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Could This Happen??

J

Joseph_Gallant

Guest
Here's a thought:

Charles River Broadcasting sells-out their five stations (including WCRB-102.5), but then turns around and uses a portion of the proceeds to buy WFNX-101.7 (but not the other 'FNX Network stations, which would then be spun-off) and moves the WCRB calls and format to 101.7.

The advantages:

* Although on a weaker signal, there would still be a 24/7 classical music station in the Boston area.

* Charles River would, even after buying 101.7, have made a lot of profit selling off their other stations.

* Perhaps Charles River could indeed place 101.7 into a trust and/or take other measures to prevent a future sale or format flip (perhaps donating it to a nonprofit group??).

* I would think that most of WCRB's listeners live inside or just outside of Route 128, and would still be able to hear the station's programming on 101.7 (and WFNX is about to or has just moved it's "stick" to downtown Boston and is probably now, or will soon be, one of the better Class "A" FM signals in New England).
 
> Here's a thought:
>
> Charles River Broadcasting sells-out their five stations
> (including WCRB-102.5), but then turns around and uses a
> portion of the proceeds to buy WFNX-101.7 (but not the other
> 'FNX Network stations, which would then be spun-off) and
> moves the WCRB calls and format to 101.7.

They already have a frequency. Why the hell would they go through all that trouble just to get a weaker one? I don't want to be one of those people on the "bash Joseph Gallant" bandwagon, but that post seems to be devoid of all common sense.
 
> Here's a thought:
>
> Charles River Broadcasting sells-out their five stations
> (including WCRB-102.5), but then turns around and uses a
> portion of the proceeds to buy WFNX-101.7 (but not the other
> 'FNX Network stations, which would then be spun-off) and
> moves the WCRB calls and format to 101.7.
>
> The advantages:
>
> * Although on a weaker signal, there would still be a 24/7
> classical music station in the Boston area.
>
> * Charles River would, even after buying 101.7, have made a
> lot of profit selling off their other stations.
>
> * Perhaps Charles River could indeed place 101.7 into a
> trust and/or take other measures to prevent a future sale or
> format flip (perhaps donating it to a nonprofit group??).
>
> * I would think that most of WCRB's listeners live inside or
> just outside of Route 128, and would still be able to hear
> the station's programming on 101.7 (and WFNX is about to or
> has just moved it's "stick" to downtown Boston and is
> probably now, or will soon be, one of the better Class "A"
> FM signals in New England).
>

Judging by the rumors around, I don't really get the sense that CRB (the company) cares much about the classical format. They just seem to want to cash out at the moment, from what I've read.

It's not also like 95.5 WCLV in Cleveland, which I suppose you have derived this scenario from. The classical at WCLV was struggling, while the classical at WCRB is doing fine. Plus, with the classical programming on WGBH-FM and WHRB, Boston will not be without a classical station.
 
Now that I have had a couple of hours (since I wrote my original post that began this thread) to think about it, I think what may be more likely to occur is that a nonprofit group will be formed to acquire a Boston-area station to keep classical music on the air 24/7.

This group may attempy to buy what is now WFNX-101.7, and Charles River Broadcasting may give this group a major financial gift (a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their stations) which would be combined with other funding to buy 101.7 and convert it to classical, perhaps even with the WCRB call letters.

With 101.7 being a commercial frequency, this nonprofit group probably could sell commercial announcements on their new classical-music station (it sure beats pledge drives!). WCRB-102.5 is one of the most successful of the relatively-few commercial stations that program classical music, and I suspect that while they're not a major biller, they are probably quite profitable. And with most of their listeners living inside the strong part of the 101.7 signal area, a classical format on 101.7 would probably bill about as well as WCRB now does at 102.5.

Scott Fybush wrote in this week's (October 31st) Northeast Radio Watch that even noncommercial WGBH-89.7 may be interested in acquiring WCRB.

