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WBQT-HD2?
- Thread starter Wimmmex
- Start date
Was (is) that channel streamed? I never had a chance to listen to it OTA -- no HD in the car -- and I like all kinds of Irish/Scottish/English folk and folk-derived music. What was the presentation like -- a 24/7 jukebox or hosted shows and specials? Was the playlist ever updated, or was it the same songs on shuffle play from day 1 to signoff?
The question is moot at this point...
Will double check on my HD portable later.For awhile Beasley also put it on their WRCA 1330 and FM translator at 106.1 and some enjoyed it.Then both went to Bloomberg business radio.
May have been live streamed on their site awhile back--maybe also on TuneIn?
May have been live streamed on their site awhile back--maybe also on TuneIn?
96.9 HD2 is now running some kind of rap/R&B (complete with censored swears)
"The new Power 96.9 HD2"
Liners also invite listeners to check out the main signal.
"The new Power 96.9 HD2"
Liners also invite listeners to check out the main signal.
It was an automated Irish music "jukebox" with some occasional image liners dropped in. No hosts or special programs. Don't know whether the playlist was updated at times. It does not appear to have shown up on any of their other station subchannels.
There's R&B on WBQT-HD2 now, but not a simulcast of the HD1. It's "Power 96.9" HD2, "Boston's New Hip-Hop and R&B". Testing a new format to compete with Jam'n? I just heard a promo on the HD2 to listen for the "best throwbacks" on the main (HD1) channel.
After WTKK dropped its talk format there was a "wheel of formats" rolled out in successive days as a stunt. One was called Power, though I can't remember if it was classic rock or R&B etc.
(One may have been a "Mike" like variety hits format)
The Irish Channel was indeed a jukebox and had stuff like The Corrs, The Cranberries, U2, Van Morrison, Waterboys (a couple albums were like Irish folk), maybe some sentimental ballads
etc. I think WROL and/or WNTN have some Irish music shows on. A couple times a friend in Ohio sent me the Irish show from WAPS--Akron Public Schools and it also had a blend of
Irish music.
Let's see...WROL 950/100.3 "Irish Hit Parade"
https://www.facebook.com/WROLIRISH/
WNTN 1550 "Celtic Air"
http://www.wntn.com/programs/celticair.html
WUMB and WGBH also have Irish/Celtic music shows.
Wikipedia entry on WRCA 1330:
>>Following Beasley's acquisition of Greater Media, WRCA went dark on November 15, 2016, as it moved to new studios; it returned in May 2017 with a simulcast of "Boston's Irish Channel", the HD2 channel of sister station WBQT, as it was believed that WRCA was in the process of signal testing. The station was also paired with an FM translator, W291CZ (licensed to Boston) at 106.1 MHz. On July 3, 2017, Bloomberg L.P. and Beasley announced that WRCA/W291CZ would begin carrying Bloomberg Radio programming (which moved over from WXKS) beginning the following day.
(One may have been a "Mike" like variety hits format)
The Irish Channel was indeed a jukebox and had stuff like The Corrs, The Cranberries, U2, Van Morrison, Waterboys (a couple albums were like Irish folk), maybe some sentimental ballads
etc. I think WROL and/or WNTN have some Irish music shows on. A couple times a friend in Ohio sent me the Irish show from WAPS--Akron Public Schools and it also had a blend of
Irish music.
Let's see...WROL 950/100.3 "Irish Hit Parade"
https://www.facebook.com/WROLIRISH/
WNTN 1550 "Celtic Air"
http://www.wntn.com/programs/celticair.html
WUMB and WGBH also have Irish/Celtic music shows.
Wikipedia entry on WRCA 1330:
>>Following Beasley's acquisition of Greater Media, WRCA went dark on November 15, 2016, as it moved to new studios; it returned in May 2017 with a simulcast of "Boston's Irish Channel", the HD2 channel of sister station WBQT, as it was believed that WRCA was in the process of signal testing. The station was also paired with an FM translator, W291CZ (licensed to Boston) at 106.1 MHz. On July 3, 2017, Bloomberg L.P. and Beasley announced that WRCA/W291CZ would begin carrying Bloomberg Radio programming (which moved over from WXKS) beginning the following day.
