Should WEEI attempt to further expand its network in NE?

[raccoonradio]

http://www.weei.com/weei/shows-schedules/network-stations

There's a map of the stations running the WEEI network. 5 of them are in MA (if you count
850 and 93.7 as sep. signals--also Worc, Cape Cod, western MA). The 105.5 in Springfield
area must reach a good chunk of CT, and the Westerly RI signal is also far reaching, etc. But what about Vermont or northern NH? Or maybe other areas of CT (or is that Yankee country? )

(Note: the map does not show Bangor ME, but supposedly WEEI is on 910 and 104.7 up that way)

Around Lake Champlain, a trimulcast of Fox Sports on 1390 Burlington, 1420 St Albans, and
1490 Middlebury just switched to a simulcast of sister station WIFY 93.7 Addison (Middlebury area)
and now all 4 stations are doing oldies. The 1420 and the 1490 are in the Red Sox network
(a diff. company runs them in Burlington--WJOY at 1230). Awhile back, the 3 AMs were ESPN
affiliates but WCPV 101.3 snatched ESPN away...they tried Fox Sports for awhile and now are
just simulcasting oldies. But I wonder if the WEEI network would have been good for those
3 AMs.

Maybe the rights fees are too much and I get the feeling the 3 AMs are very low budget. I wonder
if airing WEEI programming might help, and spread it to Ben-and-Jerry-land. Oh well...

And then there's the rest of NH...

And we need to wonder if someday there could be a "98.5 the sports hub radio network" to get their signal out to other parts of New England (the 98.5 DOES cover a lot of land though). Yes they do have their Pats and B's games on a regional network but I mean the talk shows.

 

[Laurence Glavin]

It's funny that you wrote "98.5 covers a lot of land". That's because it transmits from the route 9 & 128 area, not The Pru. I've often thought that as many Boston-located FM signals should transmit from 9 & 128 rather than The Pru, because the signals from the latter provide excellent coverage over the water, much to the delight of mermaids I presume. The usual comment is, yes, but a downtown location overrides strong FM signals that are there and can get inside office buildings better. Well, if ALL the city's FMs were on the old WHDH-TV channel 5 tower, or the CBS tower, or the candelabra tower, there'd be no FM signals to interfere with a station (with the possible exceptions of WFNX and WHRB). And the question is...would a station putting out 12 to 14-thousand watts (WBUR and WKLB) from a point on the tower from which a climber can actually SEE the downtown office buildings be able to penetrate to people's desks? (When I worked at the IRS building in Andover, I could get Boston-based FMs fairly well deep inside; I never knew what the weather was until I left the secure area and then could observe the weather from windows. Once-in-a-while, some manager would come in to tell us that it was snowing outside, and if people wanted to do so, they could leave early but be docked for the time, otherwise we'd never know.) And radio stations broadcast 168 hours a week; people work generally 40 of those hours, and many do not have access to a radio. Thus a station transmitting from west of downtown would reach more people over the greater landmass the rest of the week. (And yes, I guess WBMX would be stuck on The Pru because of the 104.1 near Hartford, unless a mutual directional setup could be arranged).

 

[jlehmann]

(Note: the map does not show Bangor ME, but supposedly WEEI is on 910 and 104.7 up that way)

WEEI has not been on WAEI/WAEI-FM (then on 97.1) for a few years now. They supposedly broke some kind of contract agreement, and Blueberry (the company that owns them) dropped WEEI. WAEI now airs Fox Sports and (I think) Imus.

 

[reelyreal]

(Note: the map does not show Bangor ME, but supposedly WEEI is on 910 and 104.7 up that way)

WEEI has not been on WAEI/WAEI-FM (then on 97.1) for a few years now. They supposedly broke some kind of contract agreement, and Blueberry (the company that owns them) dropped WEEI. WAEI now airs Fox Sports and (I think) Imus.

The current Maine simulcast is WPPI Topsham/Portland, 95.5. This formerly simulcast WEEI in 2008/2009 as WGEI, flipped to talk for a while, and came back as WPPI in September 2011.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I've often thought that as many Boston-located FM signals should transmit from 9 & 128 rather than The Pru, because the signals from the latter provide excellent coverage over the water, much to the delight of mermaids I presume. The usual comment is, yes, but a downtown location overrides strong FM signals that are there and can get inside office buildings better. Well, if ALL the city's FMs were on the old WHDH-TV channel 5 tower, or the CBS tower, or the candelabra tower, there'd be no FM signals to interfere with a station (with the possible exceptions of WFNX and WHRB). And the question is...would a station putting out 12 to 14-thousand watts (WBUR and WKLB) from a point on the tower from which a climber can actually SEE the downtown office buildings be able to penetrate to people's desks?

