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Could WBCN go "Free"? (example of Baltimore version)

raccoonradio

raccoonradio

Last night out of curiosity I went to AM 1090 to see how the Orioles broadcasters were covering the
O's-Sox game; but the O's, longtime a part of WBAL, weren't there! It was a local sports talk show instead.
So I went to the Orioles site today and found that the team is now on WHFS-FM 105.7, "Free FM"
(those calls were originally on a modern rock station in D.C., IIRC)

Here's their site: could WBCN do something similar?

http://1057freefm.com/
(Owned by CBS as it turns out)

They have local talk except for Jerry Doyle overnights and Don & Mike (out of nearby Wash DC I think) in
pm drive. WBCN could also do some local talkers in addition to Opie and Anthony; maybe have some shows
mix music in, etc. Throw in Pats, which they have, and Bruins, which they can get from sis station WBZ.
Could it happen?
 
No, no, Free FM is a BAD IDEA! The format in the markets that it's been in so far has not fared well in the ratings and has just been an overall disaster. Do you want a station of all Howard Stern wannabes 24/7? Plus, Boston already has an FM talker that at least has an ounce of credibility and intelligence.

Free FM... don't do it... heed the warnings!

Jacko
 
Re: Not "Free", but it might be guy talk

raccoonradio said:
Last night out of curiosity I went to AM 1090 to see how the Orioles broadcasters were covering the
O's-Sox game; but the O's, longtime a part of WBAL, weren't there! It was a local sports talk show instead.
So I went to the Orioles site today and found that the team is now on WHFS-FM 105.7, "Free FM"
(those calls were originally on a modern rock station in D.C., IIRC)

Here's their site: could WBCN do something similar?

http://1057freefm.com/
(Owned by CBS as it turns out)

They have local talk except for Jerry Doyle overnights and Don & Mike (out of nearby Wash DC I think) in
pm drive. WBCN could also do some local talkers in addition to Opie and Anthony; maybe have some shows
mix music in, etc. Throw in Pats, which they have, and Bruins, which they can get from sis station WBZ.
Could it happen?
Click to expand...

WHFS 105.7 has had a bit of a unique history over the past five years. In 1997, longtime urban outlet WXYV 102.7 flipped to CHR. In 2001, the WXYV call letters were moved to the weaker 105.7 frequency (as 105.7 WQSR moved to 102.7), but in place of CHR was a new urban format as "X-105.7". The station didn't last too long, and was replaced by essentially a Baltimore version of DC hot talker 106.7 WJFK, featuring Howard Stern in mornings and Don and Mike in afternoon, with the WXYV calls remaining although the station identified itself as "Live 105.7".

Then, in early 2005, co-owned longtime alternative outlet WHFS 99.1 (which, with an Annapolis transmitter, was well received in both Baltimore and Washington) flipped to a Spanish tropical format. WHFS listeners were outraged; meanwhile, WXYV knew that it would be in trouble with the departure of Stern at the end of the year. The WHFS call letters were quickly picked up by WXYV, and the station began to identify as "105.7 WHFS", featuring music during nights and weekends. With the "Free FM" brand adopted by all CBS FM talkers in late 2005, WHFS became "105.7 WHFS Free FM". Music remained until earlier in 2007, when the station re-branded yet again as "105.7 WHFS", dropping the music and going virtually all local hot talk outside of Don and Mike.

Wouldn't be surprised to see CBS try doing local guy talk on 104.1, but it will be different than what happened in Baltimore. It's been stated many times that, if this happens, CBS is likely to merge WBCN and WZLX in some way, so there won't necessarily be an initial dependence on music.

And it won't be called "Free FM". Baltimore completely dropped the name, and Chicago is in the process of doing the same. The new CBS FM talk station in Pittsburgh (a market where there is both an FM political talker and an FM hot talker) isn't even called Free FM; instead, it's "The Zone, Pittsburgh's Man Station".
 
Re: Not "Free", but it might be guy talk

encarta95 said:
Wouldn't be surprised to see CBS try doing local guy talk on 104.1, but it will be different than what happened in Baltimore. It's been stated many times that, if this happens, CBS is likely to merge WBCN and WZLX in some way, so there won't necessarily be an initial dependence on music.

And it won't be called "Free FM". Baltimore completely dropped the name, and Chicago is in the process of doing the same. The new CBS FM talk station in Pittsburgh (a market where there is both an FM political talker and an FM hot talker) isn't even called Free FM; instead, it's "The Zone, Pittsburgh's Man Station".
Click to expand...

God, please, spare us. I wouldn't want to hear anything called "Boston's Man Station" even if I happened to tune by it by accident. That just sounds like inherently bad radio right off the bat.
 
rapking said:
Save WBCN Signs , will be on sale soon .
Click to expand...

Where can I get a SELL wbcn sandwhich board? You want to save it? that's the only answer

LOl

;)
 
Bad idea? Probably; but will they do it? Possibly...
Yes the Pitt. station is "The Man Station" and for some reason they included Steel City native
Dennis Miller in the mix even though his show is really politics & entertainment rather than
"guy talk" but who knows. They needed a Pitt. affiliate for Dennis (CBS/Westwood One
alliance...) and there you go.
 
