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Greg Strassell Gone...104.1 Up For Grabs?

Uncle Kaimbridge

Uncle Kaimbridge

Now that Greg Strassell is gone from CBS, does that mean WBMX-104.1 is vulnerable to either an outright format change, or major tweaking/identity change, since that was Strassell’s protected pet.
“Hit Country, 104.1” anybody? :cool:
 
Depends what the CBS suits want...Newsradio104.1/1030... who knows.

btw over in Cleveland they have many of the same freqs as us and sometimes the same format (well OK we USED to have country at 99.5). They introduced sports on 92.3
with The Fan, but some think they may move it to a better location--another 98.5 CBS sports--eventually?
Some of the Cle stations
98.5 classic rock (could be a good new home for "The Fan"?)
99.1 rock (translator)
99.5 country
100.7 rock the Buzzard, hi Donna...
103.3 religious
104.1 Hot AC
104.9 classical
105.7 classic hits
107.3 smooth jazz
107.9 hip hop
 
if WBMX-104.1 goes all-Christmas and dumps their airstaff on or around November 1st (or within a few weeks after that date), this would mean a new format after the Holidays (or perhaps on January 1st after a week-long post-Christmas stunt).

While I think there is a chance (actually, fifty-fifty) of "Mix 104.1" going all-Christmas this year, I think there's only a one-in-four chance that it's Hot AC format will be dumped either after Christmas or within the next six-and-a-half months (through the beginning of the all-important Spring 2014 Arbitrons).

If it is, I expect a call letter change to WWBZ and for it to simulcast WBZ-1030's news by day/talk by night format.
 
Don't know if 104.1 would go all Christmas--last year it was just WROR wasn't it? WODS had gone CHR June of last yr I believe and
ROR had Christmas to itself. I don't know if WBMX would follow suit to ROR. As you say maybe it's 50-50, but do stations like
Mix tend to go Christmas or is it more like oldies/classic hits stations...?
 
They had a dip in the last ratings book, but still a pretty big gap between 7th & 8th place.
Why would they switch now ?
 
What will it take for the clueless masses to figure out that there is no financial incentive AT ALL to simulcast WBZ. NONE. NONE. NONE.

If any of you has any research that shows definitively that a WBZ simulcast would increase revenues to not only replace the lost Mix 104.1 revenue, but actually increase revenue, show it.

It ain't happening.

Back on topic, Greg Strassell leaving is a good thing for CBS Boston. Greg may have been genius in 1991, but his programming has been rather lackluster over at least the past decade. Time to give someone else a chance to be creative without the Greg-cuffs placed on every Mix PD because the station was his baby. There's some incredible talent in the company, time to let them climb the ladder.
 
reelyreal said:
What will it take for the clueless masses to figure out that there is no financial incentive AT ALL to simulcast WBZ. NONE. NONE. NONE.
Click to expand...

The financial incentive would be if the increase in target demographics that would occur with a move to FM would be more than the revenue they would lose displacing one of their FM's.

I don't believe they could replace the revenue of any of their FM's with the increase that would certainly happen if they had access to more bodies under 55+.

In the days of Oldies/WODS....it was a possibility. Right now...not so much. ;-)
 
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Re: WODS HD 3 last yr I think yes they did do holiday music, but we're talking reg. signals; most people may not have or desire an
HD radio yet. I don't know how much $ can be made on a purely HD signal, advertising-wise, but it wouldn't compare to the regular
103.3 signal.

>>The financial incentive would be if the increase in target demographics that would occur with a move to FM would be more than the revenue they would lose displacing one of their FM's.

Yes we could say, by all means put WBZ news/talk on 104.1, no static at all, on the band people most listen to and so on. But they most likely wouldn't put it on both 1030 and 104.1 for the same reason that WEEI now has separate programming on AM and FM.
They would have to 100 per cent simulcast for ratings credit and would it be worth it to take away a revenue stream? (Keep in mind
also WBZ AM has a huge signal that covers a good chunk of New England and much of the US after dark) So they may sacrifice
Mix to put news/talk on FM just as Ent. had to kill off "Mike"--but in THAT case they really needed to go to FM to counter Sports Hub.
What then goes on AM 1030...religious brokered? oldies? who knows what... or yes they could do news/talk on both but again
that kills off a revenue stream.

