At this point, WBACH is one of very few commercial classical services left in the country. Anyone know how it bills - or how much longer Nassau will let it be? Not trying to spread rumors or anything, it's just interesting that one of the last for-profit classical stations would be in Maine and not an urbane major city.
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WBACH
- Thread starter JustinT
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There is also WCCC-AM in Hartford which is also a commercial classical station that has the distinction of having its internet stream picked up and rebroadcast by the station,which is the reverse of how it usually works. The station at 1290 AM only goes at 500 watts daytime and 14 at night.
I guess W-Bach is successful, although it did reduce the number of Southern Maine outlets from two (99.3 and 106.3) to only one (104.7).
But recently it added two stations in New Hampshire: 101.5 Merideth (Lakes Region) and 99.1 Henniker, north of Manchester. I think it's odd that one Classical network is trying to cover so many communities so far from each other, although maybe it won't simulcast forever. Maybe the idea is that New Hampshire will have its own network eventually. 101.5 had been Classic Rock (that format is now on 104.9) and 99.1 had been Oldies.
With NH Public Radio doing only News and Talk, it's good these stations are now serving New Hampshire with Classical Music. So far, W-Bach's website doesn't even mention those stations.
Gregg
[email protected]
But recently it added two stations in New Hampshire: 101.5 Merideth (Lakes Region) and 99.1 Henniker, north of Manchester. I think it's odd that one Classical network is trying to cover so many communities so far from each other, although maybe it won't simulcast forever. Maybe the idea is that New Hampshire will have its own network eventually. 101.5 had been Classic Rock (that format is now on 104.9) and 99.1 had been Oldies.
With NH Public Radio doing only News and Talk, it's good these stations are now serving New Hampshire with Classical Music. So far, W-Bach's website doesn't even mention those stations.
Gregg
[email protected]
J
Jimc
Guest
Nassau keeps WBACH on 99.1 and 101.5 to keep the licenses alive. Little or no expense.
The deal to sell them obviously is dead and gone. Now what??
The deal to sell them obviously is dead and gone. Now what??
Nassau filed for a 90 extension on Feb. 15.
The 90 days has come and gone, now what?
The 90 days has come and gone, now what?
Would Nassau keep the Classical format on 99.1 and 101.5? And keep the stations in the W-Bach family? It seems resort tourist areas are the only places that still support commercial classical stations. Those are places where there are well-off people with money to spend. You still find Classical scoring well in Santa Barbara, Monterey-Santa Cruz, Albuquerque-Santa Fe, Northern Vermont, and of course, the Maine Coast.
So why not the Lakes region of New Hampshire and the Upper Connecticut River Valley? Plenty of wealthy tourists like Henry Fonda and Kathrine Hepburn from "On Golden Pond" who'd support commercial classical radio.
Gregg
[email protected]
So why not the Lakes region of New Hampshire and the Upper Connecticut River Valley? Plenty of wealthy tourists like Henry Fonda and Kathrine Hepburn from "On Golden Pond" who'd support commercial classical radio.
Gregg
[email protected]
J
Jimc
Guest
Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn are dead. You do know that?
Gregg said:
W-BACH (WBQI 107.7 Bar Harbor/Ellsworth) does quite well down here on Mount Desert Island...lots of shops and businesses have it on, from what I have noticed. And I am sure it is popular with the "upper crust" summer crowd here on the island (Think Hamptons, north). Puts a great signal right down to the Canadian border.
Gregg said:
99.1 covers the Concord area, not the valley. There's 99.3 WFRD up there that makes reception difficult, if it even makes it at all. This is nothing more than just filler until they're able to be sold. I was up in the area for the past couple days, and noticed that they seemed to be running dead air just about as often as they had on WBach.
I'm disappointed that Nassau seems only to be running the classical format on 99.1 and 101.5 to keep the licenses active... and doesn't seem to care about occasional dead air.
@ JimC, I didn't mean the real Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn. They played a retired professor and his wife who had a summer cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee in the movie "On Golden Pond." They both won Oscars for their performances. What I was saying is that those characters are the same sort of people who'd support commercial classical stations in tourist areas like 99.1 and 101.5. The NH Lakes Region isn't that different than Coastal Maine, where W-Bach seems to be working.
And Maine Public Radio still does hours of Classical Music middays and nights. Vermont Public Radio has a Classical network in its secondary stations. But NH Public Radio does no Classical Music. That would mean keeping 99.1 and 101.5 Classical makes even more sense in these tourist areas.
Gregg
[email protected]
@ JimC, I didn't mean the real Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn. They played a retired professor and his wife who had a summer cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee in the movie "On Golden Pond." They both won Oscars for their performances. What I was saying is that those characters are the same sort of people who'd support commercial classical stations in tourist areas like 99.1 and 101.5. The NH Lakes Region isn't that different than Coastal Maine, where W-Bach seems to be working.
And Maine Public Radio still does hours of Classical Music middays and nights. Vermont Public Radio has a Classical network in its secondary stations. But NH Public Radio does no Classical Music. That would mean keeping 99.1 and 101.5 Classical makes even more sense in these tourist areas.
Gregg
[email protected]
J
Jimc
Guest
With Nassau, there is not, nor was there, a real plan.
