This will probably start a firestorm of negativity, but I can't for the life of me understand why CBS hasn't put WBZ 1030 on FM. 103.3 would be the perfect spot on the dial. My car radio stays on FM pretty much all the time, except for when I want to listen to the news, weather and traffic; then I switch over to AM. So it just makes sense WBZ should be on FM. Not to mention a very strong FM signal and much more listenable audio, particularly when there's electrical interference. There are several places I regularly drive where I only get a loud buzzing on AM for several miles, and lightning storms are often a problem too. I've mentioned this to various radio friends and all I ever get in return is that WBZ is an historic AM station that covers 37 states at night, so don't mess with it. But so what; this isn't 1920 anymore and I think the premiere radio news outlet in New England is wasted on a technically inferior medium.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
WBZ SHOULD MOVE TO FM
- Thread starter cheapman
- Start date
Here's the thing: Why would CBS prematurely cannibalize one of their FM's for a station that's doing just fine on AM? You said it yourself, when you want news weather and traffic in Boston, you HAVE to go to AM. There's no competition, WBZ has the best AM signal in MA, there's just no reason right now to do a simulcast on FM.
When a company looks at simulcasting, it has to consider whether airing the one format on two stations can bring in more money than airing two different formats.
My guess is that adding FM to WBZ (AM) would not increase revenues enough to replace the lost revenue from blowing up 103.3, 104.1, and definitely not 100.7.
When a company looks at simulcasting, it has to consider whether airing the one format on two stations can bring in more money than airing two different formats.
My guess is that adding FM to WBZ (AM) would not increase revenues enough to replace the lost revenue from blowing up 103.3, 104.1, and definitely not 100.7.
For better audio on BZ-AM ,CBS should get rid of IBOC. They would have cleaner audio. Maybe other commenators can say if dropping IBOC improves BZ coverage. BZ will simulcast on FM if they see their 12+ numbers drop. Maybe in 5 years BZ as well as RKO will have to be on FM as the AM band fades
I listen to BZ now for 10-15 mins at a clip to get traffic/weather info. Sorry JIBGUY,but AM makes it hard to listen to your music programming for any long period of time. They dont make car or home AM receivers like they did 20-30 years ago.
I listen to BZ now for 10-15 mins at a clip to get traffic/weather info. Sorry JIBGUY,but AM makes it hard to listen to your music programming for any long period of time. They dont make car or home AM receivers like they did 20-30 years ago.
WBZ should be "ALL news ALL the time". I don't get why they have nightside and of course, those lousy infomercials on the weekends.
Seriously, people do need traffic at 7pm on a Saturday sometimes. Why not model the station after 880?
There are already three full time talk stations in the market, but no full time news station.
Seriously, people do need traffic at 7pm on a Saturday sometimes. Why not model the station after 880?
There are already three full time talk stations in the market, but no full time news station.
I'll agree with you on the infomercials - they need to go. Weekends are a bigger radio listening time than given credit for.
As for 24 hours of news - what will regularly happen overnight to make it worthwhile? Anything important the evening/overnight talk hosts will report on. They have a demonstrated history of breaking anything big overnight (examples: Whitey arrest; various big fires and accidents, etc.) using the talk host then bringing in reporters if necessary to expand coverage. They have it nailed already. I'm thankful they have kept the live/local part of it - most markets don't have that (even some bigger than Boston).
Also WBZ sounds great in HD. Inside the 495 belt it is rock solid and sounds good. Depending on the direction it is good beyond the 495 belt (example - up into Manchester NH). Yes, I thought they sounded excellent in C-Quam and it had the advantage of working throughout their skywave coverage area but since it doensn't appear to be making a comeback I'll enjoy the HD.
As for 24 hours of news - what will regularly happen overnight to make it worthwhile? Anything important the evening/overnight talk hosts will report on. They have a demonstrated history of breaking anything big overnight (examples: Whitey arrest; various big fires and accidents, etc.) using the talk host then bringing in reporters if necessary to expand coverage. They have it nailed already. I'm thankful they have kept the live/local part of it - most markets don't have that (even some bigger than Boston).
Also WBZ sounds great in HD. Inside the 495 belt it is rock solid and sounds good. Depending on the direction it is good beyond the 495 belt (example - up into Manchester NH). Yes, I thought they sounded excellent in C-Quam and it had the advantage of working throughout their skywave coverage area but since it doensn't appear to be making a comeback I'll enjoy the HD.
The 1030AM signal covers the market better than pretty much any of the available FM signals. The only one that might...MIGHT...be better is WGBH which A: is not for sale and never will be, and B: is non-commercial and therefore of limited use to WBZ.
The "covers 36 states" thing is almost meaningless. What DOES matter is that it covers all the areas that any Bostonian would work in, live in, vacation in, or drive through on the way to any of those three. Plus it's a pretty damn good signal even in places where most of the other Boston-area AM signals aren't. There are definitely perks to having a clear channeled/Class A frequency...toss in that near-perfect location in Hull with all the salt water, and the directional array that shoves nearly 100kW right at Boston, and you've got a killer signal.
