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Red Sox extension to Entercom?

I agree with you @Raccoonradio. I would love to hear the Red Sox on a powerful FM station in Boston. I would also love to see 93.7 changing to Sports Talk Station. Same to hear the Celtics as well on FM.
 
Right but as we've said their ratings are good and they probably make good money because they have no DJs to pay (but there is the Mike voice guy and a couple people who do features, but generally low cost, high profit with no DJs)

I mentioned the b-r-i post to Mark who tweets as bostonradio and he replied (I expanded some
abbreviated words)
>>@WMWMBlues sounds like a deal restructure. Any time you revise terms like payment schedule or network flagger (flagship) you essentially replace previous contract

>>@WMWMBlues Yes, deal was signed thru '16 season. There are optout and optin milestones like w any big corporate deal.

>>@WMWMBlues that's why you have well comped corporate attorneys who are always changing something in the contract language
 
Do the Red Sox not want to be on 98.5 in FM? If WEEI lost the Red Sox that would be a big lose for WEEI and Entercom. And a big gain for CBS Radio Boston and 98.5 The Sports Hub.
 
the least they can do @Raccoonradio is, put a local two minute Sports Update at the top of the hour (say example:6am-Midnight) If not local, than put ESPN Updates on there, so we can hear it on their station.
Because some people can get 98.5, and not 93.7, and vice versa. Some people can get 93.7, and others can't get 98.5
I have other good ideas but everyone always get mad at me and say bad things to me.

That good ideas was change 96.9 to "FM Talk" but this time, put "Sporting News Radio" on weeknights 10pm-6am, and 24/7 on Weekends and holidays. There are (some) parts of Boston where both 98.5 and 93.7 can not come in when listen on a walkman, I assume that's the same for when people live or work in that area.
Example, around Heymarket Train Station area/NorthEnd/Government Centeer areas of Boston 93.7 comes in good when listen on a walkman, those areas 98.5 can not come in at all on a walkman. Same for Park Street area of Boston when listen to both stations, it can not be heard on a walkman. If anything, maybe 93.7 comes in and out in some parts of those areas.
But as you get outside the city (example: Brighton Center) bot those stations come in well, but around Cleveland Circle area, both stations can not come in at all on a walkman, from Fenway Train Station all the way to Resevuor Train Station, both 93.7 and 98.5 can not come in at all on a walkman, (ANY) walkman.
That's why I say 96.9 because, they have the strongest signal inside Boston
But :(

then there's when you get outside the city, 96.9 might not have a good signal outside the signal

All in all, these were just ideas, nothing to hurt no one, only good ideas
 
LAUROJRM said:
But as you get outside the city (example: Brighton Center) bot those stations come in well, but around Cleveland Circle area, both stations can not come in at all on a walkman, from Fenway Train Station all the way to Resevuor Train Station, both 93.7 and 98.5 can not come in at all on a walkman, (ANY) walkman.
Click to expand...

If there are reception problems near Cleveland Circle with FMs located on the Newton/Needham towers, I would suspect front-end overload from WZBC. Although WZBC is not very powerful, my understanding is that it is close to Cleveland Circle and its antenna is not especially high up, so its signal on the ground near Cleveland Circle could probably overload cheap receivers, making a lot of stations--even ones that deliver strong signals--inaudible.
 
If Entercom is happy with Mike 93.7 as it is they probably wouldn't want to add something like
sports updates; other than contests like "Sox O'Clock" (win Sox tickets--other Entercom stations
like WRKO have give away tix too) they'd like to keep it centered on variety hits. Though they
could carry the games and have it as mostly Mike but with Sox games, too (as North Shore 104.9
does with their format)

By the way what about the people who may not necessarily have an AM-FM walkman but they do have an mp3 player with a radio --with FM only?(The AM antenna, ferrite rod, kind of tough to
squeeze in). They're out of luck re: Sox unless they can pick up 103.7 from RI or 104.9 from
Gloucester, etc. Many teams have moved to FM (though rumor has it the Orioles may be heading back to AM, WBAL 1090) with their flagships. WEEI could at least simulcast games on WMKK though as you say maybe not everyone can get 93.7...or CBS's 98.5...however hopefully both stations can cover a lot of area. (In case of 98.5 they do have radio networks for the B's and Pats games, just as EEI has network stations for the Sox and C's...usually on AM though)

Or "people could get an HD radio", like that Insignia portable, which has WEEI on an HD-3
though as I've said, at work interference makes it impossible. I get the feeling most people
don't care to do this.

96.9 is Greater Media which pretty much stays away from sports though they did have some
college games at night awhile back. They run John Batchelor 10-1 am and Phil Hendrie at 1 am
and maybe are happy with them, I don't know. They may want to leave the sports to others.
This is Greater Media's call, how they want to proceed with a talk station. As it is they run a lot
of local talk shows and if Clear Channel did decide to change WXKS, would there be room for
Rush, Hannity, etc. on WTKK? Probably not! WRKO--maybe. They'd take Rush back I would
think no matter what Wolfe might tell you.

