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Why no Spanish FM radio in Boston
- Thread starter TVCOOL
- Start date
Simple. The market is 10% Hispanic, but much of it is highly assimilated, meaning that perhaps 4% to 5% might listen to Spanish language radio. With a PUR of about 10 nationally, that means an overperforming FM might get around a 0.5 to 0.9 share. Boston has a significantly lower percentage of Hispanics than Providence, too.
Providence has a limited coverage Class A that is barely adequate for coverage of Hispanics, who have no other choice but to put up with a bad signal. Spanish language is a good use for what is a very deficient signal. In Boston, what FM makes sense to convert to Spanish language programming? With even a 1 share and a power ratio of .75, the billing is going to be around $1.7 million annually... probably not enough to give a decent return on investment for an FM station even at today's prices.
Not necessarily Boston but:
WNNW 800 Lawrence simulcast on 102.9
New LPFM Spanish Christian 89.3 in Lynn. two towns away
Powerful WJFD 97.3 New Bedford in Portuguese (Hispanic)
The occasional pirate though many are on AM
WNNW 800 Lawrence simulcast on 102.9
New LPFM Spanish Christian 89.3 in Lynn. two towns away
Powerful WJFD 97.3 New Bedford in Portuguese (Hispanic)
The occasional pirate though many are on AM
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Per the OMB and the Census Bureau (who, together, invented the term "Hispanic" in the 70's) Portuguese speakers / Brazilians are not Hispanic. The definition is based on use of or a heritage derived from the use of Spanish.
Nor are Haitians, despite their nation coexisting on an island known as Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Of course, Haitians speak French or a variant, Kreyol (Creole).
David, not to lead this thread too far afield, can you explain why Hartford, which has a higher "Hispanic" percentage than Boston, hasn't had a Spanish-language full-power FM since the mid-'80s. It now has a low-powered translator carrying an HD-2 channel, but nothing full power to reach the many Spanish speakers in Meriden, New Britain and Waterbury?
Markets with smaller concentrations of Hispanics tend to get stations that make economic sense for a conversion to Spanish language. Obviously, many AMs have no better options. And rimshot or defective coverage FMs may go Spanish language. It depends on how many FMs are in the market and how well the better grossing English language formats are doing.
Historically, Spanish language stations have lower power ratios, generally in the .75 range. That discourages owners. And most owners have no experience with Spanish language radio and are apprehensive about the potential pitfalls of not knowing what they are doing initially. All this discourages conversions.
Boston has had a Spanish FM on "Choice" 102.9 about 10 years with Dembow / Bachata / Salsa, talk, ads for restaurants/stores/salons in Lynn/Chelsea/Eastie/Roxbury. RadioReference is showing a LPFM license for "Boston Praise Radio" at 100W.. 96.5 and 102.1 from Needham and Quincy were sufficient to get the other operations there to call it a day, so chances are Boston is about to lose its only Spanish FM
Saying that what has been a 97 watt translator at Lawrence is a "Boston" station is a bit of exaggeration. It would be better to say that the northeast corner of the market has had a Spanish station would be better; the 97 watt signal puts a usable signal over less than 200 thousand people. They now have a CP for 250 watts, which extends the coverage almost to Lowell but it is still a very small signal.
The bulk of the coverage comes from the AM station, which covers a good part of the market, although daytime only. Maybe that is because their sales kit says the power is 3000 kw, making it the world's most powerful AM station.
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Page description when you do a search for Power 800 WNNW (and the 102.9 repeater)
>>POWER 800 AM and 102.9 FM - Boston's Hispanic Radio Station (sic)
Well here at least is the daytime range of the _AM_...
The 97 w FM...
>>POWER 800 AM and 102.9 FM - Boston's Hispanic Radio Station (sic)
Well here at least is the daytime range of the _AM_...
The 97 w FM...
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In those radio-locator maps, the only contour of any value is the innermost red one. About 95% of the in-home and at-work FM listening takes place well inside the red contour... about 25% inside, representing the 65 dbu contour.
For AM in noisy large metros, it's the 10 mV/m countour where 95% of the listening at work and at home happens (and that is 2/3 of all listening). That is about a third of the way inside the red AM contour.
Er, I think you are mixing oranges and tangerines—"Power 800 (102.9)" is a legal translator in Lawrence; "Choice 102.9" is an unlicensed PIRATE in Dorchester!
Er, I think you are mixing oranges and tangerines—"Power 800 (102.9)" is a legal translator in Lawrence; "Choice 102.9" is an unlicensed PIRATE in Dorchester!
Gotcha. I did not know that.
With the upgrade in the translator to 250 watts, I would assume that the scofflaw would be closed or would, perhaps, pop up on another channel.
At one point the webpage for the illegal Choice 102.9 claimed they had call letters WCFM--which actually belong to a station in Williamstown MA--
and the nickname stood for "the people choice" (sic) and I believe they claimed to have a 2,000 watt signal. Who knows.
Another illegal station, Touch 106.1 which got shut down claimed to be an LPFM, WTCH-LP on their site. LPFMs can't run ads. They did, I believe.
The other night I heard a couple 91.7 pirates just north of Boston and on 88.5 as I drove on Rt 1 around Revere and Saugus it sounded like
a high school football game with references to "Tigers" and "Saugus"...and commercials.
and the nickname stood for "the people choice" (sic) and I believe they claimed to have a 2,000 watt signal. Who knows.
Another illegal station, Touch 106.1 which got shut down claimed to be an LPFM, WTCH-LP on their site. LPFMs can't run ads. They did, I believe.
The other night I heard a couple 91.7 pirates just north of Boston and on 88.5 as I drove on Rt 1 around Revere and Saugus it sounded like
a high school football game with references to "Tigers" and "Saugus"...and commercials.
Pastor Bruce Wall has been updating facebook+twitter with info on his tests of 102.9. this post claims the pirate has agreed to shut off...
94.9 is another LPFM granted to Boston. to broadcast from the roof of East Boston high? chances are some of the programming will be in Spanish. it will mainly displace WHOM and weak Haitian-expat stations
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