No Clear Channel is allied with Premiere.
From wikipedia: "Westwood One, Inc. (NYSE: WON) is the largest radio network in the United States based on programming quantity. It is based in the city of New York, and it is managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation....Premiere Radio Networks is a radio syndication and preparation company based in the United States. It is currently the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications"

Further: "On April 12, 2007, Westwood One and CBS announced a nonbinding plan to eventually separate from each other. Additionally, in a separate statement, Westwood One cancelled Imus in the Morning"

Since Clear Channel is allied with Premiere there was speculation that WKOX and WXKS might eventually
air such Premiere shows as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Matt Drudge, even BEFORE they took on the
Air America format. It was thought by some here that 1200/1430 would be conservatalk in that way...
Premiere also syndicates Fox Sports Radio
 
If I was going to "save" WBCN, I'd follow the lead of another 104.1, WTKS in Orlando. The "Real Radio" format with D&C as the morning guys would be a refreshing change in Boston. I know Orlando is a medium market but again, it's different and worth a try here if they can load up with the right mix of personalities.

On the weekends, WTKS goes with a Real Music format including many local bands, which is how BCN' made it's mark.
 
I think the should call it "MAN Talk 104" here is what the line-up should be:
06:00 - Opie and Anthony
09:00 - Adam Corolla
12:00 - Jim Rome
15:00 - Don and Mike
19:00 - Tom Leykis
22:00 - Dennis Miller
01:00 - LoveLine
03:00 - John and Jeff
 
I'd like the Dennis Miller myself; John & Jeff would have to be swiped from WTKK. Rome of course was displaced when ESPN Boston added the Sox pregame show. By the way there is a female
talk network out there as well...heard on WNSH in Beverly (Radio Ritas, Women Aloud, etc.) and also on the
1070 up in the Plattsburgh/Burlington area (had replaced Air America). We are shortly awaiting Talk Disney
for your kids, Fido Talk for your dogs, and other specialized formats :)
 
ROBGv1 said:
I think the should call it "MAN Talk 104" here is what the line-up should be:
06:00 - Opie and Anthony
09:00 - Adam Corolla
12:00 - Jim Rome
15:00 - Don and Mike
19:00 - Tom Leykis
22:00 - Dennis Miller
01:00 - LoveLine
03:00 - John and Jeff
Click to expand...

Surely you must be jesting, for there is not a single local show in that lineup.
 
ROBGv1 said:
I think the should call it "MAN Talk 104" here is what the line-up should be:
06:00 - Opie and Anthony
09:00 - Adam Corolla
12:00 - Jim Rome
15:00 - Don and Mike
19:00 - Tom Leykis
22:00 - Dennis Miller
01:00 - LoveLine
03:00 - John and Jeff
Click to expand...

You can't be serious? That is a line up made for one of the bad all talk XM stations I avoid. I'm a huge fan of Opie and Anthony, but their show is wearing thin on me. WBCN has some good talent with Adam 12, and Toucher and Rich. I'd just let those guys talk more than they do now. With Ipods and Satelite radio, people don't need FM radio for music like they used to. I have XM in my truck, and I chose to listen to local shows because I like the local feel. An all syndicated WBCN would be a huge mistake.
 
I'd put Toucher and Rich in Morning Drive. The local feel in the morning would be a great boost for BCN in the morning because they haven't had it in so long. You'd need to toss a sports show in the mix some place too if you were to brand it Man Talk. All syndie would definitley fail.
 
bostonmusicman said:
I'd put Toucher and Rich in Morning Drive. The local feel in the morning would be a great boost for BCN in the morning because they haven't had it in so long. You'd need to toss a sports show in the mix some place too if you were to brand it Man Talk. All syndie would definitley fail.
Click to expand...

Agreed on local mornings. Outside of O&A, Dennis Miller, and overnights, the Pittsburgh station has mostly local programming, so doing local mornings with T&R and placing O&A elsewhere in the lineup (possibly middays; if they fail there go local) wouldn't be a bad move. CBS also has "The Radio Chick" in its coffers, along with Tom Leykis, two shows that have a history in the Boston market. Overnights, you'd expect Loveline and John and Jeff (which CBS would presumably be able to snatch from WTKK).
 
Why does everyone love John and Jeff so much? That show is brutal on the ears. Why can't more stations do what WBZ does, and go local on the overnight? I like the WBZ over night guys but it would be nice to hear something with a little bit of an edge thats live late at night.
 
John and Jeff are a mess! shockingly bad show but they've gotten many affiliates because the show is GIVEN away. Jim Rome is a Premier talent (clear channel) so probably would not happen. Dennis Miller if you have not heard the show yet is SERIOUS POLITICAL TALK, right leaning by the way (not that that should matter). There is virtually zero comedic tone to it. How westwood one is letting him do that is a mystery. Of course you could always throw in Mancow who has failed in syndication everywhere he's gone except his home base of Chicago, and before that mornings when he was in SF, other than that he has offered nothing to anyone who has carried him.
 
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