BostonRadioWatch, BostonSportsMedia: Cuts at ESPN 890, uncertain future

[raccoonradio]

http://www.bostonradiowatch.com quotes a piece by David Scott in Boston Sports Media saying that
the noon-2 local show on ESPN 890/1400 is now gone, most likely to be replaced by ESPN national
programming. It also says though that the morning show with Lew and Mike will continue--but there
are rumors ("whispers") that L&M are actually a brokered time show, and what's happening with 1510 may well happen at 890 and 1400

Scott is saying ESPN can't be happy with the direction its Boston station is headed to (it can't make
a dent against WEEI)

 

[rapking]

http://www.bostonradiowatch.com quotes a piece by David Scott in Boston Sports Media saying that
the noon-2 local show on ESPN 890/1400 is now gone, most likely to be replaced by ESPN national
programming. It also says though that the morning show with Lew and Mike will continue--but there
are rumors ("whispers") that L&M are actually a brokered time show, and what's happening with 1510 may well happen at 890 and 1400

Scott is saying ESPN can't be happy with the direction its Boston station is headed to (it can't make
a dent against WEEI)

Another Boston Garbage station . Spanish music was good, but lets flip this station to national sports Garbage. A retard knows a National Sports Radio Garbage can't compete with WEEI . Sporting News and ESPN Radio flush Down the toilet .

 

[ChrisNH]

I'm just glad that Holloran--the sports media hack that he is--got tossed. He's the writer of the horrible, mistake-filled book on boxing. When you get a 'swell idea' to 'make a bunch of money writing a book,' make sure you know what the hell you're doing. Boston's sports media cabal is filled with some of sorriest, most self-absorbed people you'll find anywhere. That includes print, radio, and TV. Hopefully the economic crisis will thin the herd, but I see no evidence of that...yet.

 

[raccoonradio]

ESPN wants a station that will carry most of its programming, not just a brief overnight or weekend show.
But 890 and 1400 don't have the best signals (esp. at night, even with some improvements a little
while back). They did have Michael Felger in aft drive but either cut him or he left on his own to go to
WEEI.com, etc. Some feel that we in Boston don't want to hear a national perspective show on the radio;
we're too provincial, etc., and that WEEI is simply too strong. (Though as for "national" JT The Brick, say what you want about him and his show, but he does have a bit of a cult following here. Call it the
exception that proves the rule?)

WAMG/WLLH do get to carry some things like the baseball playoffs (even where Sox are playing), bowl games, etc. due to the ESPN affiliation. I know that in the past I would struggle to pick up a distant
station to get these (while at work) so it was good to have them pick it up, even if it's weak. (But as far
as me in my car, I wound up getting XM anyway and can get them that way). I have a friend who doesn't
have cable and he was asking me about where to hear some of these playoff games on the radio and I
told him about 890 and 1400 but added, "The signals aren't too strong--you might have better luck
with 1410 out of Hartford, 1050 out of NYC, or even something like 1210 out of Philly for the Phillies games."

While at work, I tried to pick up the World Series on 890 and 1400 and it was just so weak that I
tuned to 1210 instead (I use a radio connected to an FM transmitter which beams the signal to
my Walkman).

Ideally there should be WEEI and then maybe one other station which could cherrypick from
the Sporting News and ESPN shows--and do local if possible. Instead we have the current situation
with these stations. (1510 did bring back some local sports talk on weekdays,didn't they? They also
are running a couple prog. talk shows). Maybe it would be better if the "alternative sports" were
concentrated on one station and let the other do ethnic, prog talk, R&B, whatever.

 

[Deleted User]

Did anyone else notice the part where they said there was never any intent to move in with WCRB and from that I am assuming they are staying at the Schraffts building, which I am sure isn't cheap.

If they are looking for a one studio sublet I know where there is an under utilized studio in Woburn I could rent them.

 

[DJbobo]

Did anyone else notice the part where they said there was never any intent to move in with WCRB and from that I am assuming they are staying at the Schraffts building, which I am sure isn't cheap.

If they are looking for a one studio sublet I know where there is an under utilized studio in Woburn I could rent them.

Re-read it. He implies that the format is likely done before the current lease is up in a couple of months. Why would they renew if there will be no need to move anyone or anything at that point? But then again, he has been predicting their demise for months and they're still here.

 

[DanStrassberg]

Re-read it. He implies that the format is likely done before the current lease is up in a couple of months. Why would they renew if there will be no need to move anyone or anything at that point? But then again, he has been predicting their demise for months and they're still here.

I agree that the incessent predictions of the demise of ESPN Radio on 890/1400 have become extremely tedious. Even if he turns out to be right sometime, he won't deserve any credit; as they say, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. It's pretty clear that ABC/ESPN consider that the ability to clear major markets is important to their business plan. I think good ratings are off the bottom of ESPN's priority list.

As for the studio, although a new owner might want to pick his/her own studio location, a station that requires a studio but doesn't have one has to be worth a fair amount less than a station that requires a studio and has one. Sure, you can find, or, if necessary, build a studio pretty quickly, but it's a hassle and I imagine that a new owner would have enough other problems to deal with.

 

[MarcB]

In my opinion for an ESPN affiliate to be successful they need at least one local show and play by play of at least one major team. Example. Here in Hartford Clear Channel's ESPN Radio 1410 has a local host by the name of Jason Page on 3PM-6PM. For play-by-play they carry The Yankees. (The SOX are on the 50KW powerhouse WTIC). They also have basketball from Central Connecticut State University. ESPN Radio 1410 is also the local Westwood One affiliate and carries "Games of the Week" from Westwood One. They are also Hartford's home of the New York Jets football games.