Correct on the “Power” and “Mike” fronts. The wheel of formats (which I tuned into daily from the end of ‘TKK until almost the launch of Hot, which I missed by about 2 minutes) included the current hip hop/R&B “Power” for a day, then dance as “Nova”, adult hits as “Mike”, and then classic rock as “The Bone.”
WBQT HD2 still new urban "Power 96.9" today. Doesn't seem like a stunt format.
I'd think they wouldn't bother doing a wheel of formats stunt on an HD2.On a regular signal, yes...
Lame. HD radio was cool when it started. Stations actually programmed innovative formats. It was a much needed breath of fresh air on the radio dial. Now the corporate lackies are determined to ruin it. Yay, Power 96.9 HD2, basically a slightly modified playlist from Power 96.9 HD1, and a clone of Jammin 94.5. Cause we were really suffering for more Cardi B on the Boston radio dial.
I'm guessing that the corporations really didn't want additional innovative music channels competing with their main mainstream cash cow formats on their main (analog HD1) channels, so even though a few local programmers jumped at the chance to express different ideas and try to fill local niche holes, the corporations (both broadcasting and manufacturing) did extremely poor marketing, promotion and implementation of HD radio when it was new in the 00's.
Most of the public never even knew what HD radio was (is). Most everybody, including department store clerks, thought you were talking about satellite radio if you asked about it, and they directed you to the Sirius/XM receivers.
When I tried to tell people that there was a new FREE service with innovative different local programming, and it WASN'T paid Sirius/XM satellite, most people gave me a puzzled "that does not compute" look, and just dismissed it.
Reminded me of what happened to analog AM Stereo when it came along in the '80s and '90s. If you were in a clean reception area with a good wideband AM Stereo receiver, it sounded far superior for music than typical narrowband mono AM, almost as good as FM Stereo.
AM radio had pretty much given up on music and had gone mostly news, talk or sports (or brokered or religious) from the late '70s on, then when AM Stereo came in during the '80s, a handful of AM stations in every market tried programming music again (usually oldies, standards, or country) in AM Stereo, but only radio geeks knew where to seek out the few available receivers, and even when there was a dozen stations broadcasting AM Stereo in the Boston area (WJIB is now is only one left), if I mentioned it to people the reaction was usually "AM Stereo?!? That actually exists?!? I didn't think AM could be in stereo!!!"
FM music stations had become the cash cows for the corporations by the '80s, and I'm sure they were more than glad to see AM Stereo fail and AM revert back to the practically secondary mostly non-musical narrowband mono service it has been since then. With HD radio and subchannels, I saw the same disappointing dynamic redux two decades later.
Seems to me that the rollout of the "extra channels between the channels" was an effort to (somewhat) blunt the effects of Sirius & XM (that broadcasters saw as a threat)...by putting more choices on the free band.
Of course they didn't overly promote it. I'm sure the corporations didn't want their listeners "en mass" leaving their main cash cow signals for HD. However, if a listener was going to ditch broadcast radio for satellite, then some extra free choices on the FM dial might have staved off some of that defection.
Having Comedy, Dance, Oldies, Jazz, Easy Listening, Classic Country, All 80's, Jazz, Irish, Folk, BBC, Broadway...all free and available on the broadcast dial would be welcome additions....none would rise to become a major signal, but keeping people on the FM broadcast dial with additional choices might keep some people from going to Satellite.
But that was old thinking...
What we've learned so far, is that Sirius/XM is not the threat we thought it might be.
The AM signals and band needs as much help as it can get, and putting the AM signals on an HD channel is more valuable to a company, than an jukebox HD channel.
HD signals are kinda unreliable. The public doesn't understand it.
http://www.fybush.com NorthEastRadioWatch reports Costa-Eagle complained about Beasley calling the HD2 Power which they have as a nickname on their WNNW 800/102.9. WBQT HD2 now The Vibe.
You can lead a horse to water....