Ready..FIRE!, aim...
Ready..FIRE!, aim...
guessing that's a typo; the classical would be at 94.7 WCNH; 95.7 is WZID
Note: acc to the WCNH site they are moving to 91.5 soon (and will simulcast on 91.5 and 94.7 for a week before full move) and are awaiting a transfer of the LPFM lic for 94.7 to "NH News Views and Blues"
http://www.wcnh.org.
>>A request to transfer that license to the local group NH News, Views & Blues was filed. Approval could come by mid-August. The call letters at 94.7 have already been changed to WNHN-LP
The Bow FM Project:...All we are waiting for is the transfer of the LPFM license (as the FCC requires.) We are expecting a September 1 sign-on. In the meantime save a button on your radio to 91.5 FM. We will simulcast on 94.7 and 91.5 for a week before we officially move to 91.5.
Note: acc to the WCNH site they are moving to 91.5 soon (and will simulcast on 91.5 and 94.7 for a week before full move) and are awaiting a transfer of the LPFM lic for 94.7 to "NH News Views and Blues"
http://www.wcnh.org.
>>A request to transfer that license to the local group NH News, Views & Blues was filed. Approval could come by mid-August. The call letters at 94.7 have already been changed to WNHN-LP
The Bow FM Project:...All we are waiting for is the transfer of the LPFM license (as the FCC requires.) We are expecting a September 1 sign-on. In the meantime save a button on your radio to 91.5 FM. We will simulcast on 94.7 and 91.5 for a week before we officially move to 91.5.
A commercial classical station can be successful in certain places, such as college towns, retirement areas, and very affluent "old" money pockets. A lot has to do with the operator.
A lot of the credit for WCVT's success goes to Brian Harwood who nurtured and supported that station with much energy and passion.
The WBACH handle had to have been influenced somewhat by KBACH in Monterey, CA. They are LMA'd with the Mapleton cluster there and have been a fixture in that market for well over 20 years. They're calls were (and I think still are) are nowhere near B,C,or H. Just a great imaging idea.
Up here in Seattle we have KING-FM, a full-power blowtorch--quite successful.
Much of the challenge has been that advertisers see the classical audience as old and non-acquisitory. You know, school teachers still driving that 1988 Subaru. True and not true. Nevertheless any radio station in 2011 that is doing classical and is anything other than publicly funded has my respect.
A lot of the credit for WCVT's success goes to Brian Harwood who nurtured and supported that station with much energy and passion.
The WBACH handle had to have been influenced somewhat by KBACH in Monterey, CA. They are LMA'd with the Mapleton cluster there and have been a fixture in that market for well over 20 years. They're calls were (and I think still are) are nowhere near B,C,or H. Just a great imaging idea.
Up here in Seattle we have KING-FM, a full-power blowtorch--quite successful.
Much of the challenge has been that advertisers see the classical audience as old and non-acquisitory. You know, school teachers still driving that 1988 Subaru. True and not true. Nevertheless any radio station in 2011 that is doing classical and is anything other than publicly funded has my respect.
I was just listening off and on for about a week to WWHQ Merideth and there was only a few seconds of dead air here and there. But other than the legal I.D., there is no mention of New Hampshire. The New Hampshire stations run the Maine commercials.
The legal I.D. is "104.7 WBQQ Kennebeck-Portland, 106.9 WBQX Thomaston-Rockland and 107.7 WBQI Bar Harbor, serving Down East Maine. On the web, we're WWW-dot-WBachRadio-dot-com. And in New Hampshire, WNNH Henniker and WWHQ Merideth."
It's an odd station in that it sounds voice tracked at all times, even morning drive, even overnight. All works are announced. But other than a brief reference in the morning to the weather being nice, and some promos, there's no other chatter. It's always very professional but also a bit canned. But I guess that's how it has to be done.
Is there still a syndicated Classical network? There are so few commercial Classical outlets that I can't imagine it still exists. (I used to know one of its weekend DJs when it was owned by Sony.) I know there's something called "Classical 24" but that's for non-commercial classical stations.
It is nice to have the service. Sometimes I get tired of commercial mass-appeal formats. The classical music on WWNQ 101.5 really added to the lake atmosphere.
Gregg
[email protected]
The legal I.D. is "104.7 WBQQ Kennebeck-Portland, 106.9 WBQX Thomaston-Rockland and 107.7 WBQI Bar Harbor, serving Down East Maine. On the web, we're WWW-dot-WBachRadio-dot-com. And in New Hampshire, WNNH Henniker and WWHQ Merideth."
It's an odd station in that it sounds voice tracked at all times, even morning drive, even overnight. All works are announced. But other than a brief reference in the morning to the weather being nice, and some promos, there's no other chatter. It's always very professional but also a bit canned. But I guess that's how it has to be done.
Is there still a syndicated Classical network? There are so few commercial Classical outlets that I can't imagine it still exists. (I used to know one of its weekend DJs when it was owned by Sony.) I know there's something called "Classical 24" but that's for non-commercial classical stations.
It is nice to have the service. Sometimes I get tired of commercial mass-appeal formats. The classical music on WWNQ 101.5 really added to the lake atmosphere.
Gregg
[email protected]
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