495.
High audio fidelity is important for music, but not really for sportscasts.
Gary Tanguay
I wonder if Gary Tanguay's voice would have been bearable on AM, his voice had an extra edge that just hurt my ears no matter what the volume. He's good on TV though.
You're right, except that it's WEEI
850 AM is plain weak -- difficult to pick up anywhere outside 128, and really not even that good right in the city. That's why WEEI has been snatching up FM frequencies for simulcasting in Springfield, RI, NH, Maine, and on the Cape. Don't worry about those folks -- they've been hearing things quite clearly for a while now.
Meanwhile, listeners in the heart of the network's coverage area are relegated to second-class status with a subpar AM signal. You can be on the Pike now, 600 feet from home plate, and miss a pitch when you drive under Brookline Ave. Have to say I've been rooting for FM for a while for these games.
It's not weak. It fades out
It's not weak. It fades out so quickly to the west because they create interference patterns so it doesn't bleed into other stations' broadcast areas.
There's no interference to the east. At night, you can hear it well up the Maine coast. I once picked it up in Newfoundland.
AM doesn't do well among skyscrapers, which is why it's so poor downtown.
Demurrer
You're right about all of this, which underscores exactly why AM doesn't work in the immediate metro area. FM would be much, much better in the place where WEEI is supposed to be making its money. Public service to Downeasters aside, they'd probably prefer a clear signal in Boston to a faint glimmer in Bar Harbor.
Exactly and this is why WEEI
Exactly and this is why WEEI has "network" stations relaying its programming (Keene; coast of ME; RI; Western MA) plus the Sox and Celts have radio networks, so if you must hear the Sox in Brattleboro VT or New Britain, CT, you're in luck.
Their concern is getting a fairly powerful FM station in Boston itself, either as a simulcast or by itself.
AM is plagued with problems. I can be in Peabody nr Centennial Drive and WRKO's signal gets wiped out by interference of some sort. And both WRKO and WEEI have lots of problems for listeners to the west, after dark. WBZ-FM,
the Sports Hub, has no such problems. Also WBZ-FM has the Pats and B's and some hosts who pose an alternative to
WEEI, and EEI realizes it must compete with them--and a better signal would help.
They do travel farther
They do travel farther (usually) as in further than New
England, but FM signals can do well in the Boston area
and there are other stations for New Eng. sports teams that can pick up the slack.
One reason why WEEI may do this is BECAUSE of an FM
sports station...the Sports Hub. More than a few
sports teams have FM flagships--like the Pats.
WEEI has some stations that
WEEI has some stations that rebroadcast its sports talk and some Sox/Celtics in various areas. However in Boston itself
its AM signal has problems with interference and propagation,
especially at night where those to the west have trouble
picking it up. There are also Celtics and Red Sox "networks"
FM may also be better for those who work in buildings etc.
High fidelity indeed can help music but it can add some
oomph to sports broadcasts too, as you can tell if you tune
to WBZ-FM the Sports Hub for Patriots games.
As for signal propagation:
If the Red Sox were in the World Series and the game were
on WEEI, I couldn't pick it up at work (I work nights)
Next Monday the Pats are on Monday night football. I WILL
be able to pick it up. You know the Steely Dan song:
No static, no static, no static at all...F...M! (No static at all...)
Sorry..can't see Julie Kramer
saying "another hour of continuous soft rock starts with Air Supply...after these words!" Then again, a job's a job nowadays.
Guys, nobody's selling WFNX
Guys? Just to be clear: nobody is selling WFNX. The original report was without any basis in fact, and came from an outlet with an axe to grind. Also: WFNX is not switching formats. Also: a few tix still available for the station's "Miracle on Tremont" X-Mas show on Thursday with Broken Bells (dude from Shins + Danger Mouse), Neon Trees, and Ra Ra Riot at the Orpheum.
Love,
Carly
I pray that WFNX gets sold so
I pray that WFNX gets sold so there can be an actual alt/indie option in this city. WFNX has a playlist about 15 songs deep, and has MGMT "Kids" in heavy rotation.
If it did get sold maybe WBOS
If it did get sold maybe WBOS could try to pick up the audience
Meanwhile 98.5 has had its
Meanwhile 98.5 has had its best ratings yet. Who knows, maybe someday WEEI will land on FM in Boston area...that could help them
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/mediaBiz/in...