Now, there IS some truth to the idea that AM, as a medium, is suffering from lack of relevance. WBZ is a lot more immune to that than most stations by virtue of that blowtorch of a signal. But it's not COMPLETELY immune. That's very true.
However, what FM would you propose CBS "blow up" to simulcast 1030? You can't put it on anything but a full Class B FM at least, lest your FM have weaker coverage than your AM signal! That limits it to 98.5, 100.7, 103.3 and 104.1. AFAIK, none of those stations are doing so poorly that you'd see better ROI on a simulcast. And I'm pretty sure 98.5 and 104.1 are doing much, much better than that low threshold. 100.7 I just don't know one way or the other, and 103.3 they just flipped to a new format so it's too soon to make a judgment. But either way, you've got to be a little desperate (if not a lot desperate) to sacrifice an FM signal for an AM simulcast. I seriously doubt CBS is at that point just yet.
The "covers 36 states" thing is almost meaningless. What DOES matter is that it covers all the areas that any Bostonian would work in, live in, vacation in, or drive through on the way to any of those three. Plus it's a pretty damn good signal even in places where most of the other Boston-area AM signals aren't. There are definitely perks to having a clear channeled/Class A frequency...toss in that near-perfect location in Hull with all the salt water, and the directional array that shoves nearly 100kW right at Boston, and you've got a killer signal.
Now, there IS some truth to the idea that AM, as a medium, is suffering from lack of relevance. WBZ is a lot more immune to that than most stations by virtue of that blowtorch of a signal. But it's not COMPLETELY immune. That's very true.
However, what FM would you propose CBS "blow up" to simulcast 1030? You can't put it on anything but a full Class B FM at least, lest your FM have weaker coverage than your AM signal! That limits it to 98.5, 100.7, 103.3 and 104.1. AFAIK, none of those stations are doing so poorly that you'd see better ROI on a simulcast. And I'm pretty sure 98.5 and 104.1 are doing much, much better than that low threshold. 100.7 I just don't know one way or the other, and 103.3 they just flipped to a new format so it's too soon to make a judgment. But either way, you've got to be a little desperate (if not a lot desperate) to sacrifice an FM signal for an AM simulcast. I seriously doubt CBS is at that point just yet.
WBZ needs to move to FM for a very good reason - access to a younger audience. Like it or not, most people under 40 don't listen to AM radio any more. Yes there are exceptions, but that remains the fact. In other markets where news and news/talk stations have moved from flamethrower AM signals to FM in each and every case their ratings went up quite a bit.
I don't think WBZ-1030 will ever move to FM, but I think it's possible that at some future date, it could be simulcast on FM while retaining it's big AM signal.
Joseph_Gallant said:
It already does, on 98.5 WBZ-FM HD3.
btw once I recorded a bit of WBZ AM--Leveille show--off their site and it sounded great. Theme in stereo etc--prob same quality or close to it on WBZ FM HD 3
raccoonradio said:
The WBZ-FM HD3 signal is mono. To hear WBZ (AM) in stereo on the radio, you have to listen to it in AM HD on 1030.
Now that "WBCN Free Form Rock" became the Boston areas first stereo on-air HD3 channel a couple of weeks ago, maybe some of the other HD3's might eventually follow suit.
A ratings increase isn't enough. It needs to be a monster ratings increase to be justifiable.
WZLX and WBZ-FM do very well among men, as does WBZ. The stations owned in a cluster are not islands.
WZLX and WBZ-FM do very well among men, as does WBZ. The stations owned in a cluster are not islands.
Well the stream of WBZ on their site must be from the AM hd then
ah, thanks! as is case with WMWM my own station whether comp is in manual or auto mode
But again, what FM are you gonna blow up to do that?
CBS doesn't dare simply *move* WBZ from AM to FM...they must simulcast for at least a year to assess any potential signal issues with people used to 1030's reception patterns. So they have to cut themselves off from all the revenue a separate FM signal would provide. I *highly* doubt that there'd be a big enough ratings bump to improve revenue to the point where it'd be more profitable to do a simulcast than to keep things as-is.
As for building a younger audience? That's next year. In commercial radio, you worry about next year after you worry about next month's sales quota. ;D
BTW, the HD Radio system inherently bandwidth-limits AM's to a little over 5kHz. There's no way it was out to 8kHz if the carriers were on; you'd hear a roar of white noise.
More people would hear it if you keyed up a mic on CB channel 19 than on the HD3. Other than the station engineering staff and some radio geeks, nobody has an HD radio. Why do you think HD's can be off for days without anyone complaining?
CBS doesn't have a low performing FM to move WBZ-AM to. Same deal in NYC. Luckily, they didn't jump the gun and react when "FM News" went on in NYC on 101.9. That didn't get past a .6, and CBS' two all news stations suffered no audience loss from it. All the FM's in NYC are doing well, just like Boston.
The moment to do it would have been to switch 103.3 and that didn't happen, so I wouldn't hold my breath.
- Status