WFNX being sold to Clear Channel

[raccoonradio]

>>You're going to see FM talk.

Again some people are poo-poohing that idea but who knows? And when it was said, "Yeah,
101.7 would be Sp. talk" I pointed out why not 101.7 conservative talk with the 1200 going
Spanish? "Oh the signal isn't all that good." It's "OK", I would reply (using "quotation fingers"
here). Half decent, and on FM.

Who knows! Anyone looking to see if 1017fmtalk got registered by CC? Talk1017? (I just checked, nothing yet)

 

[brlmedia]

so with the station not changing formats probably until the last events and the sale closes, what are we looking at? end of june, early july before anything might happen??


hoping the staffers who lost their jobs today can find work, unbelievable..

 

[aaronread]

WZBC, WMBR, WMFO may gain listensers in town.

Wouldn't the biggest winner be WERS? Their weekday programming is kind of a triple-A/alt mix, yes?

WZBC/WMBR will not benefit much from this. Their music selection and presentation style is so different from WFNX that they might as well be playing polka music. Actually, on some shows, they probably ARE playing polka music. It's not gonna draw in disaffected modern alt-rock fans of FNX.

WMFO, WBRS, WRBB, WMWM and the plethora of other "small" college radio stations also won't benefit for the same reason, and because their signals are too small to effectively reach out to all of FNX's audience.

WERS could conceivably benefit from FNX's demise, but not really. FNX was straight alt-rock. ERS is Triple A, a much broader format and contains a lot of music that FNX fans probably won't want to listen to. From all accounts, WERS is pretty happy with how they are and I don't see them radically changing things to try and get FNX listeners. Why should they? Obviously the FNX format is not lucrative enough to justify it anymore. Granted WERS is not quite as concerned about getting in sponsorship dollars but make no mistake, they DO care about how much underwriting revenue they bring in. I think it'd be a big risk to throw away what they have to try and get what's potentially a dying format.

Plus they pull some pretty good numbers for a non-comm with a signal almost identical to WFNX (both stations broadcast from the same location).

Actually WERS's signal is much, much better than WFNX's. Besides being a full Class B1 compared to FNX's short-spaced & directional Class A, WFNX has to deal with a strong first adjacent in WWBB from Providence that wipes out most of their southern-Boston coverage. Plus WERS has two translators (Cape Ann and New Bedford) for whatever that's worth.

 

[CTListener]

>>You're going to see FM talk.

Again some people are poo-poohing that idea but who knows?

All the musical formats that advertisers have the hots for these days (Rhythmic CHR, Hip-hop, AC, Hot AC, Contemporary Country, Classic Hits) are already here, so why not talk? Seems more likely than gambling on competing with an existing powerhouse -- can't see any possibility of that by CC, esp. with a dinky signal like 101.7's -- or trying something like Urban AC, Smooth Jazz or Classic Country, which the research and demographics say aren't even worth the attempt.

 

[carmen]

great to hear about this - i'd tuned past 101.7 going between 101.3 and 102.1 thousands of times and not once heard something worht stopping for... Spanish would be a novelty on the FM dial, except that 3 hour slot on choice.

 

[raccoonradio]

It may be the 1200 they already have, just shifted to FM or poss Sp. talk

Re: the station in NH BAMlog posted on Phoenix Phlog:"The 92.1 New Hampshire relay has been up for sale at least a couple years now, separate from 101.7, asking price $1M per online broker listings. If not part of the CC deal, then it will likely go silent until a buyer is found."

There is a Spanish on fm, out of Lawrence
http://www.power800am.com

 

[carmen]

they might as well be playing polka music

there is a good Polka show already on 1600 out of brookline, and 1530 out of taunton i believe. theres a station in buffalo on 1300 which supposedyl plays polka 24/7 although i've not made attempts to receive it. usualy just play the 78"s all the grandparents decided theyd give to me (maybe nobody else would take them?)

 

[radiorama1]

Rock N Roll will never die.

 

[fybush]

Yet another rubber-stamping by the FCC.

And on what grounds would the deal be stopped?

The FCC doesn't concern itself with formats, and hasn't since 1974.

Mindich is a licensee in good standing, a willing seller selling to a willing buyer.

With 2 FMs and 2 AMs, CC is far below the Boston market cap and far below the revenue level at which Justice would get interested in the deal.

You may not like the deal, but there's nothing about it that appears to raise any sort of regulatory issue.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

And on what grounds would the deal be stopped?

"Diversity of voices."

 

[Jimmy128]

Good thing that there's diversity for radio on the web, now that we're about to become Dayton, Ohio.

 

[fmradio1]

Actually, the Worcester market is embedded into the Boston ADI, so WSRS and WTAG count toward the market caps. They own 3FMs and 3AMs and will add the 4th FM to the stable.

With 2 FMs and 2 AMs, CC is far below the Boston market cap and far below the revenue level at which Justice would get interested in the deal.

 

[necrat123]

Actually, the Worcester market is embedded into the Boston ADI,

No, it's not. Go to page 7. There are no footnotes regarding Worcester being embedded.

http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/redbook_fa11.pdf

 

[fybush]

And on what grounds would the deal be stopped?

"Diversity of voices."

1996 happened. Again, you may not like CC and you may not think this deal is good for the overall diversity and vitality of radio in Boston (and you're not alone!), but CC is legally allowed to own up to five FMs in Boston, and this only makes three for them (four if WSRS is included).

Presuming you live within the WFNX coverage area, you'd have standing to file an objection to the sale. Go ahead and give it a try and see where it leads you.

 

[reelyreal]

Actually, the Worcester market is embedded into the Boston ADI,

ADI is a TV term, and has nothing to do with radio ratings. Arbitron uses MSA's, Metro Survey Areas. The Boston MSA and the Worcester MSA are separate.

 

[newsbot]

Adam 12 tweeted that his last show will be tomorrow from 2p-7p.

 

[fmradio1]

Looking at the Arbitron Metro Map...what a joke. There are areas WEST of Worcester which border the SPRINGFIELD market that are part of the Boston MSA! They probably can't get most Boston stations at all! Yet, Worcester (or at least southern Worcester County) is a separate "market." Arbitron must have set up these ridiculous parameters to appease CC (a BIG client) so that WTAG and WSRS wouldn't count toward the Boston market caps, as the FCC uses Arbitron's definitions. Stupid!

 

[DanStrassberg]

Looking at the Arbitron Metro Map...what a joke. There are areas WEST of Worcester which border the SPRINGFIELD market that are part of the Boston MSA! They probably can't get most Boston stations at all! Yet, Worcester (or at least southern Worcester County) is a separate "market." Arbitron must have set up these ridiculous parameters to appease CC (a BIG client) so that WTAG and WSRS wouldn't count toward the Boston market caps, as the FCC uses Arbitron's definitions. Stupid!

Why is WVEI (AM) counted among Entercom's Boston-market AM holdings? I thought it was because Worcester IS counted as part of the Boston market.

 

[DavidZ]

Howie 101.7

Howie may have just been stirring the pot but he talked about stations being sold, formats changing, and being heard on FM out of the 4 p.m. break this afternoon.

 

[wickedwritah]

Did Clear Channel buy 101.7 to put a new format there, or did Clear Channel really buy 101.7 to box in others in the market (Entercom, in particular) and prevent them from grabbing it first?

To the technically inclined, could CC turn off 101.7 and move 101.5 into Boston, or at least somewhere like Walpole/Sharon?