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I hope WBZ survives beyond our generation, WCBS Newsradio 88 going ESPN

B

BostonRadioListener

Am I just being nostalgic? I can read the demos and ratings and I sense inevitability—but I’m just saddened to see the truly legendary WCBS Newsradio going Sports.

WBZ has made decent incremental improvements and its total audience numbers are still respectable. I pop it in on each time I drive—but I’m a guy in his 60s. The actuarial tables aren’t friendly for me or WBZ lol. Does WBZ as we know it—survive longer term?
 
BostonRadioListener said:
Am I just being nostalgic? I can read the demos and ratings and I sense inevitability—but I’m just saddened to see the truly legendary WCBS Newsradio going Sports.

WBZ has made decent incremental improvements and its total audience numbers are still respectable. I pop it in on each time I drive—but I’m a guy in his 60s. The actuarial tables aren’t friendly for me or WBZ lol. Does WBZ as we know it—survive longer term?
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WBZ doesn't have a full-time sister station with an FM simulcast doing the same format. It'll be okay for now.
 
Identnut said:
WBZ doesn't have a full-time sister station with an FM simulcast doing the same format. It'll be okay for now.
Click to expand...
Great point, thanks! Can’t tell you how many times I adjusted the dial on my clock radio in the dark at night— my AM radio set somewhere in the middle of the dial, I move it a little left and right , and I think “oh THAT signal must be WBZ (my radio is lame)”…and I hear a NYC traffic report. Didn’t know they had the format on FM, appreciate that.
 
It's kind of amazing that WCBS lasted this long given that they were competing with sister Audacy all-news station WINS for many years. I'm sure many people around here listened to news on WCBS at night when there wasn't a nighttime all-news station after WEEI switched to sports-talk. Charles Osgood was a morning news anchor there before his network career. I'm sure there are other names we would know who worked there. They reliably had the CBS radio network newscast on the hour. It's a sign of the times with the decline of AM radio.
 
BostonRadioListener said:
Great point, thanks! Can’t tell you how many times I adjusted the dial on my clock radio in the dark at night— my AM radio set somewhere in the middle of the dial, I move it a little left and right , and I think “oh THAT signal must be WBZ (my radio is lame)”…and I hear a NYC traffic report. Didn’t know they had the format on FM, appreciate that.
Click to expand...
The station you hear at night with the NYC traffic report is, of course, 1010 WINS, now also heard on 92.3 FM in the NYC area.

When CBS still owned RADIO stations, there was this lineup of news-talkers:

1010 WINS, NY
1020 KDKA, Pittsburgh
1030 WBZ, Boston
1060 KYW, Philly
1080 WTIC, Hartford AND KRLD, Dallas

Entercom/Audacy now owns all of the above EXCEPT for WBZ, "an iHeartRadio station".

With Audacy in bankruptcy, I wonder how long many of the above will even be in Audacy's portfolio.
 
nowradioguy said:
With Audacy in bankruptcy, I wonder how long many of the above will even be in Audacy's portfolio.
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They are in "reorganization" not "liquidation" (the two most common kinds of bankruptcy). It makes no sense to sell off the pieces.
 
The thing that got WCBS-AM to flip formats is very much like how KFWB Los Angeles had to change formats. One of the examples here is that their sister station is more dominant in all news in the radio market. In Los Angeles that's 50kw KNX-AM and 21 kw KNX-FM which covers most of the southland.

Like wise in New York it's WINS-AM and WINS-FM covers the 5 boroughs well. Also we have to consider dashboard and Phone apps if they count for this argument over where the median demos are going to for radio news.
 
Years ago I got one of those little Walkman sized Audiovox (or Insignia branded) HD radios and at work I listened to The Steve Leveille Broadcast on 107.9 HD2. Definitely sounded better even just with his theme song.
 
nowradioguy said:
The station you hear at night with the NYC traffic report is, of course, 1010 WINS, now also heard on 92.3 FM in the NYC area.

When CBS still owned RADIO stations, there was this lineup of news-talkers:

1010 WINS, NY
1020 KDKA, Pittsburgh
1030 WBZ, Boston
1060 KYW, Philly
1080 WTIC, Hartford AND KRLD, Dallas

Entercom/Audacy now owns all of the above EXCEPT for WBZ, "an iHeartRadio station".

With Audacy in bankruptcy, I wonder how long many of the above will even be in Audacy's portfolio.
Click to expand...
I think WINS was news 24/7 without talk shows, post-top 40.
 
nowradioguy said:
The station you hear at night with the NYC traffic report is, of course, 1010 WINS, now also heard on 92.3 FM in the NYC area.

When CBS still owned RADIO stations, there was this lineup of news-talkers:

1010 WINS, NY
1020 KDKA, Pittsburgh
1030 WBZ, Boston
1060 KYW, Philly
1080 WTIC, Hartford AND KRLD, Dallas

Entercom/Audacy now owns all of the above EXCEPT for WBZ, "an iHeartRadio station".

With Audacy in bankruptcy, I wonder how long many of the above will even be in Audacy's portfolio.
Click to expand...
Audacy really neutered WTIC 1080 this year. Lots of layoffs. The elimination of local news on the overnights. The replacement of a local show 9AM-11AM with The Brian Kilmeade Show from FOX News Radio. They were once bragging live and local 5AM-7PM after Limbaugh passed away.

I don't listen because they're not my teams, but about the only thing WTIC has going for it is the fact they air Redsox baseball and Patriots football. Although I can't imagine many people listening to the Patriots on WTIC 1080 as Rock 102, Springfield's Classic Rock WAQY/102.1 FM can be picked up in most of Northern Connecticut.

I hate political talk. I don't need anyone telling me how to think. As such I ave not turned on WTIC/1080 since Consumer Advocate Clark Howard retired from traditional radio. He's still around. Just doing podcasts now.
 
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