One Year From Now

[dhoule]

1030. All news (fewer hours of talk)
89.7.adds Jim and Margery
94.5. Slants more to hip hop
96.9. Adds more throwbacks
98.5 gets new call letters, still the Sports Hub
104.1 becomes WBZ-FM all talk

 

[RedWingCJS278]

No way is the market going to sustain all these rhythmic stations. Listeners will congregate around one or two of them, probably the ones they already know, Kiss and Jam'n. At least one of the newcomers ends up as a Spanish-speaking format within the next six months (101.7), and the others will flip eventually. If not in a year, then in two or three years. A new rock station is obviously a no-go, and I do not believe all the reasons for that are merely economic. And I do not believe we will get another talk station, unless perhaps one of the big companies makes a deal with Howie Carr and thinks they can make a go of it on FM (or another go of it, were that company Greater Media, but I doubt it would be them.) Maybe WRKO to FM, perhaps with Hillman taking over for Howie, should he be out of the picture. Not advocating that, mind you, just trying to think like a radio exec. Whatever happens with the frequencies, I do not see WAAF surviving long-term. WZLX is an icon and safe for another five years or so, probably, and shouldn't make any drastic changes right now. Other than maybe moving in even more of a hard rock direction. WROR has, maybe, another year or two. A severely endangered format and station. Mix 104 isn't going anywhere unless the ratings hit absolute rock bottom, not with the female demographic that advertisers want. 92.9 might hang on for another few years, or the plug could be pulled in spite of semi-decent ratings. Rock music & loud guitars isn't exactly favorably looked upon by many segments of society today, and that includes a lot of decision makers in the radio industry. Amp will eventually fail, and at that point we'll get the WBZ simulcast. Jam'n will likely be the last one standing in the battle of the rhythmic stations: They're the ones who have been around the longest, and have the most name value. Everyone else who flips will probably be flipping to Spanish-speaking formats. Because, really, where else is there to go if everything else has been ruled out for one reason or another? And there's money to be made in that market. Another possibility is that frequencies are shut down completely as the economy tanks for the last time. That could hold especially true for public broadcasting: The government already can't pay its bills; once it runs out of money for good, and regular citizens no longer have the money to donate, how are WGBH, WBUR, etc., supposed to survive?

 

[raccoonradio]

Howie supposedly at RKO till late '14...

Prob. already cuts etc at public radio, some downturns in donations. Many public
stations getting rid of classical,jazz, folk, blues
etc shows in favor of news talk to please donors.

 

[Signpost]

Only change I foresee is 103.3 reverting back to Classic Hits.
104.1 won't go all talk because it's an expensive format.

Will be interesting to see if EDM survives on 101.7

 

[dyeingeye]

89.7.adds Jim and Margery

Why add Jim and Margery? Was their show like the local public radio shows, i.e. bring guest(s) on for an interview on a topic and allow a few calls? Also, GBH already has a lot of resources in their local programming with Emily Rooney, Callie Crossley, and Kara Miller.

 

[beantownradio25]

Only change I foresee is 103.3 reverting back to Classic Hits.

I wish! WODS HD-2 just isn't the same.

 

[dhoule]

I'm not saying that it's the right thing to hire Jim and Margery on GBH. I just think it will happen because Phil Redo has a management position there now and he' was a boss at TTK awhile ago. Also, here's how I think the multiple CHR thing will work itself out over time. Kiss will stay as is. Amp will stay as is. Hot 96.9 will realize that they need to do more 90s and 00s and become more of a Hot AC station, a gradual tweak. Jamn will stay pretty much the same with more hip hop as their niche. Mix, I believe, will be the CBS radio property that switches to a talk format. I think CBS has the resources to do talk and it would be successful for them. Some of the Mix personalities may move to Amp. The Evolution is anyone's guess. I kind of like them. Fairly distinctive. Just my two cents. Fun to guess.

 

[WNTIRadio]

It would be a good idea to bring Jim and Margery in on WGBH. It would raise the profile of the station, which right now is the #2 NPR station in Boston. They would also be able to break a little bit of the stale NPR style without going too far. Liven it up a little bit, but still get the job done.

It would also bring more fundraising come membership drive time to have two names people have known for years asking for money.

And don't let any of them fool you, membership drive time is what it's really all about.

 

[tvradiogeek]

Why not make 104.1 talk and leave WBZ as the news station of record like WCBS in NY or wins?? Move Dan Rea over to 104.1 at night, along with the flavor of the month fill in overnight and let the am side cover the news 24hrs a day?? just a thought.