'GBH currently broadcasts some classical music (weekdays 9 A.M.-4 P.M.), but the station also airs "Morning Edition", "All Things Considered", "Marketplace", "The World" and "Open Source" as well as jazz during the evening and overnight hours. Were 'GBH to acquire 102.5, it would probably become noncommercial, remain classical 24/7, and classical music would leave 89.7 (possibly to be replaced by jazz).

But I think the price tag would scare-off WGBH.
 
Phoenix should buy WCRB

If WCRB is really going up for auction, maybe The Boston Phoenix should consider upgrading.

> Now that I have had a couple of hours (since I wrote my
> original post that began this thread) to think about it, I
> think what may be more likely to occur is that a nonprofit
> group will be formed to acquire a Boston-area station to
> keep classical music on the air 24/7.
>
> This group may attempy to buy what is now WFNX-101.7, and
> Charles River Broadcasting may give this group a major
> financial gift (a portion of the proceeds from the sale of
> their stations) which would be combined with other funding
> to buy 101.7 and convert it to classical, perhaps even with
> the WCRB call letters.
>
> With 101.7 being a commercial frequency, this nonprofit
> group probably could sell commercial announcements on their
> new classical-music station (it sure beats pledge drives!).
> WCRB-102.5 is one of the most successful of the
> relatively-few commercial stations that program classical
> music, and I suspect that while they're not a major biller,
> they are probably quite profitable. And with most of their
> listeners living inside the strong part of the 101.7 signal
> area, a classical format on 101.7 would probably bill about
> as well as WCRB now does at 102.5.
>
> Scott Fybush wrote in this week's (October 31st) Northeast
> Radio Watch that even noncommercial WGBH-89.7 may be
> interested in acquiring WCRB.
>
> 'GBH currently broadcasts some classical music (weekdays 9
> A.M.-4 P.M.), but the station also airs "Morning Edition",
> "All Things Considered", "Marketplace", "The World" and
> "Open Source" as well as jazz during the evening and
> overnight hours. Were 'GBH to acquire 102.5, it would
> probably become noncommercial, remain classical 24/7, and
> classical music would leave 89.7 (possibly to be replaced by
> jazz).
>
> But I think the price tag would scare-off WGBH.
>
 
Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB

> If WCRB is really going up for auction, maybe The Boston
> Phoenix should consider upgrading.

No! Not another wasted signal!
 
Fact.

CRB will sell to the highest bidder. The trust "requiring" the station to remain classical (which, in lawyer speak, was actually merely a "wish") has been broken. The stations, all separately, or together if it means more $$, will go to the highest bidder(s). The requirement that classical remain on the second HD channel is merely to fend off any public outrage.
 
Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB

> If WCRB is really going up for auction, maybe The Boston
> Phoenix should consider upgrading.
>
Why, so that the 102.5 frequency can join 101.7 and 92.1 in the dumper? They can't program one signal (with wasted satellites), what makes you think that two would be any better. Twice as bad is more like it.

Makes no sense, not to mention that the Phoenix probably can't afford it anyway.

I'll say one thing: you guys are certainly imaginative!
 
Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB

"But I think the price tag would scare-off WGBH."

You ARE kidding, aren't you? WGBH has more money than Carter's has "Liver Pills". They have to be the most endowed "public" station in the country. They just put a $4 million station on Cape Cod, within weeks of receiving their Construction Permit. I'll betcha' WGBH could actual pull it off and buy 102.5 and be able to keep it as a Commercial outlet, just like pub-caster WTTW in Chicago bought classical WFMT/98.7 and keeping it commercial. Who knows?!

We shall see.....

Peter Q.

<P ID="signature">______________
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts</P>
 
Re: Phoenix on a bigger signal

The Phoenix could be great talk radio - put some of the writers on the air,
give Max Tolkoff his walking papers (did he leave the first time, or was he pushed out the door?), and start something new on FNX.

Their modern rock station isn't vital, and we don't need all Spanish on
their system - but the potential to complement The Phoenix is there,
and if they made that move, WCRB would be a good place to launch it.