If FM reception is bad in the Boston area--in certain areas, on a Walkman--what about AM?
Maybe it's the power, the poor soil conductivity, etc. but in New England it's not the best place to get AM. For WEEI one major problem (WRKO has it too) is having to point the signal
north and south at night to avoid other stations.

And getting back to 93.7, the nearness of their tower to my workplace is one big reason why I'd at least like to have Sox games on there. On cheaper Walkmen or CD-players-with-radios
(which is to say, most of them) 93.7 pops up at various parts of the dial too!
 
i happen to agree espn could goto wtkk in Philly greater media does do a espn fm format. but i think they should add a fm simulcast tot he redsox network but dont think they will cause, they figure northshore 104.9 does well enough in the Boston area, then down in my area you have 103.7!! so not sure f they would want to displace mike fms audience
raccoonradio said:
If Entercom is happy with Mike 93.7 as it is they probably wouldn't want to add something like
sports updates; other than contests like "Sox O'Clock" (win Sox tickets--other Entercom stations
like WRKO have give away tix too) they'd like to keep it centered on variety hits. Though they
could carry the games and have it as mostly Mike but with Sox games, too (as North Shore 104.9
does with their format)

By the way what about the people who may not necessarily have an AM-FM walkman but they do have an mp3 player with a radio --with FM only?(The AM antenna, ferrite rod, kind of tough to
squeeze in). They're out of luck re: Sox unless they can pick up 103.7 from RI or 104.9 from
Gloucester, etc. Many teams have moved to FM (though rumor has it the Orioles may be heading back to AM, WBAL 1090) with their flagships. WEEI could at least simulcast games on WMKK though as you say maybe not everyone can get 93.7...or CBS's 98.5...however hopefully both stations can cover a lot of area. (In case of 98.5 they do have radio networks for the B's and Pats games, just as EEI has network stations for the Sox and C's...usually on AM though)

Or "people could get an HD radio", like that Insignia portable, which has WEEI on an HD-3
though as I've said, at work interference makes it impossible. I get the feeling most people
don't care to do this.

96.9 is Greater Media which pretty much stays away from sports though they did have some
college games at night awhile back. They run John Batchelor 10-1 am and Phil Hendrie at 1 am
and maybe are happy with them, I don't know. They may want to leave the sports to others.
This is Greater Media's call, how they want to proceed with a talk station. As it is they run a lot
of local talk shows and if Clear Channel did decide to change WXKS, would there be room for
Rush, Hannity, etc. on WTKK? Probably not! WRKO--maybe. They'd take Rush back I would
think no matter what Wolfe might tell you.

If FM reception is bad in the Boston area--in certain areas, on a Walkman--what about AM?
Maybe it's the power, the poor soil conductivity, etc. but in New England it's not the best place to get AM. For WEEI one major problem (WRKO has it too) is having to point the signal
north and south at night to avoid other stations.

And getting back to 93.7, the nearness of their tower to my workplace is one big reason why I'd at least like to have Sox games on there. On cheaper Walkmen or CD-players-with-radios
(which is to say, most of them) 93.7 pops up at various parts of the dial too!
Click to expand...
 
IF Entercom was going to move sports to FM I would think WAAF would be the choice - but the problem is while the 2 xmtrs handle the burbs well, it still has a problem in the city
 
Fenway1912 said:
IF Entercom was going to move sports to FM I would think WAAF would be the choice - but the problem is while the 2 xmtrs handle the burbs well, it still has a problem in the city
Click to expand...

I've always found 97.7 to be really good in the city - is it intermod from the Pru that creates problems?
 
97.7 would replicate a lot of what 103.7 already covers.

If they ever moved WEEI to FM in Boston with their current roster of stations I think WEEI to 93.7 and then Mike to 97.7 would make the most sense.

If I was running the cluster I think this is what I would do:

680 - WRKO as is (well with some staff changes maybe)
850 - becomes ESPN national feed 24/7 with local sports when there's conflicts.
93.7 - becomes WEEI FM with local sports talk, sox, celtics, etc
97.7 - becomes Mike FM, yes it'll cover less than 93.7 does right now, but considering they have 0 on air staff they should still remain profitable
107.3 - stays WAAF as is and continues to dominate central MA and still does well in Boston

I'd then run HDs on all the FMs and simulcast the other two FMs on each of the other extra HD channels.

For example 93.7 HD2 would be Mike and 93.7 HD3 would be WAAF that way if someone can ONLY get 93.7 in their area if they get HD they can still get all 3.
 
That's a decent plan.

If they kill off WEEI on AM, or even make it second to FM, that signal is done. They will keep people listening to AM as long as they can, or as long as WBZ-FM is behind them. Jumping sooner would be like wasting the blowtorch.
 