Ent. waited 2 years to kill off Mike which was making them some money:
Aug 2009: Sports Hub debuts. Mere weeks later, Ent. shifts the Red Sox from primarily WRKO to WEEI.
Sep 2011: WEEI AM _and_ FM
Oct 2012: The AM goes to all ESPN

Two years where they could have had WEEI on FM (but sacrificing "Mike"); and again, CBS announced the debut of Sports Hub
a couple months in advance of the move (killing off WBCN, at least on the reg. dial, and moving Mix to 104.1). Ent. could have
scooped them and moved to FM, say, the first week of August '09--"now WE are the first FM sports talker in Boston"...
But Mike was making them money. They may have feared CBS would do well with Sports Hub--and they did.

So this is the problem CBS has in our "moving news-talk to 104.1" speculation..
 
Joseph_Gallant said:
if WBMX-104.1 goes all-Christmas and dumps their airstaff on or around November 1st (or within a few weeks after that date), this would mean a new format after the Holidays (or perhaps on January 1st after a week-long post-Christmas stunt).

While I think there is a chance (actually, fifty-fifty) of "Mix 104.1" going all-Christmas this year, I think there's only a one-in-four chance that it's Hot AC format will be dumped either after Christmas or within the next six-and-a-half months (through the beginning of the all-important Spring 2014 Arbitrons).

If it is, I expect a call letter change to WWBZ and for it to simulcast WBZ-1030's news by day/talk by night format.
Click to expand...

WBZ 1030 is doing great in the ratings book, why chane? They would be stuck with a big AM station anyway.

How about getting the letters WBCN back. "Boston Country"
 
Mentions been made of HD radio; again not many people have or want it.
WBZ 1030 is on the HD 3 of WBZ-FM 98.5...but guess what I just scanned my HD portable here in Beverly and can't get an HD2 or
HD 3 at all on that freq. (may have come in before)

Wiki. says WRKO is on the HD2 of WKAF and WAAF...well if they are, a) I can get WKAF fairly clearly but can't pick up an HD2,
and b) I can barely get WAAF at all, let alone an HD2. This is again why Ent. wants 97.7--to simulcast AAF.

On the HD portable I can get some stations from NH, the Cape (94.3, 106.1, 104.7, 99.9), Prov etc...as for the HD sub channels
some do come in while others may come in for a second and then go out again.
The HDs for stations like 93.7 (Funkytown, HD2), 105.7, 96.9, 107.9 (Matty's Comedy), 102.5, 100.7 etc do come in.
If I wanted 1200's Bloomberg, I can't pick it up on the 94.5 HD2, but the reg signal comes in on AM 1200 anyway here.
 
Well if they felt it could make money, they would. Know what you mean though. They pore over their demo books and go for what they think will do best, and in '09 that meant killing off WBCN (not that it was necessarily the 'BCN of old at that point).
 
How about "The Harbor"? or "The Cove"
As for me, I love "Mix 104.1" just the way they are. Could they improve? Yes. They just have to think harder. They've been around since??? 1988? (They used to be on 98.5) and now on 104.1. I hope they stay around for a long time.
That'd be cool if they went to "The Cove" and go up against "Magic 106.7" That'd be a great try
 
MR. JAROME_CALVIN said:
How about "The Harbor"? or "The Cove"
As for me, I love "Mix 104.1" just the way they are. Could they improve? Yes. They just have to think harder. They've been around since??? 1988? (They used to be on 98.5) and now on 104.1. I hope they stay around for a long time.
That'd be cool if they went to "The Cove" and go up against "Magic 106.7" That'd be a great try
Click to expand...



I think mix should be gone most of amps playlist and there's overlap anyhow. I think the station should go country only the top hits!! give wklb and run for their money cbs Boston seems to have a good sales dept so let them have a fight for the new hit music only this time its not chr!!
 
Well, WBMX is the only female targeted station in CBS's roster. If they do in fact change it, then it will still have to be a female targeted demo. BTW, weren't they beating WMJX in the 25-54 catagory too? While anything is possible in radio these days, I personaly do not see it.
 
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