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WCRB To Be "Country" by August

C

Casablance

Guest
:mad:Word from inside WCRB is that it will be "Country" by August. A sad move by "Greater Mediocrity."One can expect the Symphony Hall will be turned into a Hard Rock Cafe by November.
 
Sad, truly sad....then there won't be any good classical signals in Boston.I'd think they could really turn good sales numbers from the more affluent Demo they hit if they had a full sales & promotions dept a company like Greater Media would provide.
 
...and just the other day one of the papers (Globe, Herald, I forget which one) said that even though classical at 102.5 was doomed they were still going ahead with some kind of classical music fest next month or so.I'd expect GM to roll out some kind of on-air and print campaign explaining the "better signal" in advance ofthe move. Would classical move to 99.5 temporarily, or are the wheels moving to sell them off by then? (Fromwhat I've heard, there can't be some kind of waiver where GM would hold on to 99.5 until a buyer could be found--they simply can only have 5 FM signals...so I'm guessing a new owner would be ready to debut whatever they plan to run at 99.5 when the switch is made.Not into classical, and into country a little bit; will say it's a shame that niche format is gone. And where I work,while 102.5 does come in, 99.5 is stronger (I work in N. Reading and the 99.5 stick is in Andover)
 
Blackrock said:
Laura Carlo playing country.....I don't think so.
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Probably not, but she may end up elsewhere in Greater Media's cluster. She mentioned in a newspaper article about WCRB's classical demise a few months ago that she also enjoys certain Classic Hits and AC/Soft-Rock artists. I wonder if we'll hear her on WROR or WMJX at some point?I'm guessing that the airstaff from WKLB 99.5 will most likely be shifted to 102.5. Greater Media has to unload a station in order to own WCRB, and moving Country to 102.5 helps confirm the rumor that 99.5 will most likely be the one they'll spin off.
 
racconradio said:
Wonder if they'll keep those heritage calls? WCRB Country-Radio-Boston
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Remember when WCLB changed its calls to WKLB? The reason given was that listeners were confusing WCRB and WCLB in their Arbitron diaries.
 
I believe WCVB and WCAV were also said to confuse listeners.I'd doubt that the calls would remain; to be honest, Boston doesn't really seem like a market that heritage calls work in. Would anyone shed a tear if WBOS changed calls tomorrow? How many incarnations of WMEX have there been? As country listeners calling in usually identify their station to be "99.5 WKLB" or just "WKLB", it wouldn't make much sense to change the well-known brand.Lastly, according to a Billboard Radio Monitor article from May 5 (which is at http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/news/format/talk/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002463506:"... Greater Media's intended acquisition of Charles River Broadcasting’s classical WCRB appears to be on course. Exclusive negotiations between the two sides have been extended to June 1. "If that's the case, perhaps there will be some news on Thursday?
 
>>What a sacrilege that would be !But it still could happen. WKLB was a by-product of WCLB (had to change calls to avoid confusion with'CRB, 'CVB-TV etc.) but it was part of their marketing as "The Country Club". Not even sure if they callthemselves that anymore. But with WCRB they could say it stands for Country-Radio-Boston
 
Is there reason to why Z100 (NYC) hasn't become 100.3 Kiss FM? Or WXKS-FM adopt the blue ball logo? It's because they have built a strong presence in their respective markets with their existing images. Same works for WKLB. Every country listener in the area already knows that the country station in Boston is WKLB, and they're pulling respectable numbers with that image, so why change it (other than to a more powerful frequency)? If WCRB were heritage country calls (like a W4 in Detroit or WHN in New York), it would be a different story. But the WCRB calls don't even represent a station that WKLB listeners potentially listened to growing up, like a WROR or KZZP.It's not to say that WCRB is a meaningless set of call letters in the Boston market, but they represent a station with a rich legacy in classical music. It would be like GM keeping the WQRS call letters on the long-departed "105.1 The Edge" that replaced it. Putting them to use on another format, especially retrofitting them to a station that already exists, wouldn't make much sense.In conclusion, WCRB means nothing to country listeners, heritage means nothing to Greater Media, and I'm expecting to hear WKLB Waltham/Boston in the not too distant future.(and just as an aside, WKLB hasn't used "The Country Club" since before they moved to 96.9)
 
ah OK; good points. Yes, the WKLB "brand" could easily just translate itself to a new frequency. Though many people remember the format-and-frequency slogan of "Country 99.5" (to be "Country 102.5"), more than they might think of the actual call letters. but who knows.>>In conclusion, WCRB means nothing to country listeners, heritage means nothing to Greater Media, and I'm expecting to hear WKLB Waltham/Boston in the not too distant future.
 
racconradio said:
Though many people remember the format-and-frequency slogan of "Country 99.5" (to be "Country 102.5"), more than they might think of the actual call letters. but who knows.
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I've actually been listening to WKLB a lot lately, and you'd be surprised at the responses to the "What is Boston's ten-in-a-row country station?" Some callers just say "99.5", but most say "WKLB". Only a few have said the station's official naming, "Country 99.5".
 
NO WCRB website available. (was Re: WCRB To Be "Country" by August)

If there is any indication that WCRB is on its' waining days, just check out the http://wcrb.com website and you'll find it does not exist anymore. It has been missing for over a week! I'll betcha', the switch might be sooner than you think.Let's see........
 
Looking at the site for a minute, it appears that http://wcrb.com directs to the server that housed the old WCRB page and still houses the WFCC and WCRI webpages. Using www brings you to the current site.Nothing to be alarmed about.
 
New to the board so here goes... With 99.5 soon to be going by the wayside, and GM at it's max number of FM's to own in the city, who can we expect to come in and scoop up the frequency? Perhaps Entercom or Clear Channel? They can still own in the city right? Or maybe Nassau will come down from NH and pick up a big market signal? Thoughts? Thanks!
 
Entercom, Clear Channel, CBS Radio, and Marlin were the other bidders for 102.5. I'd wager that one of these groups is wagering with Greater Media to get 99.5. Some other companies out there that have been expanding lately include Univision (but with a corporate sale pending, a deal in the near future seems unlikely), Salem (but would anyone listen to 99.5 The Fish?), and Bustos. Another company is Bonneville, but would they enter the Boston market for one station that's basically a 'handyman's special'? Probably not.
 
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