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Could we see ESPN 1260?

F

furryradio

Guest
Word has it in Cleveland that ESPN is trying to wind up on a 24/7 signal, and that might be the 1260 there
(WWMK) which is currently Radio Disney (by co-incidence, so is our Radio Disney station, WMKI). Some feel that ESPN would be more profitable than children's programming. While ESPN is currently at 890 and 1400 here, I wonder if they may pull it and put it on 1260?
 
If ESPN pulled away from 890 and 1400 and was put on 1260 (speculation, folks....)
ESPN at 1260 could hire Felger to do his afternoon show, on a stronger
signal...Anyway, it appears to be happening in Cleveland and I wonder
if it'll happen here.

by the way, some format similarities in Boston and Cleveland:

850: Sports (WEEI Boston, WKNR Cleveland)
99.5: Country (WKLB Lowell, WGAR Cleveland)
1260: Radio Disney (WMKI Boston, WWMK Cleveland)
89.7: Public (WGBH Boston, WKSU Kent OH)
100.7: Rock (WZLX Boston, WMMS Cleveland)

Classical USED to be on 104.9 in Gloucester (WVCA/WBOQ) and it now IS 104.9 in Lorain/Cle., OH (WCLV)
 
Dave: I live in Arlington Heights. The WMKI signal is ABYSMAL here. Stronger at night by about a factor of two thanks to the nighttime DA but there's more noise on the channel at night. WAMG, OTOH, has a very good signal here--even at night with just 3400W. And WAMG holds a CP to increase to 6 kW at night. According to the consulting engineer who designed the new night system, the upgrade is not that huge a deal. The night phasor would not be replaced; some components in the phasor would be changed out. However, all the stories about Jessamy Tang suggest that, after going to the trouble of getting the CP, she won't want to spend even the modest amount of money it will take to build it out. If so, what a shame!

I think a format swap between WMKI and WAMG might be productive, though. WAMG's transmitter location in MetroWest would give Radio Disney a great signal in the affluent west-of-Boston suburbs. Having the sports on a signal that is stronger in Boston, Quincy, and the North Shore might be better for the Sports format. Not sure how kindly WAMG's five-tower array, with its extremely narrow pattern and with WCBS on 880 and Nashua on 900 would take to HD Radio, but the idea of putting AM HD on 1260, which is totally boxed in--1270 in Dover NH, 1250 in Manchester, 1280 in Fitchburg was NOT a great idea.
 
Out here in Framingham, the day signal of WMKI isn't great, but the nighttime is terrible. Actually, pretty much everything local except for WKOX, WAMG, WBIX, and WBZ sounds horrible after dark.

As Dan said, using WAMG's suburban location as a home for Radio Disney makes complete sense. But the only way I can see this happening is if first, J-Sports drops the ESPN affiliation, and second, if WEEI doesn't want the stronger ESPN affiliation to fill their overnight hours. But were both of these cases fufilled, launching an ESPN 1260 under ABC ownership would make complete sense. Boston is a city where sports radio works; problem is, WEEI has never been challenged with any strong competition from either WBPS 890, WNRB 1510, WWZN 1510, and now WAMG 890/WLLH 1400. With a stick that covers the areas where sports listeners are, and devoted ownership, ESPN could work (for me, a 0.0 share is not working) in Boston.

The only issue with Radio Disney is national ad clearance. While Boston is now out of the top 10, it's still a large, affluent market that advertisers want to cover. WAMG is the perfect signal to do this with, especially since Radio Disney's night coverage doesn't really matter as much as other formats do. But is ABC acquiring any additional signals for Radio Disney/ESPN in any market? If so, perhaps this could in fact play out.
 
encarta95 said:
Out here in Framingham, the day signal of WMKI isn't great, but the nighttime is terrible. Actually, pretty much everything local except for WKOX, WAMG, WBIX, and WBZ sounds horrible after dark.
Click to expand...

How about 650 WSRO? Even on only 9 watts night power, I'd think it would at least come in fairly well next door in Framingham.
 
encarta95 said:
How about 650 WSRO? Even on only 9 watts night power, I'd think it would at least come in fairly well next door in Framingham.
Click to expand...

Where I am in the town, WSRO never seems to come in well at all. The night signal doesn't seem to get further than a few miles beyond the transmitter site on Mount Wayte.
 
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