How long will WXRV and WPLM stay independent?

[mgpt6]

Do you think the "Bigs " will buy either WXRV or WPLM in the next 1-2 years. Both Class B although both not downtown/

 

[inorm99]

Let's hope not
I'm an optimist.So I would venture to say no

 

[pqgeorge]

I hope they stay the way they are, right now! All we need now is another simulcast station. No thanks.

 

[surfin bird]

Hopefully for a long, long time...Though WXRV could benefit from a repeater south of Boston...Just sayin'

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

If WXRV-92.5 wanted a stronger signal in Boston and points south, buying WPLM-99.1 is the way to do it.

However, I think WGBH may be interested in WPLM to simulcast WCRB-99.5, giving 'CRB a strong signal south of Boston for the first time since that station moved from it's original frequency of 102.5 Megahertz.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

On the other hand, another broadcaster who might want WPLM-99.1 as a simulcast might be little WMVY-92,.7 on Martha's Vineyard.

Using the 99.1 signal to rebroadcast WMVY would bring a strong over-the-air signal up to Boston, and the station's two on-Cape translators (in Centerville and Harwich) would no longer be necessary because WPLM is quite strong in the areas served by those translators.

 

[WNTIRadio]

I don't think WMVY has the pockets to buy WPLM.

WXRV and WPLM have almost equal signals in the city, in fact, WXRV is a little closer and higher. The thing that hurts XRV in the city proper is 92.9 on the Pru.

If Silberberg was going to sell WXRV at any time, it would have been 9 years ago when it, and every other station was worth 3 times what it is now.

WFNX only became valuable to CC because of the recent trend of talk on FM and filling a specific need of giving their talk station a boost in the city by putting on an FM stick. Mindich could also see the handwriting on the wall for FNX, it hadn't been a very focused station for the past couple of years and had no morning show. That was the red flag to me, when they stopped looking for a morning person back in January, that something was up. Usually that's the last shift to not be live at almost any station.

 

[jlehmann]

On the other hand, another broadcaster who might want WPLM-99.1 as a simulcast might be little WMVY-92,.7 on Martha's Vineyard.

Using the 99.1 signal to rebroadcast WMVY would bring a strong over-the-air signal up to Boston, and the station's two on-Cape translators (in Centerville and Harwich) would no longer be necessary because WPLM is quite strong in the areas served by those translators.

WMVY hasn't been on those translators for YEARS! 93.9 rebroadcasts 90.1 WRYP, 100.7 rebroadcasts WCIB. Their only translator is 96.5 in Newport.

There's no way they could afford WPLM

 

[reelyreal]

WFNX only became valuable to CC because of the recent trend of talk on FM and filling a specific need of giving their talk station a boost in the city by putting on an FM stick. Mindich could also see the handwriting on the wall for FNX, it hadn't been a very focused station for the past couple of years and had no morning show. That was the red flag to me, when they stopped looking for a morning person back in January, that something was up. Usually that's the last shift to not be live at almost any station.

1) Clear Channel has always wanted to own up to the cap in every market... This wasn't a new desire, CC never wanted to have only 2 FM's in the market. This had more to do with WFNX, as well as the age of its owner, than a recent trend of FM talk.

2) Clear Channel would beg to differ, these days you'll see AM drive syndicated and PM drive local. It's a recent trend, but definitely a trend.

 

[4CX1000A]

WXRV and WPLM have almost equal signals in the city, in fact, WXRV is a little closer and higher. The thing that hurts XRV in the city proper is 92.9 on the Pru.

No; WXRV's problem is geography. There is a ridge of hills in the suburbs north of Boston that effectively blocks the signal. If WXRV could move to the Andover tower used by WCRB, a gap in the hills would get the signal into Cambridge and parts of Boston. But there are short-spacing problems with WUMB and 92.3 in Providence (but surprisingly, not with WBOS, which falls under 73.213).

Those hills made the siege of Boston in 1775-76 possible, but they are just as unfriendly to FM signals from Haverhill as they were to the British 236 years ago.

 

[dhoule]

Could Clear Channel buy PLM or are they at their limit?

 

[dhoule]

Sorry didnt see earlier post

 

[inorm99]

I always thought it would be nice to have WPLR relayed on WPLM, so the signal would go from
NYC's eastern suburbs all the way to Boston.
But WPLR sucks now

I don't think WMVY has the pockets to buy WPLM.

WXRV and WPLM have almost equal signals in the city, in fact, WXRV is a little closer and higher. The thing that hurts XRV in the city proper is 92.9 on the Pru.

If Silberberg was going to sell WXRV at any time, it would have been 9 years ago when it, and every other station was worth 3 times what it is now.

WFNX only became valuable to CC because of the recent trend of talk on FM and filling a specific need of giving their talk station a boost in the city by putting on an FM stick. Mindich could also see the handwriting on the wall for FNX, it hadn't been a very focused station for the past couple of years and had no morning show. That was the red flag to me, when they stopped looking for a morning person back in January, that something was up. Usually that's the last shift to not be live at almost any station.

 

[LA_Guy]

Steven Silverburg will never sell WXRV. You are right about the ridge - it runs through Revere and then Everett, Malden and Medford and is the same ridge that used to block WFNX when they had their tower on Rte 107 back in the early '80s. Later they moved their antenna to a tower atop that ridge in Medford.

I had spoken with Steven about putting a 99 watt booster on the hill where the Soldier's Home is located in Revere. It would have boosted his signal in downtown Boston, yet that hill is below the ridge (the ridge is just north of the Revere Beach Parkway there), so the booster wouldn't have interfered with the main signal at all. Unfortunately, WXRV has an IF problem with 103.3, so they can't go over 99 watts with their booster.

For some reason Steven didn't pursue it.

 

[WNTIRadio]

The biggest problem 92.5 has isn't the ridge. It actually clears it by a decent margin, with the height of their tower being 860' AMSL. I just ran a L/R on it to see, and it gets blocked more in Lynn than in Boston. The bigger issue is 92.9 blasting out 18.5kW from the Pru (and to a lesser extent, all of the other signals on the Pru). That de-senses most radios, and on cheaper ones will make 92.5 vanish in a good part of the city because of crummy selectivity.

WPLM doesn't have the problem of a second adjacent class B sitting in the city. WCRB is far enough away not to bother it... it's all ratios, and the ratio is not in WXRV's favor in the city of Boston.

That 99 watt booster would do well in the city on the MIT building, but directionalizing and adjusting the phasing to minimize the interference is always a challenge when there's dense population in every direction.

WCRB has better coverage in the city mainly because it's about 10 miles closer.