For the first two years, the Alliance ran thousands of promos for HD radio on the main channels. The biggest impediment was the ability to find HD radios that played the additional channels. The company rolled out the technology to radio stations, but didn't have a retail partner for years until they finally signed up Best Buy. iBiquity focused all its attention on table radios, rather than portables or car radios. Nobody was buying table radios. Huge mistake. The other big mistake is forcing manufacturers to pay a royalty to include the technology in the radios. AM & FM were free technologies. HD required a license fee. All of the major manufacturers objected. Car companies were getting paid to install Sirius & XM, meanwhile they were being told they had to PAY to include HD. Terrible idea.
>>HD required a license fee. All of the major manufacturers objected. Car companies were getting paid to install Sirius & XM, meanwhile they were being told they had to PAY to include HD.
Very interesting!
As for the radios I've had a walkman sized Audiovox/Insignia, and one of those table radios. The former is phased out and I think the latter may be,
too--price reductions. It actually is a pretty good FM radio that can pick up the extra stations including the likes of WRKO and WBZ AM on HD2s. It's a table radio but also a portable via batteries.
Did not buy a home receiver (pricey) or car stereo with HD though I have had rental cars with HD built in. So it's interesting that a license fee was required.
"Gee I'd love to be able to hear WRKO at work or in the car--bad signal."
"Oh you can hear them on the HD 2 of WZLX. They mention it on occasion. You have to buy a special radio for HD."
"No thanks. Maybe I'll hear them on the iHeart app instead."
"I heard something about an all blues station and an all Irish music station on HD signals."
"Not anymore. Both gone."
Very interesting!
As for the radios I've had a walkman sized Audiovox/Insignia, and one of those table radios. The former is phased out and I think the latter may be,
too--price reductions. It actually is a pretty good FM radio that can pick up the extra stations including the likes of WRKO and WBZ AM on HD2s. It's a table radio but also a portable via batteries.
Did not buy a home receiver (pricey) or car stereo with HD though I have had rental cars with HD built in. So it's interesting that a license fee was required.
"Gee I'd love to be able to hear WRKO at work or in the car--bad signal."
"Oh you can hear them on the HD 2 of WZLX. They mention it on occasion. You have to buy a special radio for HD."
"No thanks. Maybe I'll hear them on the iHeart app instead."
"I heard something about an all blues station and an all Irish music station on HD signals."
"Not anymore. Both gone."
AM stereo
At WLYN, we pulled the plug on AM stereo, years ago. I only heard it off air, in full stereo, once, in a car.
It sounded great! But if the original source was not in true stereo, and very few listeners would hear
it that way, it made no sense to continue running it. Which comes first - the chicken, or the egg?
I have a friend who has satellite radio in the car. The only thing I find compelling about it,
is the "Deep Tracks" channel. It is always fresh - you never know what chestnut they will play next!
Is there any compelling programming on HD channels? Even if there is an audience for it, will the
format turn a profit? If you want to listen to a playlist of your favorite tunes, radio is never going
to work for you - go for it via some form of recorded sources - Mp3 players, cassettes, CD's, etc.
Lithuanian marching music, anyone?
At WLYN, we pulled the plug on AM stereo, years ago. I only heard it off air, in full stereo, once, in a car.
It sounded great! But if the original source was not in true stereo, and very few listeners would hear
it that way, it made no sense to continue running it. Which comes first - the chicken, or the egg?
I have a friend who has satellite radio in the car. The only thing I find compelling about it,
is the "Deep Tracks" channel. It is always fresh - you never know what chestnut they will play next!
Is there any compelling programming on HD channels? Even if there is an audience for it, will the
format turn a profit? If you want to listen to a playlist of your favorite tunes, radio is never going
to work for you - go for it via some form of recorded sources - Mp3 players, cassettes, CD's, etc.
Lithuanian marching music, anyone?
Rapking was asking on the RadioInsight board how to listen to Vibe (WBQT HD2) online without an HD radio.
