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WBCN vs. WAAF vs. WGIR

Y

yeah_so_what

Guest
So we are basically talking Infinity vs. Entercom vs. Cheap Channel...
My question is how do you win the war, let's play programmer...

Music Changes? Direction? Where are the holes? which demo to focus on...

Personalities... Expand? Pull Back... Which stations have the stronger hands?

Promotions... Who is tired and played out and who is fresh and new?

Signal... You get to improve the signal, how do you do it? Would you switch it with another in the cluster?

I'm just curious as to what the battle would be Rock/Alternative in the Boston Area... Inquiring minds want to know!
 
I speak of this as a listener who until recently lived in NH and, until also recently, listened to all 3 of those stations:
> My question is how do you win the war, let's play
> programmer...
>
> Music Changes? Direction?
WBCN recently turned into WAAF-Lite. They have made too many music changes in the last 10 years or so. Rock to ALT to Rock-Rap/Rock to whatever. Way too much. WAAF hasn't changed other than playing a lot more of older bands iin my opinion. WGIR is like the little brother following the admired older brother. They haven't changed music formats too much, but they seem to be trying to follow the lead. They do very little in my opinion to stand out by themselves. WGIR almost seems like WAAF/WBCN-North.

>Where are the holes? which demo to
> focus on...
WBCN has to maintian a format, period. Pick a direction and go. I stopped listening when WBCN went back to bands like The Cure, et. al., but when they went back and became WAAF-Lite, it seemed pointless to listen to them because I was already tuned into WAAF. WGIR (the last I listened) was trying to hold onto the 80s rock/metal crowd. They also did have their fair share of classic rock. May be worth it since people in the North looking for WAAF didn't have it due to WAAF's bad signal anywhere North of the Carribean. MY OPINION on the holes...well, WAAF has a staple of typical classic rock songs. Problem? Jimi, Ozzy, Sabbath, the Doors, etc. had a lot more than two hits. WAAF is playing the same 3 Pink Floyd songs that they did 5 years ago. The same 3 Sabbath, 3 Doors, etc etc. BOOOORINIG!!! The people that listen to yuor station KNOW Sabbath...ca you vary away from "Iron Man", "Planet Caravan" and "Paranoid" at least ONCE please? WGIR is the same BUT LAZIER!!! When theyhave their "three fer" day of the week, they only manage 2 cds. Example: They play a 3 for on AC/DC. They plug in "Back In Black", then go to "Let There be Rock"...let me GUESS where song #3 is coming from...would it be the same cd as "Back In Black"??? Could you possibly throw a listener a curve ball and burn a calorie putting in a third cd??? Powerage, Flick of the Switch, High Voltage, etc. BOOOORING!

> Personalities... Expand? Pull Back... Which stations have
> the stronger hands?

With so many changes at WBCN it is hard to say if they gain or lose. WAAF is painful and WGIR is even worse. Between the FAKEST morning show on WGIR, the AOR-filled and uninventful WAAF, THEN you car crash into DLR. Talk radio and classical music become exponentially appealing. Throughout the day, WGIR is so boringly vanilla. WAAF has SOME good personalities working totally the wrong shifts. WBCN has so many new people I haven't warmed up to them as of yet.

> Promotions... Who is tired and played out and who is fresh
> and new?
Morning Zoo...BORING...Hillman...OMG OLD TIRED LAME...DLR...Nuff said. WBCN with the most changes recently "appears" fresh but how long before another change? WGIR throughout the day has some of the most BORING personalities on rock radio.

>
> Signal... You get to improve the signal, how do you do it?
> Would you switch it with another in the cluster?
Too techie for me...I just want to hit the preset button or the on button on my XM

> I'm just curious as to what the battle would be
> Rock/Alternative in the Boston Area... Inquiring minds want
> to know!
>

IMO, in order for these stations to get me to listen more often, they need more variation. Ozzy has had how many albums??? PLAY MORE SONGS!!! John "Ozone" Osterland had me hooked into WAAF on this premise. Under him as MD, they did play their rotation of bands BUT they didn't play the same songs over and over and over! It's bad enough I had to sit and listen to 100 commercials an hour, but to hear "Crazy Train" for the 15th time that week. UGH!
 
> WBCN recently turned into WAAF-Lite.

Yup. But they still hold on to stuff cling to stuff like Blink that WAAF would never play. In addition, they pick and choose (very strangely) new music to add. They inexplicibly added the Killers midway through 2005 and only really picked up Franz Ferdinand in 2004 out of all the new bands that came out.

> WAAF hasn't
> changed other than playing a lot more of older bands iin my
> opinion. WGIR is like the little brother following the
> admired older brother.

