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Domino Rippy
Guest
Is CBS thinking about this? As they have done in other markets?
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Not gonna happen. 'ODS and 'BMX make money. Talk on WBZ-FM makes money. Just because someone in another market is doing news on FM doesn't mean everybody has to do it in every market. Honestly, who else would put news on FM in Boston? If you look at what frequencies are vulnerable and who has the record of spending the money necessary for a news operation, there's nobody else. WBZ 1030 is in no danger.
WBZ as it is now is not all news. They are a talk station with a very long news block. If they decide to sell their AM, (which would be insane), then CBS would give up probably 80% of their listeners who catch WBZ's skywave from distant places.
Other cities, like San Francisco's KCBS, and soon Chicago's WBBM will simulcast their 24 hour news AM's. No standalone CBS FM news stations exist
WBZ will just be on AM and FM HD-3 until 6+ numvers go way down because 18-49 are not listening to AM at all. Maybe 5-10 years from now BZ will be on 103.3 or 104.1 FM
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Other cities, like San Francisco's KCBS, and soon Chicago's WBBM will simulcast their 24 hour news AM's. No standalone CBS FM news stations exist
WBZ will just be on AM and FM HD-3 until 6+ numvers go way down because 18-49 are not listening to AM at all. Maybe 5-10 years from now BZ will be on 103.3 or 104.1 FM
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Laurence Glavin
Guest
[/quote]Norm Rosen said:
Whoa, whoa..."80% of their listeners who catch WBZ's skywave from distant cities". By that you couldn't mean that 80% OF THEIR LISTENERS IN TOTO ARE IN DISTANT CITIES, but WBZ-AM would give up 80% of the people in distant cities who tune in to WBZ-AM. How many could that be? In June a huge swath of people would be cut off from WBZ-AM's skywave anyway. And the last time I checked, WBZ-AM exists to attract advertisers who are trying to reach a Metro Boston/sizable pahts of New England audience. Back in the 30s and 40s, there were so few AM stations, or in other words ANY radio stations, that people in rural areas had no choice but to listen to the lower-c clear channel outlets and regional blowtorches, but now the AM dial is super-saturated, as well as FM. (One evening, I was driving to the Wayside Inn in Sudbury using route 20 west (I usually go there via 495 to 85 to 20, but this time I may have been in the Boston area earlier. It was about 4:30 pm in November or December and I was listening to Bob Brinker's "Money Talk" on WRKO. Suddenly it almost disappeared, so just for fun, I scanned the AM dial to observe what Boston AM's reached Wayland/Sudbury at night. Not even WHDH-AM 850 (which it was at that time, with a transmitter west of route 128) came in well, and no other Boston AM except WBZ either. (WSRO-AM 1470 was a daytimer). Just think, even in this exurban, not rural area, if people wanted to hear the Jack Benny show Sunday night at 7:00, they probably had to turn to WCBS-AM 880 in NYC or WCAU-AM 1210 in Philadelphia. Donna might know: did people use more than one radio to listen to the networks late at night, so if say WCBS faded out, WCAU might be coming in like a local?
Most people before the 1950's used radios with an outdoor aerial. A good amount of radios had presets on the front, usual 5 in all. WCAU-1210 (today's WPHT) has a solid skywave signal at night here in the Boston area, even today. WCBS-880 is a little too close for perfect skywave here reception due to the residual groundwave from Long Island. (Also today you've got full-time 1200 in Newton and 890 from wherever). Jack's show was originally on NBC until the early 50's when Bill Paley scoffed him over to CBS for the rest of Benny's radio career until 1956. I would think that most people would stay with one station, noise and all. I don't know how well WEEI/590 did back then, signal wise, as a CBS O&O. Skywave on AM was BIG thing back in those days, well into the 60's. If you look at a vintage New York Times radio page in the 30's and 40's, you'll find many out-of-town stations (including Boston's WBZ) on the schedule.
mgpt6 said:
Other than licensing the name CBS News to Westwood I, does CBS have anything at all to do with CBS News? I don't think so. AFAIK, CBS News (referring to radio, obviously--NOT to TV) is a service mark of Westwood I.
DanStrassberg said:
CBS News is still completely owned and operated by the CBS Radio Network, a division of CBS Radio, itself a division of CBS Corp. It's still 100% in control of CBS, owned and operated. It also stands as the last of the "Big Four" radio networks still standing alone. Of course, NBC and Mutual were bought by Westwood, and ABC was bought by Citadel.
Westwood One provides the satellite distribution for the CBS Radio Network, but that's where the relationship stops.
Do you think they would put all news on Mix 1041?
freebirdradioman said:
Mix does well in the demo breakdowns, and it makes money. It's not a superstar, but it's a great workhorse. If mix were an issue, i think you would have seen more tweaks when they migrated up the dial to 104.1 back in 2009. Again, CBS is happy with the status quo. Who out there is going to challenge WBZ with an FM competitor? Nobody. No need to mess with a successful formula until there are more changes in the Boston media landscape.
Norm Rosen said:
...none of whom are of any consequence to WBZ financially. DXers and their local businesses don't buy advertising on WBZ. Aside from the brief noise made by a few hobbyists and those who think all AM broadcasting should be frozen in time using the old chestnut "heritage," DXers will not matter in any decision on WBZ's future.
WBZ is News/Talk, but not all news. 1010 WINS is all news...but I like WBZ's angle better. After 8pm, I know what happened, and I just want to talk about what happened.
CBS will not blow up a perfectly profiting radio station in order to simulcast the content/spots of another station in this market - as long as that station is profiting. If you do that, you lose an additional frequency to sell, and whatever ratings you think you'll gain will not offset the revenue you lose.
CBS will not blow up a perfectly profiting radio station in order to simulcast the content/spots of another station in this market - as long as that station is profiting. If you do that, you lose an additional frequency to sell, and whatever ratings you think you'll gain will not offset the revenue you lose.
iknowpeople said:
If what we've been told about nobody in Madison Avenue's coveted demographic even listening to AM anymore, isn't a move to FM for WBZ (AM) inevitable? In two decades, a good portion of its primary listenership is going to be dead.
Still doesn't change the fact that voices do not need stereo...because voices are mono. Until WBZ brings back live bands, it's unnecessary. They have a signal that blows the lid off of anything FM will provide. If they were stuck on 590, then I'd say maybe, but 1030 is a dominant, powerful frequency. No need to move it. Bringing it to FM does not make it any more "hip"
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Laurence Glavin
Guest
blackgold said:
WROR? WMJX? If you live south of Boston, doesn't a Providence FM go all-Xmas?
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