WBCN THE ROCK OF BOSTON?

[jgalt]

What is going at the Rock of Boston. Any sporting guess's?

 

[MassMusicMan]

They play records and talk about things. Sometimes, they let somebody who has a store be on the radio and tell people to buy things.

That's all I got.

 

[DJbobo]

They play records and talk about things. Sometimes, they let somebody who has a store be on the radio and tell people to buy things.

That's all I got.

WBCN is just catching up to the industry standards. Guests shilling products/services is nothing new. This is what most guests usually do anyway. That wine guy with Austrailian accent during one of Hardy's shows was a blatant infomercial between songs. But I guess that how you have to push it today if you're a legendary rock station fighting off robot radio outfits like WBOS.

 

[ActionJax]

WBCN is just catching up to the industry standards. Guests shilling products/services is nothing new. This is what most guests usually do anyway. That wine guy with Austrailian accent during one of Hardy's shows was a blatant infomercial between songs. But I guess that how you have to push it today if you're a legendary rock station fighting off robot radio outfits like WBOS.
[/quote]

Well Said...I think BCN is still a good station. Toucher and Rich are great. Original, funny, not afraid to talk about anything, and not afraid to speak up when they dont like something going on at the station/cbs radio. Fred mentions Howard Stern at least once a week...something NOBODY does anymore. He's heavily influenced by him, and he's not afraid to say it, no matter how much everyone wants to forget that the day he left terresterial radio, everything changed.

Also Hardy is hillarious too

 

[beantownradio25]

Awww with that title I thought you guys were gonna be like "did they flip to pop?!" or "are they stunting right now?!" hahah ohh well, I can only wish Yeah that is extremely common among radio guests, especially lately. Industry standard.

 

[readingradio]

WBCN is just catching up to the industry standards. Guests shilling products/services is nothing new. This is what most guests usually do anyway. That wine guy with Austrailian accent during one of Hardy's shows was a blatant infomercial between songs. But I guess that how you have to push it today if you're a legendary rock station fighting off robot radio outfits like WBOS.

"That wine guy" was the lead singer of Tool, who doesn't do too many interviews - especially in person. So yeah, he was trying to sell wine, but it was a good interview and a rare chance to hear one of the station's biggest artists doing something other than sing.

 

[inthewolf]

WBCN will be no more as of 9:00AM.

 

[newsbot]

WBCN will be no more as of 9:00AM.

A little quick on the trigger, sport, but no doubt about it - WBCN as a rock station is toast. But worry not - it'll live on, zombie-like, in HD-2. Dave Hughes at DCRTV hears the same dog whistle...

 

[inthewolf]

turns out it was the press release that went out at 9, not the Grim Reaper.

http://www.universalhub.com/node/26380
http://twitter.com/reillyadam/status/2632458222

 

[rockcaptain]

Of the remaining alt/rock stations on the air who will benefit the most?

 

[radiofool89]

im still waiting for POWER 104 to come back!!!!!!!!

 

[Vaka]

i was sent this:

WBCN-FM, a/k/a the "Rock of Boston," has as storied a history as any Boston radio station. But come August, 'BCN will no longer be a part of Boston's radio landscape. As reported on Phoenix affiliate WFNX this morning. CBS, 'BCN's owner, is moving Mix 98.5 to 104.1, WBCN's frequency, and starting a new, all-sports station--apparently to be dubbed the Sports Hub, and to carry the call letters WBZ-FM--at Mix's spot on the dial. Word is that 'BCN's morning team of Toucher and Rich will do the Sports Hub's morning show when the change is implemented in mid-August, just in time for the Patriots' preseason. (WBCN will, apparently, survive as an Internet station. Any 'BCN listeners excited about that?)

This is good news for WFNX, which competes with WBCN for listeners craving alt-rock fare. But it's bad news--or at least depressing news--for Boston radio as a whole. In its earlier years, 'BCN was known, among other things, for unusually varied programming; for championing talented acts that were still in their infancy, but went on to become superstars; and for showcasing major talents like Charles Laquidara and "News Dissector" Danny Schecter. Of course, the cerebral stylings of Laquidera, Schecter et al. have long since yielded to (among other things) Howard Stern, the execrable Opie & Anthony, and Patriots play-by-play.

 

[jlehmann]

I wonder if Mix will be the same as it currently is once it moves to 104.1 though? My guess is no.

 

[PaulRAnderson]

Why wouldn't they leave WBMX alone at 98.5 and just switch WBCN to sports?

If true, it's very sad. If only WBCN had kept their original energy and format over the years. They lost their way and now can't get it back.

Can't wait to hear egotistical sports announcers and moronic callers talk about sports. On FM. About the only good thing about this is the return of the WBZ-FM call letters.

Paul

 

[HHH]

"Why wouldn't they leave WBMX alone at 98.5 and just switch WBCN to sports?"

I am guessing that 98.5 signal from the tall FM 128 tower is probably, generally superior to WBCN's Pru location as a regional service.
WBMX on 104.1 may be a better choice for Hot AC in-store and in-office listening in the city to penetrate the buildings.

Just guessing here.

 

[aaronread]

Why wouldn't they leave WBMX alone at 98.5 and just switch WBCN to sports?

Yeah, I'm a little perplexed by that, too.

I am guessing that 98.5 signal from the tall FM 128 tower is probably, generally superior to WBCN's Pru location as a regional service.
WBMX on 104.1 may be a better choice for Hot AC in-store and in-office listening in the city to penetrate the buildings.

