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BSMW, BRW: Sports ending at 890

No word yet but Boston Sports Media notes that the 890ESPN.com site is already "inactive". Will have to see if word of new format is in Globe or Herald.
 
bostonradio tweets that Arbitron reported 555k listeners per week for WEEI, 136k for Sports Hub--and 55k for ESPN;
goodbye shows are being done today at ESPN 890 and "ESPN's station manager just confirmed in an e-mail that the station is ending its sports format and ESPN affiliate"

http://www.twitter.com/bostonradio
 
raccoonradio said:
bostonradio tweets that Arbitron reported 555k listeners per week for WEEI, 136k for Sports Hub--and 55k for ESPN;
goodbye shows are being done today at ESPN 890 and "ESPN's station manager just confirmed in an e-mail that the station is ending its sports format and ESPN affiliate"

http://www.twitter.com/bostonradio
Click to expand...

I'll betcha, it will be the third, fourth (whatever) time 890 will go Spanish. This is a station that has never really made a dent in the market. Oh, well ..... Adios.
 
I heard the end of their 4-6 pm show--they broke the news of the end of sports talk, etc. and one host joked,
"So when does the salsa start?" :)
 
Peter Q. George (K1XRB) said:
I'll betcha, it will be the third, fourth (whatever) time 890 will go Spanish. This is a station that has never really made a dent in the market. Oh, well ..... Adios.
Click to expand...

IIRC...

1994-1995 Spanish-language religion as WBMA
1995-1996 English language sports as WBPS
1996-1998 Leased ethnic
1998-1999 Spanish AC "Estrella 890"
1999-2001 Spanish AC "Amor 890"
2001-2002 Technology talk "CNET Radio"
2002-2003 Conservative talk "The Boston Talk Party"
2003-2005 Spanish tropical "Mega 890 y 1400"
2005-2009 Sports talk "890 ESPN"
2009- ?

So I guess this would be Spanish format #5 for 890. Looking at that list, ESPN has been the most stable format in the history of the sticks!
 
encarta95 said:
IIRC... 2003-2005 Spanish tropical "Mega 890 y 1400"
Click to expand...

Wasn't that stretch actually divided into two periods? If memory serves (and it may not), the first 890 format under the ownership of Mega Communications was a rather mellow one called "Romantica." The more up-tempo "La Mega" format was on co-owned 1150, which had the WAMG calls at the time. Then, Mega Communications, which owned both stations, sold 1150 (I think to the current owner--Salem). At that point, Mega shifted the WAMG calls and the company's signature La Mega format to 890. I could have this all wrong, however. So if I'm wrong, please correct me.

Oh, and I think that it wasn't until 890 had the WAMG calls and La Mega format that Mega Communications acquired WLLH and set it up as a simulcast of 890.
 
raccoonradio said:
I heard the end of their 4-6 pm show--they broke the news of the end of sports talk, etc. and one host joked, "So when does the salsa start?"
Click to expand...

Well, unless WKOX 1200's ratings with CCU's Rumba format have been setting the world on fire (and I have not heard any such rumor), wouldn't you think that, if 890 flips to salsa, ESPN would move to 1200? There had been speculation to that effect on this board more than a week ago. But then that speculation was displaced by speculation that ESPN would replace the classical music on 99.5. Now my question is, if ESPN were going to move to any other Boston-market signal (Salem's WEZE 590 has also been mentioned as a possibility), why would the local hosts on 890 be saying good-bye to their listeners? Why wouldn't they either be telling their audience to tune to the frequency that will be carrying ESPN starting Monday, or if that can't yet be mentioned for some legal reason, to find them at an unnamed Boston-area frequency effective Monday? Would ESPN be continuing in the Boston market with different local hosts? Possible, I guess, but I wouldn't think so.
 
I remember they started as Spanish AC Estrella 890. Mega called the Spanish AC format they were running on its stations The Romantica format. They ran it from Mid-December 96 - Late March 97 in Hartford. They called it Romance 910. 1150 in Boston was Tropical formatted WAMG MEGA 1150 and sometime later they added the 1400 simulcast.