From what I can see online, he can't though for a time I think there was a link to Irish 96.9
iHeart app has regular 96.9 but no HD2 it seems.Nothing on TuneIn.From what I see on station website and facebook it's like the HD2 doesn't exist. Don't know if it's on the app.
What's on most of the HD 2, 3 signals here? Some AMs like WRKO and WBZ 1030.Some FMs like WAAF and WCRB (that is, helping those in certain areas pick up the regular stations). Those are on iHeart and radio.com.
But the original signals...some kind of country on 102.5 HD2... the LGBT stations on 101.7 and 103.3...the Breeze on 94.5 HD2....are they available online for those without HD radios?
Saw a link online to the former "WODS greatest hits HD2" on TuneIn.Heard:
"Hi TuneIn listeners.The station you selected is no longer available."
From what I can see online, he can't though for a time I think there was a link to Irish 96.9
iHeart app has regular 96.9 but no HD2 it seems.Nothing on TuneIn.From what I see on station website and facebook it's like the HD2 doesn't exist. Don't know if it's on the app.
What's on most of the HD 2, 3 signals here? Some AMs like WRKO and WBZ 1030.Some FMs like WAAF and WCRB (that is, helping those in certain areas pick up the regular stations). Those are on iHeart and radio.com.
But the original signals...some kind of country on 102.5 HD2... the LGBT stations on 101.7 and 103.3...the Breeze on 94.5 HD2....are they available online for those without HD radios?
Saw a link online to the former "WODS greatest hits HD2" on TuneIn.Heard:
"Hi TuneIn listeners.The station you selected is no longer available."
I agree with most people's observations of HD radio from the 2000s to now. The sad part is, to me, this is even more evidence that the radio is in a drab state. "They don't want niche stations cutting into their cash cows." Seriously? Perhaps that's a sign that if they didn't flood the dial with the same drab formats, perhaps their statements of "that's what people want to hear" wouldn't be accurate at all. So, let's just allow the same drab playlists and when that's all people know, we can say that's what they want to hear. No crap that's what they want to hear, it's all the record and radio industries want to be known out there. Then they blame the listeners, theu blame the advertising, they say that their metrics show these to be the preferred formats. Yet, they hold down any form of alternative choice (difference in choice, not music format).
In summary, in arguments of bland playlists that I have had around this forum and the New York forum, I've heard every argument that points to the most amount of listeners wanting the current formats. Yet in this thread, I'm reading that HD radio was flipped to the bland offering that it is due to possible threats to the formats on the analog and HD1 signals. Does anyone else see why I'm still calling BS on the terrestrial radio industry and choosing to stream, subscribe to satellite radio, and most of all buying digital copies of my own music? At what point does terrestrial radio see their own hypocracy. If it's what people want to hear on their analog and HD1 signals, then what is put on the HD2, HD3, and HD4 substations shouldn't matter. Allow for innovation on these substations. If what's on the HD2 - HD4 substations are a threat to the analog and HD1 stations, then obviously you're full of crap when you state that studies show that what's on analog and HD1 is what people want to hear.
My theory, the industry is prefabricating what they want to the listener to prefer. Yes, they go with trends. But, they try their damndest to manipulate the trends as much as they can.
In summary, in arguments of bland playlists that I have had around this forum and the New York forum, I've heard every argument that points to the most amount of listeners wanting the current formats. Yet in this thread, I'm reading that HD radio was flipped to the bland offering that it is due to possible threats to the formats on the analog and HD1 signals. Does anyone else see why I'm still calling BS on the terrestrial radio industry and choosing to stream, subscribe to satellite radio, and most of all buying digital copies of my own music? At what point does terrestrial radio see their own hypocracy. If it's what people want to hear on their analog and HD1 signals, then what is put on the HD2, HD3, and HD4 substations shouldn't matter. Allow for innovation on these substations. If what's on the HD2 - HD4 substations are a threat to the analog and HD1 stations, then obviously you're full of crap when you state that studies show that what's on analog and HD1 is what people want to hear.
My theory, the industry is prefabricating what they want to the listener to prefer. Yes, they go with trends. But, they try their damndest to manipulate the trends as much as they can.
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