WBZ Transmitter Down Again

[Tilden]

I have not sold time with a coverage map since the 70's, and, generally, the map was a decoration for the sales package.

Advertisers want to know if anyone is listening. Most could care less about listenership outside the immediate market area.

BUT when the " market area" cannot be heard there is a problem whether or not you wish to acknowledge it. If you are in the market area and it sounds like you are picking up a station in Maine are listeners going to turn off the station. Yes, they are.

 

[davideduardo]

BUT when the " market area" cannot be heard there is a problem whether or not you wish to acknowledge it. If you are in the market area and it sounds like you are picking up a station in Maine are listeners going to turn off the station. Yes, they are.

The market area is the Boston MSA, not Cape Cod, not Providence, not Springfield or Portsmouth.

You know that going to about 1/4 power only reduces coverage by 50%, correct? WBZ more than adequately covers the market (except maybe the far western part of Worcester County (where the population does not live) with the reduced power.

 

[Tilden]

The market area is the Boston MSA, not Cape Cod, not Providence, not Springfield or Portsmouth.

You know that going to about 1/4 power only reduces coverage by 50%, correct? WBZ more than adequately covers the market (except maybe the far western part of Worcester County (where the population does not live) with the reduced power.

At that point WBZ is just broadcasting static close to white noise.

 

[aerie]

Just an observation. When WKOX was 10 kW daytime from Framingham, they'd be loud and clear here in Andover. But WBZ at 10 kW from Allston is full of static. Both distances are very close (30 miles)

 

[nowradioguy]

Just an observation. When WKOX was 10 kW daytime from Framingham, they'd be loud and clear here in Andover. But WBZ at 10 kW from Allston is full of static. Both distances are very close (30 miles)

I beg to differ.

Even with AM 1200 broadcasting at 50 KW, they are still accompanied by background hiss - and it's not IBOC - here in Andover, just inside I-495.

WBZ at 10 KW is quite noisy here. I could clearly discern the switch from full power to "maintenance mode" this past Saturday and Sunday circa 8:25 AM.

As air time on 'BZ cannot be inexpensive, then when their reach is curtailed, I suspect a sponsor can't get that premium service to match the price he paid.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Next time, why not call and ask to speak to the Chief Engineer?

Someone on the Boston Radio remailer finally did. The towers are being prepared for painting, and that prep is going to take some time, considering that both towers are around 500 feet tall.

 

[Tilden]

Why won't WBZ Radio tell their listeners on air of the ongoing work on the towers which require them to low power?
What do they think they are hiding?

 

[frankberry]

Why won't WBZ Radio tell their listeners on air of the ongoing work on the towers which require them to low power?
What do they think they are hiding?

What a silly post. They would announce it if enough people have complained. Their 10kW signal from their alternate transmitter site covers the market just fine.

 

[Tilden]

What a silly post. They would announce it if enough people have complained. Their 10kW signal from their alternate transmitter site covers the market just fine.

Excuse me Frank no need for the personal insults. All I am saying is when the most powerful AM station in the region sound like a low power day-timer for a prolonged time that is a news item and WBZ AM 1030 is a NEWS STATION. Are you saying the fact that it affects them somehow no longer makes it news? I guess The Boston Globe does the same thing. When they screw up or they become a news item they hide under a rock or at best bury a correction on the Obituary page. This is clearly a management decision not acknowledge or to announce WBZ AM 1030 is not broadcasting in most day parts at full power. Most likely stems from the fact that most media management people come out of the sales department. They can sell " air " but haven't much of clue about programming. They can sell Bufferin and Budweiser but truth is not always on their agenda.

 

[frankberry]

I can tell you from personal experience. NO station will announce that it's operating at reduced power unless the station receives tons of complaints.
I did not intend to insult you. My response was based on this: "What do they think they are hiding?" What would they be hiding?

 

[wavo]

Why won't WBZ Radio tell their listeners on air of the ongoing work on the towers which require them to low power?
What do they think they are hiding?

What do YOU think they are "hiding?"

 

[wavo]

Just took a look at the fresh Nielsen ratings for Boston...WBZ AM shows the same 6+ ratings as last month. Last month's rating was higher than the month before. That seems to indicate that people with PPM meters are still listening and that the backup facility provides adequate coverage.

 

[frankberry]

There is no earthly reason for WBZ to announce, perhaps every fifteen minutes, that they are operating at reduced power.
It's a matter of perception. A listener who wouldn't otherwise notice the difference might get the impression that WBZ has an inferior signal to other stations.
By making such an announcement, it would open the door for other Boston AM stations to talk about the WBZ "inferior signal."

 

[Wimmmex]

...WBZ AM shows the same 6+ ratings as last month. Last month's rating was higher than the month before. That seems to indicate that people with PPM meters are still listening and that the backup facility provides adequate coverage.

How long has the backup transmitter / tower maintenance issue been a factor? I was under the impression this was in the last few weeks...which wouldn't be part of the last 2 rating periods...

 

[frankberry]

How long has the backup transmitter / tower maintenance issue been a factor? I was under the impression this was in the last few weeks...which wouldn't be part of the last 2 rating periods...

Initially February, 2015 and regularly since mid July, 2016.

 

[Tilden]

I am sure you didn't intend that. No apology needed. Sadly, you are probably right that a station would not announce that they were broadcasting in a lower frequency but an explanation shouldn't hurt their credibility but only enhance it. Sort of, ' Thank you for your cooperation. We a building a better station for all our listeners.' That would be positive PR. ;-)

 

[davideduardo]

I can tell you from personal experience. NO station will announce that it's operating at reduced power unless the station receives tons of complaints.

I was at a station that suffered a tower collapse and operated with a quickly erected longwire for several months. The signal sucked. The ratings, in fact, increased due to the programming improvements we had been making.

The people who could not hear us would not benefit from an on-air announcement. The ones that could were not in need of a message that obviously did not impact them.

 

[davideduardo]

I am sure you didn't intend that. No apology needed. Sadly, you are probably right that a station would not announce that they were broadcasting in a lower frequency but an explanation shouldn't hurt their credibility but only enhance it. Sort of, ' Thank you for your cooperation. We a building a better station for all our listeners.' That would be positive PR. ;-)

But they are not "building a better station" because tower maintenance does not improve programming or give any benefit to the average listener.

WBZ is not broadcasting "in a lower frequency". They are still on 1030 kHz as licensed.

 

[Tilden]

Will call The Boston Globe tomorrow to see if they will investigate WBZ Radio signal problems. Impossible listen to all day and all night with no explanation.
Maybe The Boston Globe can get ' the story behind the story'.

 

[davideduardo]

Will call The Boston Globe tomorrow to see if they will investigate WBZ Radio signal problems. Impossible listen to all day and all night with no explanation.
Maybe The Boston Globe can get ' the story behind the story'.

Tower maintenance is no story at all. Stations do it all the time.

On higher power AM stations it is usual to either go off the air or to use only one tower of a directional system at low power to comply with current OSHA regulations regarding RF exposure.

Of course, WBZ has the luxury that very few AMs have of having a second fully functional transmitter site. Very, very few AM stations have such a site due to the major costs.

"Back in the day" stations would remain at higher power levels during maintenance, and riggers would jump onto "hot" towers to re-lamp, paint or do other maintenance. Newer regulations will not allow that.

Apparently the WBZ towers are old and have many coats of paint with deterioration beneath all the paint. So it is time to scrape down to the metal, restore/replace and then repaint. This is very time consuming.

But there is absolutely no story here.

But I can see the headline, "Radio station complies with Federal regulations while painting towers". Exciting Pulitzer material!