In 2001 MEGA was suffering from financial disaster from their $40 million? acquisition of 1380 in NYC from Arthur Liu and their launch of a Spanish All-news format "NOTICIAS (or was it NOTICIERO?) 1380." It was because of these financial problems they decided to pull the plug on the less popular Estrealla 890 format and brokered the station out. (They made a lot of other poor business decisions over the years. They bought 104.9 in South Jersey and tried to market it as Philly's only FM Latino formatted radio station when in reality the signal was non-existant in most of Philly. They bought WARE 1250 and tried to market it as a Latino Station for both Springfield and Worcester when in reality their signal was that strong in either community. I mean how can you expect 1250 to have a decent signal in Springfield when there's a 5KW? station on 1270 AM).

In 2003 MEGA moved the Tropical format (and the WAMG calls) to 890 after they sold 1150 to Salem as a result of the aforementioned financial problems. The financial situation at Mega did not get any better and they began selling off their remaining stations. One of the first stations sold was 1380 in NYC back to Arthur Liu for less than what they bought it for. In 2004 910 and 1230 in Hartford went to Freedom Communications and remained Spanish. (They eventually acquired 1480 and moved 1230s Spanish format to 1480 and moved 1480s R&B Oldies format to 1230). Later on Mega sold 1310 in Camden, New Jersey (Philly) to Davidson Media Group, 92.7/94.3 (in subruban DC) along with 730 AM (in Alexandria, Virginia [DC] to Dan Snyder's Red Zebra Radio. And then we all know what happened with 890/1400.
 
Now the Globe (see my other post) is saying ESPN is in talks with WEEI. 850 could run some ESPN shows on
overnights and weekends--and perhaps WEEI could shift to FM and put ESPN full time on 850. Competing against themselves? Maybe, or one could figure most of the audience would be on WEEI under it's FM home and a few
would choose ESPN on 850--and it could solve the overflow sports problem WEEI has. Why dump them on WRKO
when you can put them on 850? You could have Sox on FM, Celts on 850. Celts on FM, college sports on 850.
Revolution on 850. Non-Sox MLB playoffs on 850.)

And perhaps if the switch happened quick enough, Premiere's Fox Sports could wind up on...890! Yes, changing from
sports to...sports?

It has been suggested that 890 could become ESPN but in Spanish: ESPN Deportes.

>>if ESPN were going to move to any other Boston-market signal (Salem's WEZE 590 has also been mentioned as a possibility), why would the local hosts on 890 be saying good-bye to their listeners?

As the Globe mentions, ESPN could actually wind up on 850--with the national sports and play by play, but not the local hosts ESPN 890 had been serving up (including Michael Felger, now at 98.5)

Salem didn't think it was doing well with conservative talk at 1150 and went to Spanish language religion. If
Salem thought it was worth another try, they could try to peddle the Salem shows (etc.) to the owners of 890
(Bennett, Praeger, Medved, Hewitt, and poss. Citadel's Sean Hannity). I doubt that would happen but who knows.

Speaking of talk, another thread points out WCVB news will be simulcast on 1510 including at 5 pm in which case
Hartmann would lose an hour (or, shift that last hour to 6?)

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/12/taking_it_on_the_road/

>>Beginning Thursday, commuters can listen to WCVB’s news on WWZN-AM (1510) in their car radios. The two media outlets are partnering to simulcast WCVB’s 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. newscasts on the Quincy radio station
 
So far ESPN is still on 890 as of 7:30-ish this morning but maybe the plug will be pulled later today, or maybe tonight at midnight? as in, no more ESPN AFTER today. No local hosts anymore that's for sure. Maybe once business hours start...
 
The Taylor-on-radio-info column has a prediction of Entercom leaving 93.7 and 103.7 alone but putting WEEI on
WCRB via LMA or purchase, but what about idea of WEEI to 93.7 and WMKK to 99.5?...Chris Hall who says he built
the WMKK -at-Peabody signal in 95 says he thought the site was 9.9 mi NNE of Boston (source: boston-radio-interest)--via Google maps I found it was 15.5 miles NNE of Boston via US 1 but that's driving, not as the crow
flies, and also it depends where the center of "Boston" is said to be. Still pretty close to town with a signal that reaches many areas including some you'd think that WEEI can't reach with 850 at night.

ESPN still on 890 right now but maybe plug gets pulled later today or at midnight? ESPNBoston web portal up with
a Boston-targeted video sportscast.
 
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