> Convienenty, the call letters WZEI, WPEI (which might have
> been good for Providence), WVEI-FM, WDEI, and WTEI are all
> available, and Entercom will probably use one of them on
> 105.5.
>
> Could that station become the new Red Sox radio affiliate
> for Springfield in-time for the upcoming season??
According to All Access, Entercom will take control of the station on June 1st. So it's too late for the start of the season. Additionally, WBEC's transmitter site isn't on yet, there would be a risky move if there are delays getting the new site (which is on Mt. Tom with 93.1 WHYN-FM and 97.9 WPKX) on the air.
So, Springfield will probably get at least another year of Sox coverage on 560 WHYN.
> I also wonder if Entercom might be buying other stations
> through New England to expand the "WEEI Network". I could
> see Hartford
Nothing's really up for sale there. And they've instantly lost around 50% of the market, as there's no way that Yankees fans would take WEEI seriously.
> New Haven (depending on what station they get in Hartford)
By the time you get to New Haven, it's mostly Yankees territory. In a market where you can hear New York City FMs during the day, this one seems a bit far fetched.
> Manchester/Concord and Portland
If they could get Mindich's remaining non-FNX properties (WFEX/WPHX), they could cover some of these areas. But nobody's selling here either. It would seem to have a shot in Portland, but there's just nothing that's really up for grabs. (entirely speculation, but with Nassau's "Bone" simulcast heading downhill with the departure of Stern, could Entercom work out an LMA?).
> as cities
> where Entercom may buy stations to become WEEI simulcasts.
> It would be great business sense as it would amortize WEEI's
> high talent payroll across several stations, and assure
> affiliates in key New England cities for local sports teams
> WEEI gets the rights to.
The problem would really be securing signals to launch the format on. Other than the Cape Cod market (where Entercom could possibly launch a 107.5 WCEI), no FM properties in New England in significant New England markets are available for purchase.
> Should Entercom buy WKLB-99.5 from Greater Media, and
> assuming that the calls and country format now on 99.5 move
> to 102.5 when Greater Media acquires WCRB later this year, I
> could see Entercom moving WAAF from 107.3 to 99.5, and flip
> 107.3 to a simulcast of WEEI-850 (likely moving the WEEI-FM
> calls there with 103.7 in Rhode Island perhaps becoming
> WPEI), which would be a better signal in Central
> Massachusetts than WVEI-1440 and nicely fill-in the gaps in
> Central Massachusetts (and even Metrowest) where 850 (and in
> some spots, 1440 as well) is weak or impossible to receive.
> Perhaps 1440 might be flipped to a simuilcast of WRKO-680,
> which also has reception issues in Central Massachusetts,
> especially at night.
In the past, Entercom had noted that they would have retained the classical format had they acquired WCRB. At the moment, the most likely scenario for 102.5 sends the intellectual property of WCRB to 99.5 (with WKLB going to 102.5). Perhaps this is simply so Greater Media doesn't have to pull the trigger on WCRB (therefore killing classical in Boston, Detroit (WQRS), and Philadelphia (WFLN)).
So if Entercom were to acquire a 99.5 WCRB, and they stay to their original statement, then that would place classical on 107.3, with WAAF on 99.5 (rather than the original 102.5). Of course, placing sports on 107.3 is always a possibility, and I'd stated before that simulcasting 680 on 1440 wouldn't be a bad idea should said scenario occur.
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