> MY OPINION on the holes...well, WAAF has a staple of typical
> classic rock songs. Problem? Jimi, Ozzy, Sabbath, the
> Doors, etc. had a lot more than two hits. WAAF is playing
> the same 3 Pink Floyd songs that they did 5 years ago. The
> same 3 Sabbath, 3 Doors, etc etc. BOOOORINIG!!! The people
> that listen to yuor station KNOW Sabbath...ca you vary away
> from "Iron Man", "Planet Caravan" and "Paranoid" at least
> ONCE please? WGIR is the same BUT LAZIER!!! When theyhave
> their "three fer" day of the week, they only manage 2 cds.
> Example: They play a 3 for on AC/DC. They plug in "Back In
> Black", then go to "Let There be Rock"...let me GUESS where
> song #3 is coming from...would it be the same cd as "Back In
> Black"??? Could you possibly throw a listener a curve ball
> and burn a calorie putting in a third cd??? Powerage, Flick
> of the Switch, High Voltage, etc. BOOOORING!

Compared to BCN, their playlists for bands like ACDC and Pink Floyd are enormous. WGIR plays much more older stuff like Cream. AAF also adds stuff like Harder Faster. Death metal-esque type stuff you can't hear anywhere else. Personally, I'd rather hear Opeth than Pink Floyd.

> WGIR (the last I listened) was
> trying to hold onto the 80s rock/metal crowd. They also did
> have their fair share of classic rock. May be worth it
> since people in the North looking for WAAF didn't have it
> due to WAAF's bad signal anywhere North of the Carribean.

Second highest-rated station in Manchester and Concord markets, so I guess it works.


> > Personalities... Expand? Pull Back... Which stations have
> > the stronger hands?
>
> With so many changes at WBCN it is hard to say if they gain
> or lose. WAAF is painful and WGIR is even worse. Between
> the FAKEST morning show on WGIR, the AOR-filled and
> uninventful WAAF, THEN you car crash into DLR. Talk radio
> and classical music become exponentially appealing.
> Throughout the day, WGIR is so boringly vanilla. WAAF has
> SOME good personalities working totally the wrong shifts.
> WBCN has so many new people I haven't warmed up to them as
> of yet.

I think Adam 12 is far and away the best jock of the three stations. Afternoons were just as good on AAF until Neanderpol was gone. Mornings on all three suck. Don't hate on Big Jim-he's one of the better DJs.


WFNX (I know I'm sort of a fanboy) needs a bigger transmitter to reach more people. They have the best morning show (they play music, what a novel concept). While DLR drones on about nothing and Hillman plugs the 2027 Miss Mantown Calendar, Swasey and Henry are interviewing Peter Gammons. Julie Kramer is probably the longest tenured rock DJ in Boston at this point and is one of the best. Dakin and Driscoll are also very good. Also, NO CLASSIC ROCK.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by boondocksaint037 on 01/06/06 05:03 PM.</FONT></P>
 
>
> Yup. But they still hold on to stuff cling to stuff like
> Blink that WAAF would never play. In addition, they pick
> and choose (very strangely) new music to add. They
> inexplicibly added the Killers midway through 2005 and only
> really picked up Franz Ferdinand in 2004 out of all the new
> bands that came out.

They NEED to vary a bit or they'd be lambasted a WAAF full-out copy cat. It is also what is keeping WAAF under 2.0 and WBCN above 2.0


> Compared to BCN, their playlists for bands like ACDC and
> Pink Floyd are enormous. WGIR plays much more older stuff
> like Cream. AAF also adds stuff like Harder Faster. Death
> metal-esque type stuff you can't hear anywhere else.
> Personally, I'd rather hear Opeth than Pink Floyd.

Yes, but a lot of their harder stuff is left for Mike Hsu way late in the eve. Granted, I would like to hear more Opeth, Arch Enemy and the like, but I think that stuff could start earlier in the evening. WBCN used to have a metal show too. It is painful that they leave these shows until the wee hours of the morning or only on the weekends.


> Second highest-rated station in Manchester and Concord
> markets, so I guess it works.

That is like saying you came in second out of a race between three people. Just like television, NH radio doesn't have much to offer. maybe I was living too close in proximity to Boston, but NH radio outside of WGIR offered NOTHING for me to listen to. When there is no competition, it isn't hard to do well.

>
> I think Adam 12 is far and away the best jock of the three
> stations. Afternoons were just as good on AAF until
> Neanderpol was gone. Mornings on all three suck. Don't
> hate on Big Jim-he's one of the better DJs.
>

Adam12 is decent, but I enjoyed Nik. WAAF lsot me after they let O&A go in a "please don't hurt me" move. But WAAF's lackluster rotation and selection lost me long before the talent bored me to pieces. Get Carrie back on 7-11 and get osterland back too. I don't trash Big Jim himself, but if you can't come up with something better than "The Morning Zoo" then you need to surround yourself with a better team. Fake laughs, fake opposing stances and lame talk subjects get me to turn to another station and stay there.

