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Who Provides Traffic Reports for Entercom-Boston?

N

nowradioguy

I'm going to go out on a limb here - and if you live in a neighborhood loaded with trees around these parts, you know where a lot of limbs have ended up recently! - and conclude that iHeart's Total Traffic and Weather Network (TTWN) is once again providing traffic reports to WBZ-AM.

But what of the other former CBS Radio O&O's who, only as recently as last April, began using Radiate Media? Are AMP 103.3 and Mix 104.1, now part of Entercom, still using Radiate Media for traffic, or have they, too, reverted to TTWN?
 
nowradioguy said:
But what of the other former CBS Radio O&O's who, only as recently as last April, began using Radiate Media? Are AMP 103.3 and Mix 104.1, now part of Entercom, still using Radiate Media for traffic, or have they, too, reverted to TTWN?
Click to expand...

Not long after CBS signed the deal with Radiate, it was bought and renamed United States Traffic Network, or USTN. On their web page, you'll see a map that is obviously the Boston area.

https://www.ustrafficnetwork.com/about/

Two weeks ago, USTN was bought out by someone in their management:

http://www.multichannel.com/prfeed/united-states-traffic-network-announces-management-buyout/418662

In reporting that story, Entercom's David Field said USTN owes them $4 million:

https://radioink.com/2018/03/14/management-buyout-of-ustn-completed/

So AFAIK, USTN still does traffic for Entercom, although they owe some money.
 
TheBigA said:
Not long after CBS signed the deal with Radiate, it was bought and renamed United States Traffic Network, or USTN. On their web page, you'll see a map that is obviously the Boston area.

https://www.ustrafficnetwork.com/about/

Two weeks ago, USTN was bought out by someone in their management:

http://www.multichannel.com/prfeed/united-states-traffic-network-announces-management-buyout/418662

In reporting that story, Entercom's David Field said USTN owes them $4 million:

https://radioink.com/2018/03/14/management-buyout-of-ustn-completed/

So AFAIK, USTN still does traffic for Entercom, although they owe some money.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that. With all that churn, I sure hope all of BZ’s traffic team is back safe at TTWN.

Why would Entercom be owed money by that entity? Isn’t it the station that pays the service for traffic reports?
 
nowradioguy said:
Why would Entercom be owed money by that entity? Isn’t it the station that pays the service for traffic reports?
Click to expand...

Depends on the contract. This company wanted the business. They sell their own spots (just as TT). So it's possible that in order to get the contract, they offered to pay to be on the stations.
 
nowradioguy said:
I'm going to go out on a limb here - and if you live in a neighborhood loaded with trees around these parts, you know where a lot of limbs have ended up recently! - and conclude that iHeart's Total Traffic and Weather Network (TTWN) is once again providing traffic reports to WBZ-AM.

But what of the other former CBS Radio O&O's who, only as recently as last April, began using Radiate Media? Are AMP 103.3 and Mix 104.1, now part of Entercom, still using Radiate Media for traffic, or have they, too, reverted to TTWN?
Click to expand...

Are you sitting down? We (Mix 104.1) have a traffic person. In studio. Every morning (also afternoons, different person). Her sole job is traffic for our show. I know, crazy right? We also have news from Kate Merrill from WBZ TV at 7a & 8a every morning. Not a prerecorded news, but actual live news. Will wonders ever cease? ;)
 
I think you will find your traffic people are actually robots made to look human. Look very closely it's getting very hard to tell. But soon robots will replace all of us so don't fear. That is till the uprising.
 
KarsonWithaK said:
Are you sitting down? We (Mix 104.1) have a traffic person. In studio. Every morning (also afternoons, different person). Her sole job is traffic for our show. I know, crazy right? We also have news from Kate Merrill from WBZ TV at 7a & 8a every morning. Not a prerecorded news, but actual live news. Will wonders ever cease? ;)
Click to expand...

I am impressed!! Especially that you still have what seems to be a rather strong connection to WBZ-TV, something with which, unfortunately, WBZ-AM has to tread lightly.

Do your traffic people work for TTWN or what used to be Radiate Media?

My sympathies on that ripoff of your call letters.
 
johnster said:
I think you will find your traffic people are actually robots made to look human. Look very closely it's getting very hard to tell. But soon robots will replace all of us so don't fear. That is till the uprising.
Click to expand...

I've heard numerous weather reports on AM stations which sound like they are read by a computer joining together pre-recorded words. At least, the regular flow of speech you expect seems "clipped" as the inter-word spacing seems off from "normal" conversational english.
 
nowradioguy said:
I am impressed!! Especially that you still have what seems to be a rather strong connection to WBZ-TV, something with which, unfortunately, WBZ-AM has to tread lightly.

Do your traffic people work for TTWN or what used to be Radiate Media?

My sympathies on that ripoff of your call letters.
Click to expand...

No, they work for us.
 
From what I've heard, the traffic reporters who were hired by CBS Radio, now Entercom, got pretty good deals. In unionized markets, including Boston, their pay and benefits are the same as iHeart subsidiary Total Traffic & Weather. Some of them went across the street to stay with their CBS (now Entercom) station. But I thought traffic reporters had to be on numerous Entercom stations. It's not practical otherwise.

So you'd think Mix 104 would have to share its morning traffic reporter with, let's say WODS and WZLX. After all, how many minutes is that Mix 104 traffic reporter on the air each morning? Maybe two 40 second reports in the 5, 6, 7 and 8 o'clock hours, then her day is done?

In other markets, everyone does several stations. For instance, an Entercom traffic reporter in NYC may be heard on WCBS-FM, WNEW-FM, WTIC-FM Hartford and WRCH Hartford. The all-news stations, WCBS and WINS, either have their own reporter or only share that person with maybe WFAN-AM-FM.
 
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