Who's living in Mass

[ciao99]

Time after time, the United States Census tells us that the Non-Hispanic White population is in decline in Mass. The only growth in the state and in Boston is in Hispanic and Brazilian populations.

Yet our radio dial does not reflect that. The Boston radio dial is stuck in another decade. Not only is there a lack of decent frequencies serving these growing groups, the market even got rid of WAMG, which was serving the latin population. And ESPN 890 has yet to match the ratings WAMG achieved. The Boston also includes other non-performing sports oriented radio stations targeting the coveted white suburban male.

How long will it take radio execs to wake up? Are Boston radio execs simply White men who put on the radio what they want to listen to, disregarding who really lives here?

 

[INTERcom99]

There will be stations serving those formats once people buy them, staff them and get the necessary ratings to sell them. Given the changing demographics, I suspect you will have two or more big sticks with hispanic programming within five years.

 

[Smoke]

The population of Spanish and Portuguese speakers just isn't high enough yet for any large stations to flip. This ain't NYC.

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

multicultural radio is alive and well in Boston!

We here at WLYN-AM 1360 and WAZN-AM 1470 serve those populations - as well as Russian.
Give us a listen some time. Air time on both stations, is available for lease by the hour. If you think you have a program
that is unique, regardless of the language used, why not be entrepreneurial and start your own program?
I would be glad to speak with you at any time and show you around our facility.


Jeff Kline [email protected]
General Manager, WLYN/WAZN

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Re: multicultural radio is alive and well in Boston!

We here at WLYN-AM 1360 and WAZN-AM 1470 serve those populations - as well as Russian.

Jeff Kline [email protected]
General Manager, WLYN/WAZN

Yes, but you need to get the WLYN AM Stereo (on during the daytime) fixed at some point. It's been on only the left channel for over half a year now.

 

[JustinT]

The population of Spanish and Portuguese speakers just isn't high enough yet for any large stations to flip. This ain't NYC.

True, but it's enough to warrant at least one true formatted station (excluding the brokered formats of WLYN, WAZN, WUNR, WRCA) . Forget large stations, the only true Hispanic station is WNNW 800 in Lawrence.

There will be stations serving those formats once people buy them, staff them and get the necessary ratings to sell them. Given the changing demographics, I suspect you will have two or more big sticks with hispanic programming within five years.

Therein lies the problem. Mega 800 was a fairly successful station: I recall them pulling a 1.4 share at one point. In fact, I recall that if you took all of the Spanish language shares in Boston at the time and combined them together, you had a listenership comparable to stations in the mid-2s. But it was clear that Mega (the company) was no longer interested in Northeast markets and the new owners clearly had an intent to take the station to a sports format once the deal closed.

Boston isn't the best market for a variety of formats: for one, there are far fewer FMs than other markets of comparable size. But you also have many signals that are doing fine in the ratings; stations that might not be pulling incredible ratings but nevertheless bill comparably to other properties in the market and don't warrant change. And lastly, there's sticks like WFNX and WXRV that just aren't going to change format for the forseeable future.

WCRB was the big wildcard that could have shook up the market, had anyone BUT Greater Media buy the signal. And along with Greater Media's acquisition, you had a company that was dedicated to preserving the classical format in Boston (as they'd seen WFLN and WQRS bomb as WXXM and WXDG, respectively), and in the end, it was a company like Nassau, not Univision, that got the consolation prize of 99.5 FM.

Will we see Spanish language station in the future? Definitely. But when? Who knows. I'm guessing that there's going to be an ownership change before Boston gets a substantial Hispanic-targeted station.

 

[Big_Bunny]

Take the census numbers with an entire shaker of salt. According to them, the Hispanic population here in Phoenix is around 14%. They're only off by, oh, 30 or 40%.