> WFNX (I know I'm sort of a fanboy) needs a bigger
> transmitter to reach more people. They have the best
> morning show (they play music, what a novel concept). While
> DLR drones on about nothing and Hillman plugs the 2027 Miss
> Mantown Calendar, Swasey and Henry are interviewing Peter
> Gammons. Julie Kramer is probably the longest tenured rock
> DJ in Boston at this point and is one of the best. Dakin
> and Driscoll are also very good. Also, NO CLASSIC ROCK.
>

I listen to Peter Gammons when he gets interviewed on WEEI. Not to mention Peter King's interviews are also awesome.
 
WGIR-101.1 is in Manchesteser, New Hampshire, and has a signal that can only be picked-up in Boston (and suburbs to the immediate south of the city) with a high-quality FM radio.

South of a line from Gloucester to Lexington to Leominster, WGIR's signal isn't strong enough to be picked-up on most FM radio. For most living south of that line (except with high-quality FM radios), WGIR isn't an option.
 
> I listen to Peter Gammons when he gets interviewed on WEEI.
> Not to mention Peter King's interviews are also awesome.


Of course, but my point is not that they're the only station to do it. I'm talking about the 4 morning shows. Also, it's nice to hear an educated discussion of Hot Stove Cool Music, since FNX knows about Kay Hanley and Bill Janovitz. I doubt the Big Show knows anything about Buffalo Tom.

And yes, Greg and the Morning Buzz is awful.
 
> > I listen to Peter Gammons when he gets interviewed on
> WEEI.
> > Not to mention Peter King's interviews are also awesome.
>
>
> Of course, but my point is not that they're the only station
> to do it. I'm talking about the 4 morning shows. Also,
> it's nice to hear an educated discussion of Hot Stove Cool
> Music, since FNX knows about Kay Hanley and Bill Janovitz.
> I doubt the Big Show knows anything about Buffalo Tom.
>
> And yes, Greg and the Morning Buzz is awful.
>
Dude say what you will about Greg and the morning buzz but they've got 40 shares in NH, true they're on two sticks and essentially the only local ganme in town but that is something to reckon with a 40 share with men 18 plus, who knew such numbbers were possible.

Also Gammons is always, always a grat guests and he is to be applauded for hot stove efforts.
 
> > I listen to Peter Gammons when he gets interviewed on
> WEEI.
> > Not to mention Peter King's interviews are also awesome.
>
>
> Of course, but my point is not that they're the only station
> to do it. I'm talking about the 4 morning shows. Also,
> it's nice to hear an educated discussion of Hot Stove Cool
> Music, since FNX knows about Kay Hanley and Bill Janovitz.
> I doubt the Big Show knows anything about Buffalo Tom.
>
> And yes, Greg and the Morning Buzz is awful.
>


AAF's playlist has gotten soft. That with the stale talent has helped them to lose their gimmick. Anyone else think Mike Hsu could do a good job in afternoon drive?
 
> > > I listen to Peter Gammons when he gets interviewed on
> > WEEI.
> > > Not to mention Peter King's interviews are also awesome.
>
> >
> >
> > Of course, but my point is not that they're the only
> station
> > to do it. I'm talking about the 4 morning shows. Also,
> > it's nice to hear an educated discussion of Hot Stove Cool
>
> > Music, since FNX knows about Kay Hanley and Bill Janovitz.
>
> > I doubt the Big Show knows anything about Buffalo Tom.
> >
> > And yes, Greg and the Morning Buzz is awful.
> >
>
>
> AAF's playlist has gotten soft. That with the stale talent
> has helped them to lose their gimmick. Anyone else think
> Mike Hsu could do a good job in afternoon drive?
>


I have always been a Mike Hsu fan. I'd rather stick him midday and drop Carrie back to nights. She is so more condusive to that shift
 
> AAF's playlist has gotten soft. That with the stale talent
> has helped them to lose their gimmick. Anyone else think
> Mike Hsu could do a good job in afternoon drive?
>

Mike Hsu is a VERY good talent. He knows the music better than almost everyone I know.

I like Mike.

Even if he is a rampant Trekkie!
 
> Dude say what you will about Greg and the morning buzz but
> they've got 40 shares in NH, true they're on two sticks and
> essentially the only local ganme in town but that is
> something to reckon with a 40 share with men 18 plus, who
> knew such numbbers were possible.

Aren't they on 3 stations? WHEB, WGIR & one in Lebanon?
 
> > I listen to Peter Gammons when he gets interviewed on
> WEEI.
> > Not to mention Peter King's interviews are also awesome.
>
>
> Of course, but my point is not that they're the only station
> to do it. I'm talking about the 4 morning shows. Also,
> it's nice to hear an educated discussion of Hot Stove Cool
> Music, since FNX knows about Kay Hanley and Bill Janovitz.
> I doubt the Big Show knows anything about Buffalo Tom.
>
> And yes, Greg and the Morning Buzz is awful.
>

Am I the only one that thinks that the Morning Buzz is BY FAR the best morning show on Rock Radio in New England?

Come on now - they at least make me laugh - which is by far more than what DLR, Hillman, Paul and Al, K&M on ZLX, do. . .

Roach
 
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