> If WCRB is really going up for auction, maybe The Boston
> > Phoenix should consider upgrading.
> >
> Why, so that the 102.5 frequency can join 101.7 and 92.1 in
> the dumper? They can't program one signal (with wasted
> satellites), what makes you think that two would be any
> better. Twice as bad is more like it.
>
> Makes no sense, not to mention that the Phoenix probably
> can't afford it anyway.
>
> I'll say one thing: you guys are certainly imaginative!
>
 
WCRB, WGBH, And Perhaps Harvard University?? (Was: Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB)

I had written (concerning whether WGBH-89.7 would acquire WCRB-102.5):

> "But I think the price tag would scare-off WGBH."

Peter George replied:

> You ARE kidding, aren't you? WGBH has more money than
> Carter's has "Liver Pills". They have to be the most
> endowed "public" station in the country. They just put a $4
> million station on Cape Cod, within weeks of receiving their
> Construction Permit. I'll betcha' WGBH could actual pull it
> off and buy 102.5 and be able to keep it as a Commercial
> outlet, just like pub-caster WTTW in Chicago bought
> classical WFMT/98.7 and keeping it commercial. Who knows?!

Although Chicago's WFMT may have been commercial at one time, this page of WFMT's website seems to indicate that the station no longer runs commercial advertising, but instead relies on pledges from members.

But Peter's idea is a very good one and quite intriguing: Have WGBH run WCRB as a commercial enterprise, with (presumably) profits from 102.5 helping to pay the bills of 89.7.

I would think that were WGBH to acquire WCRB, the classical music would vanish from 89.7, and likely be replaced by jazz. Since WBUR-90.9 also runs "Morning Edition", "All Things Considered" and "Marketplace" (in fact, they're simulcast on WGBH), should 'GBH acquire 'CRB, I would suggest to WGBH that they re-format 89.7 to a jazz format 21 hours a day weekdays (exceptions: 5-6 A.M. when "The World: Update" would air; and 6-8 P.M., when "The World" and "Open Source" would be broadcast, in that order) and about 14-15 hours a day on weekends (with many of 'GBH Radio's current weekend speciality programs remaining on the schedule).

I think Boston is ready for a 21-hours-a-day "real" jazz format (much like WGBH-FM now does at night); I think this is one of the few cities that can successfully support a fulltime (or close to fulltime) jazz station.

Another possibility: What about Harvard University?? Their endownment runs into the billions, so they could afford to buy 102.5. Under this scenario, Harvard would buy WCRB, keep the 24/7 classical format, but have it be run by Harvard students and other volunteers.

At present, Harvard's campus station, WHRB-95.3, splits it's weekday schedule between jazz (5 A.M.-1 P.M.), classical (1-10 P.M.), and rock (10 P.M.-5 A.M.). Were Harvard to purchase 102.5, classical music (and the Saturday-afternoon broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, in season which ironically would be moving back to 102.5) would no longer be heard on WHRB, leaving it's weekday schedule (except for Harvard sports broadcasts or their twice-yearly "Orgy" periods) half-jazz (perhaps 6 A.M.-6 P.M.) and half-rock (perhaps 6 P.M.-6 A.M.).
 
Re: WCRB, WGBH, And Perhaps Harvard University?? (Was: Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB)

> Although Chicago's WFMT may have been commercial at one
> time, this page of WFMT's website seems to indicate that the
> station no longer runs commercial advertising, but instead
> relies on pledges from members.

I believe that WFMT does air advertisements, but they are all spoken in real-time by WFMT hosts; none are pre-recorded. The WFMT website lists a number of advertisers on WFMT, ranging from Infinity dealerships to Marshall Field's.

> I think Boston is ready for a 21-hours-a-day "real" jazz
> format (much like WGBH-FM now does at night); I think this
> is one of the few cities that can successfully support a
> fulltime (or close to fulltime) jazz station.

