BZ-FM skid continues

[thirdendorsed]

I hate to say it, but it looks like WEEI has staved off another challenge.  BZ-FM is down to a 2.3 and its lead in cume has fallen from +243,000 to a tenth of that, and baseball is just about to start

If Daily Racing form reported, it would go something like this:

WEEI set an easy pace, was stalked by WBZ-FM before disposing of that one and won handily, ridden out. WBZ-FM broke late, quickly made the pace, vied for the lead past the half then faltered badly.  While well-bred, THEZONE was off slowly, stumbled at the half-mile pole and pulled up lame. WAMG lugged out and was outrun. WLLH was no factor.

$2 MUTUELS PAY

WEEI        2.80          2.40          2.10
WBZ-FM    ==            4.40

 

[Smoke]

BZ-FM hasn't been on the air a full year yet. This is still way too early to call.

If EEI keeps letting people go while the station is near the top they will begin to slide.

 

[MassMusicMan]

$2.10 to show for WEEI? Wouldn't WAMG and WLLH be a coupled entry, making four entries and prompting a cancellation of the show pool?

 

[Wbzfm2010]

i think hands down wbz fm is the better station obviously there gonna get the ratings being the station of record with baseball i hear the sports hub everywhere i go if they though it wast doing well they would have re upped toucher and rich for a undisclosed amount of years

 

[Don Juan]

I hate to say it, but it looks like WEEI has staved off another challenge.

Didn't we just talk about this 4 weeks ago when the last numbers came out?

Sports talk and news talk stations don't happen overnight. They are shaped and fashioned over years.

Some may remember the "glory years" of WRKO as a talk station...Janet, Gene, Jerry & David. However, it took years for WRKO to build to that point. The only host that was with WRKO at the begining of the talk format was Jerry Williams.

Sports and talk formats sometimes take years to build.....sometimes you ahve to wait out contracts, wait until someone is available, make a play for Teams, and do market research.

I don't think anyone at WBZ(FM) expected it to beat WEEI....at least not for a few years.

As far as comparing BZ-FM to WAMG-WLLH....WBZ-FM has a far superior signal that can be heard in the whole market...unlike WAMG-WLLH.

Also, the fact that BZ is on FM is a big advantage over AMG-LLH

 

[beantownradio25]

It's all about the money! CBS Radio executives don't care about Sports Hub Ratings as long as the station is a cash cow.

 

[EnterCommunicator]

Curious to see a comparison between WEEI's and 98.5's payroll. I'm guessing 'eei is paying out millions more per year for their 'established' talent. That's a lot of ad revenue to make up for, doubly so in a down economy.

 

[Gregg]

Has anyone who has access to 25-54 numbers figured out how the two stations compare?

The theory is that WEEI may be your dad's sports station. But if WBZ-FM is competitive with 25-54 and 18-49 men, CBS will be very happy.

And CBS is very invested in the FM sports game. It's had amazing success in Detroit where WXYT-FM is #3 in the ratings and the old AM Sports leader, WDFN, is down to #20-something. CBS has also put FM Sports stations on the air in DC, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Dallas.

Gregg
[email protected]

 

[thirdendorsed]

Yes, there should be no show pool. As Marshall Cassidy would say, WAMG and WLLH, those two coupled in the wagering

Believe all you want about how CBS is spinning this. They're cooked and starting now to tinker. It's too bad because WEEI sounds awful, but it's game, set match.

 

[rapking]

Its funny that I hear that WEEI is not on FM in Boston because WEEI has been on FM south of Boston (South of Boston Where I live, WEEI-FM 103.7 R.I. ) for a while now . As long as The Red Sox are on WEEI, WBZ-FM will always be Boston's second sports station. WBZ-FM will always be better than that DEAD GARBAGE WBCN .

 

[rib00]

With Gresh on board, the numbers can only get worst. Maybe he'll single-handedly take them down.

Any guesses on how long before he pulls a Sheppard and says or does something to get himself canned. There's a lot of potential for stupidity there

 

[ArtSpooner]

i think hands down wbz fm is the better station obviously there gonna get the ratings being the station of record with baseball i hear the sports hub everywhere i go if they though it wast doing well they would have re upped toucher and rich for a undisclosed amount of years

I don't see where you get the "hands down", unless you're just a WEEI hater. I certainly find a lot of faults with 'EEI, but show by show, head to head, I prefer 'EEI. I wonder if they re-upped T&R because they realize that they can't win with the sports format and may abandon it. At this point they don't have much in terms of long term contracts to the sports guys. They obviously had no trouble parting ways with Tanguay. If I were them I'd consider it, because I can't see their current line-up challenging 'EEI. They had their initial push because they were new, but now they're fading fast and will fade faster when baseball gets going.

 

[johnster]

I'm not even into Sports talk but I think you folks are naive if you think this will be decided in a short battle. CBS had to know when they thought about challenging WEEI what they were in for. They knew what sports contracts they had and what they could work on in the future. They knew what it costs to get, nurture and hold talent. They also knew they might get a little bump when they started out that would have nothing to do with the long haul. Just as WTKK knew when they decided to take on RKO and what anyone would need to realize if anyone was going to ever challenge Kiss. If your going to make a move like this your in it for the long haul. It will probably take you 10 years just to establish yourself maybe more. And you know when your going up against the baseball rights holders there are just times your going to be behind in a city like Boston. But just as I'm sure WTKK has cost WRKO deeply in advertising revenue I think WBZ-FM will continue to eat at WEEI. At this point their operating costs are probably quite a bit lower but that to will change if they become more successful and need to hold talent. I think you will have to wait at least 5 years before you have any real idea if this is working or not possibly more. And you may just end up with two sports stations competing forever as long the economics works out for them. You have many popular teams here several with conflicting schedules. There might just be enough revenue to keep two around if the can control their costs, keep contracts and still make a profit. It's does take a lot more money to run one of these than probably any other format you choose but several big markets now have two. The Internet might kill radio before either of these stations kill each other.

 

[BearFur]

i think hands down wbz fm is the better station obviously there gonna get the ratings being the station of record with baseball i hear the sports hub everywhere i go if they though it wast doing well they would have re upped toucher and rich for a undisclosed amount of years

Exactly, you give any station the Sox, or any popular sport for that matter to broadcast, you'll get ratings no matter what. I'd love to see what their ratings would be without it

 

[Speaker of Truth]

SportsHub will be helped if the Bruins make a long playoff push this spring..and in July, Patriots training camp starts..and if the Sox tank this summer, you'll see 'EEIs numbers fade a bit...

CBS is also running a much leaner operation..and as long as they can make money selling M18-49 or 18-34, they'll be happy at Black Rock..