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It's official: 1200 to News/Talk

J

JustinT

BRW's reporting that 1200 is indeed flipping to conservative news/talk with Beck, Hannity, and likely Rush Limbaugh in the spring. The very-creative new name: "News Talk 1200 WXKS"

With the new calls, it seems like it's the end of the road for the WKOX letters, which has survived a frequency change (1190 -> 1200), a transmitter site change, a city of license change, and formats from full-service to country to local talk to brokered ethnic to liberal talk to Spanish tropical.
 
mescutia said:
I wonder why they're changing the calls. "WXKS" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue easily.
Click to expand...

Maybe the name is just until they can secure Rush Limbaugh; then, use the "Rush Radio" branding they've become a fan of down south. Though you have to wonder how well that name would go over in this market, doesn't his show just perform average here? Maybe too much R-I reading is confusing me.
 
Would this mean that "Rumba" moves on over to 890/1400?

If WRKO really does end up losing Rush Limbaugh, it'll be interesting to see how they go about filling those pretty big shoes.
 
encarta95 said:
With the new calls, it seems like it's the end of the road for the WKOX letters, which has survived a frequency change (1190 -> 1200), a transmitter site change, a city of license change, and formats from full-service to country to local talk to brokered ethnic to liberal talk to Spanish tropical.
Click to expand...

and don't forget the long ago Top 40 WKOX-FM 105.7....
 
Hmm, if RKO didn't renew Finneran (contract allegedly up in Feb) there could be the morning show (though somehow I doubt it). Well the want ad we'd seen was right about the WXKS 1200/conservatalk part. So, local and national hosts and they're trying to respect the RKO contracts w/ regards Rush and Beck but I'd guess in case of former, maybe someday, and with latter, maybe they can break the deal somehow and get him on daily. WRKO, no comment

http://www.bostonherald.com/busines...&format=&page=2&listingType=media#articleFull

News dept too...hmm
Mystery host, Beck eventually, Rush eventually, Hannity, local host or someone like Dennis Miller or
Mark Levin (is WTKK running his best of on wknds anymore?)...Coast to Coast eventually...

Would they eventually get Howie? :) (RKO contract up late '12 though)
 
encarta95 said:
BRW's reporting that 1200 is indeed flipping to conservative news/talk with Beck, Hannity, and likely Rush Limbaugh in the spring. The very-creative new name: "News Talk 1200 WXKS"

With the new calls, it seems like it's the end of the road for the WKOX letters, which has survived a frequency change (1190 -> 1200), a transmitter site change, a city of license change, and formats from full-service to country to local talk to brokered ethnic to liberal talk to Spanish tropical.
Click to expand...

You forgot that it was also briefly oldies for a short time around twenty years ago. It was mostly automated/satellite, but there was a local morning drive host Scott Gibbons, currently on afternoons on WPLM.
 
mescutia said:
I wonder why they're changing the calls. "WXKS" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue easily.
Click to expand...

Perhaps it would be to maintain use of the website wxks.com - which is currently the website home of "1200 Rumba..."

Of course, one can argue that it'll eventually make its way to the FM band - but no way is it replacing Kiss 108. Could it be on 108's HD2 channel? Maybe.
 
DToTheJ said:
mescutia said:
I wonder why they're changing the calls. "WXKS" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue easily.
Click to expand...

As I was growing up, and when WKOX was still on 1190, it was looked upon (by people in Boston) with a sense of disdain as "that Framingham station". People in Boston wondered why people in Framingham didn't listen to Boston stations except for WBZ (oh, those north-south patterns). I doubt that's ClearChannel's reason though: more likely, they are hoping some of the success of the WXKS-FM call letters will rub off.

Didn't ClearChannel move their offices recently from the famous 99 Revere Beach Parkway to a new location on the other side of Rte 16? I had wondered why they moved: WXKS AM/FM has been at 99 RBP since they were WHIL, and I figured the automation for WKOX and WXKS(AM) didn't require that much space.
Click to expand...
 
During the days it was prog talk (ended Dec of 06) one of the domains Clear Channel had for the station(s)
was bostonsnewtalk.com ; a WHOIS search says that CC registered it in Sep of 04, 5 months after that format started, and it is due to expire next Sep. Same with bostonnewstalk.com

They registered bostonprogressivetalk.com in Dec of 04 (to expire Dec of 10) The group that was trying to bring prog talk back registered bostonprogressivetalk.net (no domain info available but it is snapped up)

wonder if they have or will have something like rushradio1200.com (checked; available)
 
Why keep WXKS?
Silly question!

In a market with heritage call letters like WTKK, WRKO, WBZ, WROR, WXKS fits right in there.
Everybody knows the call letters "WXKS."

If they just put in "newsTalk1200" you think anybody would know who they were?
But call them WXKS... BINGO!

Just like sister WOAI in San Antonio... Hey, that's also 1200, isn't it?
 
Hey, in Raleigh, CC's WRDU - a longtime rocker who went country in recent years, now has Rush and the others under the name "Rush Radio 106.1 WRDU." I guess CC is counting on call letter branding in some areas.
 
Garrett said:
Why keep WXKS?
Silly question!

In a market with heritage call letters like WTKK, WRKO, WBZ, WROR, WXKS fits right in there.
Everybody knows the call letters "WXKS."
Click to expand...

But those other stations actually brand themselves using the call letters. The only people who, to me, would seem to know the WXKS call letters are those a) CHR listeners who listen closely to the mumbled "WXKS-FM Medford/Boston" or b) 70-year old fans of the old adult standards format on "AM 1430 WXKS." Neither group would likely be the target of the new talk format on 1200... there's a reason the WBCN call letters didn't migrate to 98.5 FM.
 
IMHO the WXKS calls mean noting in this market, AM or FM.

the FM side has branded itself Kiss 108 for so long, the only time they use the calls is when they do a legal ID.

The AM side is known by so few people, and most of them are old ladies who cried when they gave up the "standards" format a few year back. Any brand loyalty they had from the AM side is long gone IMHO.

And yes they moved across to 10 Cabot Rd (IIRC) just on the other side of 16 and consolidated the Jam'n studios under the same roof, moving them up from Waltham.

Well at least Howie Carr has a place to try to go to when his contract is up if Greater Media doesn't want him.

It isn't going to solve his sunset coverage issue though is it?
 
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