 

[Blackroc]

I think N.Bedford has an ESPN affiliate 1340? and a weak Prov. station just flipped a few days ago from a nostalgia format,1450. I don't think either station has any local programming and are quite weak after dark.
If EEI has all valued broadcast properties on board (minus the Pats), I don't know how 890 was ever expected to compete.

 

[raccoonradio]

Yeah that's right, they lost ESPN (in Prov) when 99.7 flipped to a simulcast of WPRO and 790 went to oldies...
I'd think the 890 and 1410 (and 1050 from NYC) signals would be half decent in RI though

 

[jlehmann]

On Monday, 1450 WLKW West Warwick, RI and 1340 WNBH New Bedford flipped to ESPN Radio. I believe it's 100% the national feed.

 

[dyeingeye]

Is there anything to suggest that CBS will start a sports station with the Patriots and Bruins other than board speculation?

Also, where do people have trouble with the 890 signal? I never have trouble in Metrowest.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Also, where do people have trouble with the 890 signal? I never have trouble in Metrowest.

That's because their transmitter site is in MetroWest, in Ashland.

The signal is only moderate into Boston, and it can get pretty weak out toward the North and South Shores, especially at night when it lowers from 25kW to 6kW.

 

[DanStrassberg]

The signal is only moderate into Boston, and it can get pretty weak out toward the North and South Shores, especially at night when it lowers from 25kW to 6kW.

I think it's an open question about the power WAMG is running at night. For sure, some time ago (a year?, or was it just last summer?) WAMG did get its new night pattern and 6 kW power on the air and did run that way for a while. Then the night power dropped A LOT, so I contacted someone I know who had a connection with the station. I was told that yes, WAMG had been running a night power of less than 6 kW (it sounded to me like less than the previous night power of 3.4 kW). Shortly thereafter, the night power increased, but it still didn't sound like 6 kW. To me, it still doesn't, but I can't tell for sure. I don't think anyone that I know can verify my suspicion, however.

 

[ciao99]

http://www.bostonradiowatch.com quotes a piece by David Scott in Boston Sports Media saying that
the noon-2 local show on ESPN 890/1400 is now gone, most likely to be replaced by ESPN national
programming. It also says though that the morning show with Lew and Mike will continue--but there
are rumors ("whispers") that L&M are actually a brokered time show, and what's happening with 1510 may well happen at 890 and 1400

Scott is saying ESPN can't be happy with the direction its Boston station is headed to (it can't make
a dent against WEEI)

It's amazing how much attention Boston Radio Watch devotes to this non-rated station. It doesn't warrant the obsession, at least not at the expense of overlooking the rest of the Boston radio dial.

 

[JustinT]

It's amazing how much attention Boston Radio Watch devotes to this non-rated station. It doesn't warrant the obsession, at least not at the expense of overlooking the rest of the Boston radio dial.

Can't disagree there. But I assume it's really the big picture: despite how much Boston loves sports, and how successful WEEI has been, all of 850's competitors (ESPN 890, 1510 The Zone, the old WNRB, the old WBPS) have been complete failures. Signal has historically been a problem with the 890 and 1510 sticks, but without question there's more to it.

 

[thetheo]

Is there anything to suggest that CBS will start a sports station with the Patriots and Bruins other than board speculation?

Also, where do people have trouble with the 890 signal? I never have trouble in Metrowest.

CBS flipped a station in Dallas to all sports in Dec, that station already had the Mavs so it made sense just like the Pats/B's would make sense. Then they went and made a run at the Big O so it seemed like it was on the verge of happening.

Fast-forward to Jan and we all know the big O got a 1 mil a year contract from WEEI so I have a feeling it's status quo at CBS for now. What would the other options be? Halloran is avail! hahahaha

 

[ciao99]

It's amazing how much attention Boston Radio Watch devotes to this non-rated station. It doesn't warrant the obsession, at least not at the expense of overlooking the rest of the Boston radio dial.

Can't disagree there. But I assume it's really the big picture: despite how much Boston loves sports, and how successful WEEI has been, all of 850's competitors (ESPN 890, 1510 The Zone, the old WNRB, the old WBPS) have been complete failures. Signal has historically been a problem with the 890 and 1510 sticks, but without question there's more to it.

Signal is not a problem for 890. When it was Spanish its ratings were 1.0+

 

[thetheo]

That doesn't mean it's not a problem. Anytime I've tried listening to a game while driving I've lost the signal off/on in my travels. That doesn't mean they can't pull down a 1.0, but whatever they do pull down would be higher if the signal was better. Well, or if the ratings process was actually accurate. Which it's FAR from.

 

[ciao99]

That doesn't mean it's not a problem. Anytime I've tried listening to a game while driving I've lost the signal off/on in my travels. That doesn't mean they can't pull down a 1.0, but whatever they do pull down would be higher if the signal was better. Well, or if the ratings process was actually accurate. Which it's FAR from.

Boo hoo. Boston radio has bigger fish to fry than worrying about a non-rated station in a format that is overrepresented on the dial.

If the signal wasn't a problem for the Spanish listeners, it shouldn't be a problem for Caucasian dudes in the suburbs. Plus there's no reason you can't listen online.