I actually think a national ESPN Radio just running the national feel 24/7 would do well here.

There's lots of non-local sports fans living in Boston who don't want to hear the regular local schtick on WEEI or the Hub.

And personally, as much as I do love Boston sports, I'd love to be able to listen to Mike and Mike, The Herd, etc for a change once in a while.

It would also cost almost nothing more to run, they are already the ESPN affiliate, and would barely need to staff the station.....the producers/board-ops of WEEI/WRKO/Mike/etc could keep it running I'm sure.
 
thetheo said:
I actually think a national ESPN Radio just running the national feel 24/7 would do well here.

There's lots of non-local sports fans living in Boston who don't want to hear the regular local schtick on WEEI or the Hub.
Click to expand...

Does a national ESPN feed do well anywhere? Boston is regarded as a highly provincial sports market; sports birdfeed might be cost-effective but I don't see it drawing ratings or ad bucks. Entercom would basically be throwing 850 away.
 
For an AM with little to no maintenance yes it would do fine.

200k+ students come to the area every year from all over the country/world, they aren't all Wicked Sox fans like we are.

Will it pull in the #s WEEI is pulling in, of course not. I'm just saying IF they move WEEI to FM that would be a cheap way to still keep something interesting on one of their two AMs. Spending money to actually staff it/market it would be a lost cause.
 
thetheo said:
97.7 would replicate a lot of what 103.7 already covers.

If they ever moved WEEI to FM in Boston with their current roster of stations I think WEEI to 93.7 and then Mike to 97.7 would make the most sense.

If I was running the cluster I think this is what I would do:

680 - WRKO as is (well with some staff changes maybe)
850 - becomes ESPN national feed 24/7 with local sports when there's conflicts.
93.7 - becomes WEEI FM with local sports talk, sox, celtics, etc
97.7 - becomes Mike FM, yes it'll cover less than 93.7 does right now, but considering they have 0 on air staff they should still remain profitable
107.3 - stays WAAF as is and continues to dominate central MA and still does well in Boston

I'd then run HDs on all the FMs and simulcast the other two FMs on each of the other extra HD channels.

For example 93.7 HD2 would be Mike and 93.7 HD3 would be WAAF that way if someone can ONLY get 93.7 in their area if they get HD they can still get all 3.
Click to expand...
Good ideas, I like your ideas. I have simular ideas. The only difference I have is, instead of ESPN, why not "Sporting News Radio"? I know at the current moment 1510am uses it sometimes at different times. Since 850am is more famous, and "Sporting News Radio" sounds more alive than ESPN, why not put that 24/7 on 850am with some sport games when there's conflect, and put WEEI on 93.7 as you said, on 93.7 put Celts and Sox on, as well as Westwood One Sport Games, and "Sporting News Radio" on overnights.
Personnally I think "Sporting News Radio" would be better on 850am and 93.7 because "Sporting News Radio" sounds more attention grabber than ESPN.
And if you look on "Sporting News Radio" Program Schedule which is on the top right of their page (Put your mouse on "Shows" and click on "Schedule" Then look in the center for their Schedule. It looks like all their shows are live

Where's when you look on ESPN Radio Program Schedule (Near Top Center Right [in Blue] click "Schedule") It looks like some of their weekend shows are (Taped Shows=on Saturday mornings "Mike Reico's Weekend Blitz", "The Mort Report", "The Sporting Life", again Mile Trico's Weekend Blitz", "Raceday", again "The Sporting Life" On Sundays "Mike Tricos Weekend Blitz", and "The Mort Report"

Which one do you all think listenners want to listen to. I mean, don't get me wrong, Mike Trico's Sports Blits" and "Sportinglife are great shows. I like both. But I'd rather hear a live show. How about you all, and what you all think listenners want to listen to?

Other than that @Thetheo, I like your ideas
 
Would placing WAAF on 93.7 and putting WEEI on both 107.3 and 97.7 be a good idea? I don't see why Entercom can't just dump Mike FM.
 
If there are reception problems near Cleveland Circle with FMs located on the Newton/Needham towers, I would suspect front-end overload from WZBC. Although WZBC is not very powerful, my understanding is that it is close to Cleveland Circle and its antenna is not especially high up, so its signal on the ground near Cleveland Circle could probably overload cheap receivers, making a lot of stations--even ones that deliver strong signals--inaudible.
Click to expand...

WZBC is on top of Chestnut Hill, over a mile away from Cleveland Circle. At 1000W ERP, WZBC's 115dBu blanketing contour is perhaps 500-1000ft, tops...even on crappy radios.

The bottom line is that besides a handful of models, walkman-style radios are terrible receivers that need at least 80dBu of signal to get anything, and often need more like 90. 93.7 is like 15 or 20 miles away...its signal level is well below that.
 
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