...Thus a station transmitting from west of downtown would reach more people over the greater landmass the rest of the week.

First of all, you're describing a hypothetical, idealistic situation in which competing stations would be satisfied with being on equal footing with one another for reaching the same geographic audience. That's not the way the business is. Broadcasting companies with multiple FM transmitters on the Pru are VERY happy about the fact that they are able to impair reception of their suburban transmitting competition with intermodulation interference on many radios in the city.

I saw promotional material at one company that I worked for, only intended for potential advertising clients, that claimed that the combined signals of their stations transmitting from the Pru formed a radio "umbrella" over Boston, preventing clear reception of their competitors signals (from 128 and elsewhere) from reaching the urban workforce in the city.

Technically, in addition to station intermodulation from the local transmitters on the Pru interfering with suburban based FM signals in the city, there is much more electrical interference being generated inside the workplace by computers, digital equipment, wireless interfaces, lighting, etc... than ever. Even if the basic signal from 128 twelve miles away would normally get into a Boston building, it would tend to be drowned out by internally generated workplace interference, where a signal from the nearby Prudential would cut through it.

As for reaching more people over "greater landmass", full-power FM stations broadcasting from the Pru still cover any inland sub-markets of sponsor interest, such as the Merrimack Valley, Metro-West, Central MA, Metro-South, etc... quite well from the Pru, and there really isn't much sponsor interest for a Boston station any farther out. It wouldn't be worth (slightly) stronger reception in those outlying areas to sacrifice a strong, clear, interference-free signal in downtown Boston from the Pru.

 

[raccoonradio]

Yes I thought the WEEI // in Bangor was dropped but thought it may have come back. Radio-locator links to what is WEEI's page...did quick search; WAEI might be running Dan Patrick, too

 

[Mainedude2007]

Yes I thought the WEEI // in Bangor was dropped but thought it may have come back. Radio-locator links to what is WEEI's page...did quick search; WAEI might be running Dan Patrick, too

WAEI runs Fox Sports (which includes Patrick) outside of Imus, they had a frequency shift about a year ago, flipping frequencies with their co-owned country station

 

[Blackroc]

Is 98.5 a station that "reaches the beaches?" I've no idea how it does on Cape/Islands. I'm not sure about Newport/Narragansett waterfront either?

I would think it's unlikely SHub will expand.

 

[whdh1920]

technically there in ct on an hd sub channel,that might be as far as it goes!!

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Is 98.5 a station that "reaches the beaches?" I've no idea how it does on Cape/Islands. I'm not sure about Newport/Narragansett waterfront either?

I'm not much of a sports radio fan, but years ago, I remember hearing 98.5 over much of the Cape decades ago when it was the original WROR. My uncle used to have a house near Hyannis, a difficult part of the Cape for Boston radio, and I remember it came in there.

I've heard all the full-power 128 stations in Newport, RI too. They're not very strong in those areas and may not come in everywhere, but with a good radio in a good spot they're clear and listenable, stronger than the Pru stations.

 

[chrish]

As CE of several Boston stations I will go into this once again for those who were not around for the first 10 times, it about signal density. Back in the 70's WHIL-FM looked at who had the best overall FM signal in the market (5 county Arbitron metro) and it was hands down WBCN. WHIL-FM (WWEL-FM) KISS-108 was quickly followed by WHUE-FM, WMJX-FM, WBOS and so on including soon to be WODS.
The main reason for this was signal density penetration of the steel canyons. It does not take a baseball bat to the side of the head to get this picture very clearly, as CE of KISS-108 WBOS had a very hard time competing as suddenly their audience no longer had to bother with a signal that did not get into the city very well.....which was where much of their audience was located.
Later as CE of WZOU/JAM'N I had to deal with the problem in reverse with the constant whine WHY CAN'T I GET JAM'N ON MY WALKMAN ON MILK ST? I have no problem listening to KISS-108!!!! We decided to take action and obtained a CP to move JAM'N in town. One week before John Hancock was about to sign the lease some one in top management got cold feet thinking about the WHUE elevator interference problem. Though the elevator electronics had long been replaced and the proposed antenna was to be a 1/2 wave spaced ERI with almost no downward radiation the Hancock was in negotiation to sell the tower they decided they wanted no complications. They later approached me for WFNX but there was a 10.7 problem and with 900' of height the ERP would have been to low to be effective.
Remember as follows, A signal from downtown has the density it needs to get into the apartments and parking garages and has no problem penetrating single family wooden houses in the suburbs and out through the rolling hills. The opposite is not true, now signal blanketing that 128 once suffered with has moved to the city