Re: Might Be Greater Media, Clear Channel, Radio One, Or Even A Surprise.....
> Greater Media: They would have to sell-off one of it's
> existing FM stations to buy WCRB-102.5. Likely, that station
> would be WKLB-99.5, with the country-music format moving to
> 102.5.
>
> Maybe Greater Media could spin-off the 99.5 signal, the WCRB
> calls and format going there with the 99.5 signal sold to
> someone who would keep it all-classical.
I'd suggested something similar a few posts ago. Mike Thomas commented on that, stating that, the profits from selling 99.5 wouldn't be enough to sustain the $100m cost of 102.5. I have to say that this does make sense, although I'm certain that Greater Media would love to have a stable of 5 city-grade signals. Is there any room at the top of the Pru for 102.5?
And if we've learned anything from Greater Media's changes to 105.1 WQRS and 95.7 WFLN, a format change is eminant here, unlike Entercom's proposition to create 107.3 WCRB.
> Clear Channel: Under the ownership rules, CC can buy WCRB
> without having to spin anything off. Although I think there
> is a good chance that once WKOX-1200's signal gets upgraded,
> that station will drop Air America for more "conservative"
> talk shows from CC-owned Premiere Radio Networks, it's
> possible that 102.5 could end up being talk and again,
> running Premiere's syndicated shows.
I could definately see 102.5 going FM talk; either way, I don't see 1200 going conservative talk for reasons stated elsewhere. Other CC possibilities include Smooth Jazz, which would appear a winner considering that WCRB would be out of the picture.
> One other possibility for a CC-owned 102.5 would be to make
> it Boston's first Spanish-language FM station. This would
> make very good sense; right now, there is a huge hole in the
> market for Spanish-language programming. And going Spanish
> is the only way 102.5 might get a substantially-larger
> overall audience than it does now (although anything except
> classical would give it more listeners in certain
> demographic groups).
Figuring that Clear Channel was going to take 102.5 to a Spanish format, what would they go with? Unless they're smoking something down in San Antonio, They sure as hell wouldn't go "La Preciosa". They have the "VIVA" format in Atlanta, which took an Atlanta rimshot to the top of the ratings in only 1 book, but they haven't spread that format elsewhere.
The obvious choice would appear to be Hurban, as "MEGA 102.5". But with Clear Channel owning Jam'n, a Hurban outlet would do little more than take the Hispanic demos away from Jam'n and move them to 102.5. For this reason, I can't see Clear Channel taking 102.5 to Spanish.
> Radio One: This would open the way for the return of "Hot"
> (as "Hot 102.5") with a very strong signal that could do
> real damage to CC's "Jammin' 94.5" (WJMN). It would become
> the market's dominant station about teenagers and young
> adults, thanks to the fact that rap and hip-hop fandom is no
> long restricted to only African-Americans.
A hip-hop format on 102.5 would provide a strong punch toward Jam'n, especially with African American listeners. However, with the stronger hip-hop blend and Radio One's African American-targetted approach, plus Clear Channel's ability to to promote Monster Jam and similar events, "Hot 102.5" wouldn't appear to do damage to Jam'n's core base of Caucasian listeners, and WJMN's growing share of Hispanic listeners.
(we've had the "Not all WBOT listeners are black" debate before)
> It would also allow WILD-97.7 to go 24/7 Urban AC without
> having to program harder R & B/rap/hip-hop during parts of
> the broadcast day.
That would be a real benefit to the Boston radio scene; it's a shame that they aren't doing a true Urban AC right now.
Does Radio One have the money for 102.5? They only spent $10m to buy 97.7, plus what had to be a few million to get the Roxbury studio built and get the signal audible in Boston. They're not the kind of company that would appear to have $100m sitting around for a station with no useful intellectual property. That kind of money could be better used to gain more share in a market with a larger African American population... perhaps getting a head start in saving up for New York's 107.5 WBLS, which I know Radio One had had it's eye on.
> Univision Radio??: A real longshot, but again, Boston's
> Hispanic population is growing, there's a huge hole for
> Spanish-language radio in this market, and a
> Spanish-language FM station would probably become hugely
> successful.
I'd like to see this one happen, just not on the 102.5 blowtorch. Even on 102.5, a Hispanic-formatted station, specifically a Hurban "Ciento Dos Punto Cinco La Kalle", would kill the Hispanic numbers on 94.5, and would take most listeners from the former WAMG 890. I don't think Univision would try Spanish AC in Boston (similar to WPAT 93.1 in New York, and the late WBPS 890 "Amor 890"), but they could try Spanish Tropical (like WSKQ 97.9/New York, or WAMG) as well.
However, another signal would be best fit for a Univision station: 99.5. 99.5 would make a great signal for a Hispanic-targetted format. You'd cover the Lowell/Lawrence/Methuen/Nashua area very well, while providing a good signal to Worcester and a listenable signal to Brockton. And most of all: 99.5 wouldn't sacrifice a big city-grade signal.
The other potential bidder on 102.5 was Salem, if so, "102.5 The Fish" would without a doubt be on the way. And with K-Love slowly invading the region, they'd need to launch it soon, before potential Fish listeners get "hooked" on K-Love, and K-Love gets ahold of more translators.