I'm not really sure about that. For a city that does not even have a Smooth Jazz station, going "real" jazz on 102.5 would seem a step into uncharted waters, being commercial radio.

The sale of 102.5, though, would be a great opportunity for someone to take a station to smooth jazz. I'd think that this be an opportunity for Radio One, in particular. They have a station in Atlanta that runs SJ, and seeing the success (or lack there of) for WBOT on the small stick, running a Mainstream Urban format on a big stick would not seem to be the best idea.

The only question would be how much Radio One would spend for the station, in any scenario. They don't tend to shell out $100m for a blank slate in a market that doesn't even have a large African American population to begin with. Perhaps they're saving up for WBLS, as Cathy Hughes implied during a discussion of Steve Harvey.
 
Re: WCRB, WGBH, And Perhaps Harvard University?? (Was: Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB)

I had written:

> I think Boston is ready for a 21-hours-a-day "real" jazz
> format (much like WGBH-FM now does at night); I think this
> is one of the few cities that can successfully support a
> fulltime (or close to fulltime) jazz station.

Justin T replied:

> I'm not really sure about that. For a city that does not
> even have a Smooth Jazz station, going "real" jazz on 102.5
> would seem a step into uncharted waters, being commercial
> radio.

Justin:

What I was suggesting was that were WGBH to purchase WCRB-102.5, keep it 24/7 classical, and expand the hours of jazz programming on WGBH's current radio station at 89.7. Except for three hours of news/talk/information programming a day that currently appears on 'GBH and is co-produced by the station (and a few weekend speciality programs now running on the station staying in-place), 89.7 would be a fulltime jazz station.

Sorry for the confusion.
 
Best Scenario

As mentioned elsewhere, WGBH Foundation buys WCRB, and runs it as a commercial classical station, using its substantial (but not outstanding) revenue. Less overhead anyway, with consolidated studios and some WGBH staff.

WGBH-FM then replaces their classical blocks with expanded jazz offerings.
 
Its not gonna happen. Stephen Mindich uses WFNX and his Boston Phoenix to cross promote each other. That newspaper is his baby and as long as its still around, will WFNX.




> Here's a thought:
>
> Charles River Broadcasting sells-out their five stations
> (including WCRB-102.5), but then turns around and uses a
> portion of the proceeds to buy WFNX-101.7 (but not the other
> 'FNX Network stations, which would then be spun-off) and
> moves the WCRB calls and format to 101.7.
>
> The advantages:
>
> * Although on a weaker signal, there would still be a 24/7
> classical music station in the Boston area.
>
> * Charles River would, even after buying 101.7, have made a
> lot of profit selling off their other stations.
>
> * Perhaps Charles River could indeed place 101.7 into a
> trust and/or take other measures to prevent a future sale or
> format flip (perhaps donating it to a nonprofit group??).
>
> * I would think that most of WCRB's listeners live inside or
> just outside of Route 128, and would still be able to hear
> the station's programming on 101.7 (and WFNX is about to or
> has just moved it's "stick" to downtown Boston and is
> probably now, or will soon be, one of the better Class "A"
> FM signals in New England).
>
 
Re: WCRB, WGBH, And Perhaps Harvard University?? (Was: Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB)

> Another possibility: What about Harvard University??

I doubt Harvard has any desire to get into radio. They're too busy figuring out how to carve up Allston,
among other things.

Harvard doesn't own WHRB, you know. The license is held by a student organization.
 
Re: WCRB, WGBH, And Perhaps Harvard University?? (Was: Re: Phoenix should buy WCRB)

> > Another possibility: What about Harvard University??
>
> I doubt Harvard has any desire to get into radio. They're
> too busy figuring out how to carve up Allston,
> among other things.
>
> Harvard doesn't own WHRB, you know. The license is held by a
> student organization.

Harvard also doesn't want to regularly fund WHRB, as most other colleges provide at least a small portion of their stations regular budget (the rest is usually raised mainly by pledge drives, benefit events, and underwriting). That's why WHRB has a commercial license.
 
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