 

[raccoonradio]

They could record a half hour newscast and run it all night...to save money...are we big enough to
justify 24 hr non stop news? Maybe they could simulcast NECN and do some informercials too...

Would all talk on 104.1 be "hot", conserv, progress., lifestyle, whatever? Lots of syndie shows, or
local talent (costs $$). E&B or Graham on 104.1? Katz? Howie by late '14? I still can't picture CBS letting
the "immigrant horn" sound.

Syndie shows? Following not heard in Boston: Imus, Bennett/Gallager/Praeger/Medved/Salem hosts,
the prog talkers (St. Miller, Schulz, Hartmann, Malloy, Rhodes), cons talkers (Quinn and Rose,
Beck, Brian Kilmeade, John Gibson, Hannity, Savage, Laura Ingraham, etc. TKK had Smerconish, Wall St Wrapup, Bachelor, Overnight America...) And hot talk (Leykis?
Who else does it...I think 93.7 in Pitt. did "Man talk" for awhile)

You can get Overnight America on WBAL 1090...

 

[DToTheJ]

...Maybe WRKO to FM, perhaps with Hillman taking over for Howie, should he be out of the picture. Not advocating that, mind you, just trying to think like a radio exec...

Matty might do a better job making a conversion from music radio to talk radio than Hillman.

 

[ArtSpooner]

Only change I foresee is 103.3 reverting back to Classic Hits.

What are the chances of that happening? How are the ratings for the new format? I must say that I've gotten to like 105.7. I haven't tracked anything but it seems like they play mostly 70s and early 80s, stuff that I recognize. I more or less stopped listening to current music back in the mid 80s when the stations all became specific rather than the old news, weather, sports and a few songs every hour format. They just played Louie, Louie by the Kingsmen a little while ago. I hadn't heard that in a while. Are they adjusting to try to pick up ex-103.3 listeners by throwing in an occassional oldie? I listen to them from 10-2 most days and it hasn't been bad.

 

[tvradiogeek]

Only change I foresee is 103.3 reverting back to Classic Hits.

And why would cbs do that again??

 

[raccoonradio]

Stations like 96.9, 103.3 etc aiming for younger audiences, not those 49 plus.

 

[RedWingCJS278]

Stations like 96.9, 103.3 etc aiming for younger audiences, not those 49 plus.

But what happens when the advertisers wake up and realize those in their 20's and, increasingly, their 30s, have no money?

 

[ArtSpooner]

Stations like 96.9, 103.3 etc aiming for younger audiences, not those 49 plus.

Yeah, I'm sure you're right. Funny how that works. I have a lot more money now, but no one is interested in my business.

 

[wprt949]

In a year from now greater media will realize they made a mistake and bring back wtkk
With rush Limbaugh and Sean hannity becoming a top 5 station watch n see

 

[raccoonradio]

They have no money but they have credit cards they max out.
Bob Bittner mentioned this yrs ago on Let's Talk About Radio. They go after the young who
finance on credit rather than pay most of a big purchase off., They got after the young who
are still making up their minds on brand loyalty, not those who are solid in their preferences.
It may be folly to ignore the middle aged and older etc but this is what advertisers go for. That's why
you have the youthful music formats and also things like sports talk...as opposed to political
talk. Someone like me born half a century ago likes Howie but what about 25-30 yr olds?

But sports may just be more popular than politics.

 

[promixcuous]

....WROR has, maybe, another year or two. A severely endangered format and station. ...

Right now, WROR has space in the market to evolve toward more 80s music. When Loren and Wally are ready to move on, the station could easily shift from Boomer hits to Gen X hits.

WBOS could mature beyond the early 90s core at that point.

I wouldn't anticipate Spanish formats on FM in Boston; there is less immigration now and younger Hispanics born here tend toward English formats like WJMN.

 

[Signpost]

But what happens when the advertisers wake up and realize those in their 20's and, increasingly, their 30s, have no money?

Or worse: that 20 somethings didn't grow up listening to radio, and don't listen now. WODS as a classic hits station had a solid audience that took vacations, refinanced homes, bought cars, and were preparing for retirement. Lots to sell them. Whatever is AMP selling now, the audience isn't listening, they're on YouTube or Pandora.

It happened in NYC with WCBS-FM. Between Kiss, Jam'n, Hot96.9 and even Evolution 101.7, AMP is destined to fail. It's chances of survival are far slimmer than they were last time CBS tried CHR on that frequency and failed.