 

[SonicOverload]

I'm grateful for the two other sports stations to provide an alternative to WEEI, which is more a male lifestyle station with sports talk. Michael Felger's show, for instance, is eminently more listenable than the Big Show, especially when Smerlas and DeOssie are on...

but, sure, Boston needs a Latino station... maybe someone can buy one of the right-wing Christian stations (WEZE) and turn it into a Spanish-language one.

 

[ciao99]

Re: multicultural radio is alive and well in Boston!

We here at WLYN-AM 1360 and WAZN-AM 1470 serve those populations - as well as Russian.
Give us a listen some time. Air time on both stations, is available for lease by the hour. If you think you have a program
that is unique, regardless of the language used, why not be entrepreneurial and start your own program?
I would be glad to speak with you at any time and show you around our facility.



Oh I certainly see a need for brokered ethnic radio. And I am glad that there is an outlet for those who speak 2nd languages other than Spanish. But I do think this market is ripe for a full time spanish station with a decent signal.

I make no bones about being critical of how this market obsesses over sports to the neglect of everything else. Look at the non ratings of 1510 and ESPN 890. And look at all the obsessing over the supposed Red Sox deal. Not for nothing, but splitting Red Sox games over WEEI and then WRKO on other nights? This is an improvement? Give the Red Sox fan one radio station to turn to, instead of guessing what's happening on which night. For all the talk we heard, something better should have happened.

Meanwhile our market's ethnic population is surging, and our so called radio experts have their heads in the sands while they debate baseball.

 

[ciao99]

I'm grateful for the two other sports stations to provide an alternative to WEEI, which is more a male lifestyle station with sports talk. Michael Felger's show, for instance, is eminently more listenable than the Big Show, especially when Smerlas and DeOssie are on...

but, sure, Boston needs a Latino station... maybe someone can buy one of the right-wing Christian stations (WEZE) and turn it into a Spanish-language one.

You mean a lifestyle station for the almighty suburban white male. Newsflash: the white males are leaving this market in droves. And those two stations you mention don't get manage 1/10th of a rating point. I'm avoiding quoting ratings as I think it's against the rules, but former Mega 890 did get numbers. And when you combined those #s with sister statios WLLH 1400, Mega's performance was up there with FMs like WXRV, WBOS, WPLM, and the Former Star. This being on two AM frequencies.

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

Re: multicultural radio is alive and well in Boston!

Oh I certainly see a need for brokered ethnic radio. And I am glad that there is an outlet for those who speak 2nd languages other than Spanish. But I do think this market is ripe for a full time spanish station with a decent signal.

What is the difference whether a station is brokered time or not? The end result, on the air, is the same: a niche audience is being served, within an increasingly fragmented listening universe. In fact, brokered stations are, indeed, the MOST democratic - everybody has access without having to come up with a large sum to purchase their own station. If you have a concept for a program of your own, why not put your money where your mouth is, and start your own program? Start out small and see if you can make it fly... If the intended audience does not support one program, what makes you think that it would support an entire station?

The fact that there is not a format of which you approve, on a large FM station, is merely one of economics. The station purchase prices are so high, it is not economically feasable. It is economics, not prejudice. As far as signal is concerned, I would suggest that as you drive that as you drive around you will get a more realistic assessment of the area actually covered by a particular station.

I plead guilty to being one of the dreaded white, suburban (well, original hometown, anyway...) males that you dismiss so readily.
I am not the target audience for hispanic programming. I grew up here in the Boston area, and have been kicking around the broadcast business for a looooong time. There are other concerns that are much more troubling to me: why is it that no TV stations do local programming anymore (other than news) I remember when EVERY TV station in town , for example, did a local kids' show. Heck, I was on several on them as a kid. They have large staffs, studios, equipment. What is THEIR excuse?

 

[INTERcom99]

Boston will have two big sticks serving up Spanish and/or Portugese entertainment within 5 years. This reality is horribly destructing because (like Telemundo) perpetuating the inability and/or lack of desire for an immigrant group to assimiliate helps nobody. Immigrants not understanding their legal rights in a tongue they understand is a non starter. I fear the mighty dollar will win out in the end.