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New All News 24 Hour FM
- Thread starter dhoule
- Start date
Mark Jeffries said:
Yes, WBBM is an all news station by any definition, yet they are also the Bears' flagship station. They also air When Radio Was for an hour at Midnight CT (and I wish I could stay up that late). KNX aired WRW for decades too. But those are very transitory interruptions to the otherwise all-news format.
WCBS and the Yankees are a bigger problem in my view, because baseball takes a LOT more time away from your core format than football (at least 10 times as much over the course of a season). It can be a format killer if that format isn't sports radio. For example, most summer evenings are all baseball for WCBS. And then there are the [very] occasional weekday afternoon games. Tough on the format. Yes, I understand why CBS has opted to carry the Yankees on WCBS ($$) and yes, it's still an "all news" station......but only when there's no baseball. Also, my understanding is that it hasn't been as profitable as you'd think for CBS. That said, they just got a 1 year extension. So they aren't losing money. Bear in mind that, in New York, CBS still has all news all the time WINS to take up the slack when WCBS is covering the Evil Empire. So, NY is an exception of sorts.
But no, all news stations can most certainly break from the format once in a while. Could such a station work in Boston? Not likely with WBZ using up all of the available oxygen. WBZ is all news M-F from early in the morning until early evening - which is when most listening is done. They are good at what they do, very professional and slick, very popular and with one heck of a legacy. There just isn't much room for anyone else. Combine that with the immense start-up costs of such an operation and the paucity of signals in Boston and I don't see it happening.
F
faderraider
Guest
WATD does a great job at local and regional news and breaking news. I must say, WBZ on AM is my choice for driving outside the 128/495 belt for news listening though. I would think they will not move to FM, the signal covers such a broad area, never get that with one freq. on FM....big bang for the national and New England type advertisers.
One could make the argument that a news format is
not the "highest and best use" of an FM signal...
not the "highest and best use" of an FM signal...
Tell that to WBUR.... (news, talk etc) and maybe WGBH too.
http://www.wbur.org/
"Boston's NPR News Station"
>>Listeners around the world rely on WGBH’s radio services: 89.7 WGBH, Boston's NPR Station
http://www.wgbh.org/about/index.cfm
I believe they do fairly well in the ratings, too. Who says we don't have FM news?
(Consult Ratings page. In 6+ at least, the "News/Talk" station owned by Boston University does pretty well.)
http://www.wbur.org/
"Boston's NPR News Station"
>>Listeners around the world rely on WGBH’s radio services: 89.7 WGBH, Boston's NPR Station
http://www.wgbh.org/about/index.cfm
I believe they do fairly well in the ratings, too. Who says we don't have FM news?
(Consult Ratings page. In 6+ at least, the "News/Talk" station owned by Boston University does pretty well.)
I did not say it is never done, just that it is not the "highest and best use"
of an FM frequency. One could also make the argument that those who deliver the mail
should deliver the mail, (and stick to what they know), and leave broadcast formats
and programming decisions to broadcast industry professionals. It is not necessary
for adults to get in the last word, on every single thread, every single time... :
of an FM frequency. One could also make the argument that those who deliver the mail
should deliver the mail, (and stick to what they know), and leave broadcast formats
and programming decisions to broadcast industry professionals. It is not necessary
for adults to get in the last word, on every single thread, every single time... :
One could also make the argument that spoken word is the future for FM. As sources of all-music increase and the pie is sliced thinner, some stations will have to find new way to attract listeners. Pandora isn't in the local news/talk business... you can get Siri to read you a simple forecast on an iPhone 4S, but that's about it.
I've always been of the opinion that if radio can provide programming you can't get anywhere else, and does it to the best of its ability, survival isn't a concern.
It's all about balance and moderation... It'll be like AM in the late 60's and early 70's... a mix of music stations and talk stations all on one band... and nobody really cares about that "other" band except the die-hards.
I've always been of the opinion that if radio can provide programming you can't get anywhere else, and does it to the best of its ability, survival isn't a concern.
It's all about balance and moderation... It'll be like AM in the late 60's and early 70's... a mix of music stations and talk stations all on one band... and nobody really cares about that "other" band except the die-hards.
Arguably WBUR and WBZ are about the same amount of "all news".
WBZ Schedule = 15 hrs news/daily, 9 hours of talk (Dan Rea and Steve LeVeille)
WBUR schedule = 14 hrs news/daily (BBC, ME, ATC, H&N, MP and RB), 10 hours of talk (OP, FA, TOTN, DR and CR)
One could make the argument that technically WBUR is more "all news" because WBZ spends a lot more time per hour on commercials than WBUR spends on underwriting, enough to add up to at least an hour's difference, I'd guess. Interestingly, WBZ is all news during the day, but all talk on the overnights...whereas WBUR is all news on the overnights, and has talk spread out across the day.
The Globe had a bit on how much WEEI's ratings spiked in just one month of having the simulcast on 93.7. I'd say that puts the whole AM vs FM issue in stark relief: if even a proven ratings draw like the Red Sox isn't enough to keep AM competitive against FM, then AM is rapidly losing effectiveness as a broad-range media. For niche products, it can still work well, but unless you've got a blowtorch signal like WBZ's, I don't think AM cuts it as a viable broad-audience transmission method.
WBZ Schedule = 15 hrs news/daily, 9 hours of talk (Dan Rea and Steve LeVeille)
WBUR schedule = 14 hrs news/daily (BBC, ME, ATC, H&N, MP and RB), 10 hours of talk (OP, FA, TOTN, DR and CR)
One could make the argument that technically WBUR is more "all news" because WBZ spends a lot more time per hour on commercials than WBUR spends on underwriting, enough to add up to at least an hour's difference, I'd guess. Interestingly, WBZ is all news during the day, but all talk on the overnights...whereas WBUR is all news on the overnights, and has talk spread out across the day.
The Globe had a bit on how much WEEI's ratings spiked in just one month of having the simulcast on 93.7. I'd say that puts the whole AM vs FM issue in stark relief: if even a proven ratings draw like the Red Sox isn't enough to keep AM competitive against FM, then AM is rapidly losing effectiveness as a broad-range media. For niche products, it can still work well, but unless you've got a blowtorch signal like WBZ's, I don't think AM cuts it as a viable broad-audience transmission method.
WLYNgm: While I have not been paid, I have worked in radio for 30 years. I offer what I can in breaking news
(from various sources) and my opinions, and you are free to skip over them if you wish. I have followed local
and national media for quite awhile now be it in books (and speaking of which, I interviewed Donna Halper, have you?), newspapers, magazines, and various electronic media. I was just bringing up that in this discussion we seem to forget we do have WBUR and WGBH. Thank you.
(from various sources) and my opinions, and you are free to skip over them if you wish. I have followed local
and national media for quite awhile now be it in books (and speaking of which, I interviewed Donna Halper, have you?), newspapers, magazines, and various electronic media. I was just bringing up that in this discussion we seem to forget we do have WBUR and WGBH. Thank you.
And the sports/talk/news simulcasts on FM continue... FM // for KJR (Seattle) and KOGO (San Diego),
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