A-ha! Good thinking! This makes sense if you assume 98.5 is going toe-to-toe with WEEI, since WEEI has very poor nighttime coverage in the lucrative Metrowest markets. Not that 104.1 has lousy coverage out there...the coverage is pretty good until you get into the co-channel hash from 104.1 in Hartford...but 98.5's Metrowest penetration is definitely the better of the two. Even so, the difference seems so minimal compared to the disruption of the formats...maybe that speaks to how weak the audiences for WBMX and WBCN have been?

Speaking of which, this is bad news for WEEI; they've enjoyed a death grip on sports-talk in Boston for years...and with the Sox games they'll continue to be a market-leader but this will no doubt take a sizeable bite out of their revenues. Not unlike what WTKK did to WRKO, I'd imagine. I'll bet this also bodes ill for WMKK, or even WAAF/WKAF, since if WEEI's booking slips far enough I have little doubt Entercom will start simulcasting 850AM on an FM outlet to compete. It's a logical move, albeit only if the booking slips quite a lot. WMKK bills well for a near-zero-cost operation, and WAAF has a chance to pick up a sizeable audience with WBCN out of the picture.

BTW...WBCN as an internet station?!?!? Why not at least an HD2 station? Not ideal, I know...but WXPN has made it work pretty well with Y100 down in Philly. And it's better than an internet-only station.

If only WBCN had kept their original energy and format over the years. They lost their way and now can't get it back.

I think WBCN's demise was more about them losing their Howard Stern and couldn't get that back. A lot of rock stations felt that pinch a lot harder than WBCN, after all. Although, come to think of it, doesn't Stern's contract with Sirius run out in 2010? I wouldn't be surprised if the contract they offer him for the next time is for a lot, lot less than he got the first time. So much less that he might even make more money back on terrestrial radio.

Of the remaining alt/rock stations on the air who will benefit the most?

Flip a coin. The three-way war between WFNX, WAAF/WKAF and WBCN benefitted nobody. I would say it benefits whoever's left to only have two stations fighting it out instead of three. (shrugs) If I had to pick, I'd say WAAF stands to benefit slightly more as, with WKAF, they've got the better signal. OTOH, traditionally WFNX has done a better job catering to the actual Boston market...especially the college kids. Hell, I don't know...just flip the damn coin.

 

[BRNout]

Aaron, I guess I pretty much agreed with you at the same time, up on the other thread. Sorry about the redundancy!

 

[Speaker of Truth]

The only mystery was why CBS waited this long to make this change..it was obvious that BCN was on life support once Stern left and O&A couldn't make AM Drive work..all you had to do was listen to 104.1s stop sets..

Toucher and Rich could be interesting..they'll have to talk about things other than how drunk they are all weekend and how being married sucks..although it will still be a more entertaining show than D and C most mornings anyway..

Stern IS NOT coming back to an FM signal near you..if Sirus XM dies or he doesn't like the terms on a new deal..Howard can always use his current website and sell subscriptions on his own, and live a nice life on his own terms..Rush Limbaugh would be the only other talent that could do the same if Clear Channel decides it can't afford him..

This is a good move all around..The Bruins are on the rise, and CBS could use its muscle to squeeze 'EEI regarding the Patriots..You could sign Jackie MacMullin to do radio, and if the Globe dies anytime soon, go after Bob Ryan to do radio as well..you could also grab Rome and put him on a strong FM signal..it also removes the Bruins from an AM signal that didn't want them, and gives them an opportunity to really ramp up revenue..

 

[pqgeorge]

Well, it was bound to happen. WBCN pretty much lost its' way over the years. When they started tinkering with what was a pretty well established Rock station and started adding talk elements and sports programming among other things over the past few years, the station eventually was a shell of its' former glory days. Who stands to gain of 'BCN's demise? I would say the WKAF/WAAF combo would be THE prime candidate. With their 97.7 repeater (WKAF) on Great Blue Hill in Canton, 'AAF has the signal now to be a real player in downtown Boston. However, their West Boylston transmiter site is a bit of a detriment to that potential success in the suburbs and the Worcester/Central Massachusetts area. If they were to go back to Asnebumskit (in Paxton) like WICN (90.5) is about to do, they would have all of the ingredients to have this all sewn up to be THE NEW Rock of Boston (and beyond!).

I don't know WHY CBS doesn't simply leave 98.5 alone with WBMX and clean the slate on 104.1 . This is going to screw people up. Don't laugh, people HATE "monkey wrenches" in their life. And many people (who are not totally media savvy) will get "lost" in a frequency and station "shuffle".

BTW: Do you realize that this will be the FIFTH "WBZ-FM" incarnation in Boston radio history..... namely.....

WBZ-FM (formerly W67B, circa 1941) 46.7 Mc/s
WBZ-FM 100.7 Mc/s (circa 1947)
WBZ-FM 92.9 Mc/s (circa 1950) license cancelled
WBZ-FM 106.7 Mc/s (1956) sold to Greater Media in 1981
WBZ-FM 98.5 MHz (2009) the CBS shuffle

the WBCN call-letters have been active in Boston since 1958, when T. Mitchell Hastings activated the former frequency of the now-defunct WILD-FM 104.1 Mc/s. Yes, there was another WILD-FM but that's for another time and place. The WBCN call-letters stood for "Boston Concert Network", interconnected to WNCN/New York, WHCN/Hartford, WXCN/Providence and I do believe that there was some lineage with WRCN/Riverhead, Long Island.

"What a long strange trip it's been......................"

 

[DavidZ]

Does anyone think that maybe "Mix 98.5" is NOT moving to 104.1? It was announced this way because CBS doean't want to let the cat out of the bag when they launch "Power 104" on the same day.