WUMB Expansion

[mgpt6]

I read this week that WUMB received a CP for a new station in Southern New Hampshire at 88.7 FM. What is the status of their CP at 91.7 in Marshfield? Also, what is the status of their time share arrangement with the Maynard HS station at 91.7 which was to go up in power?

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I read this week that WUMB received a CP for a new station in Southern New Hampshire at 88.7 FM. What is the status of their CP at 91.7 in Marshfield? Also, what is the status of their time share arrangement with the Maynard HS station at 91.7 which was to go up in power?

It appears that WUMB has been experiencing financial problems over the past year. Though they blame it on "the economy", they had their worst fundraisers ever after their consultant-advised format tweak last year away from their former "folk radio" format (when they dropped that slogan) to a "rootsy" AAA format. They took such a sharp nosedive in listener support, and elicted so many complaints, that they have been apparently adding folk music back into the format over the past half-year or so, though they won't revive the "folk radio" slogan again.

I heard that they have stopped paying their weekend airstaff a few months ago. They're currently doing their shows as volunteers, with a carrot dangling in front of them claiming that they will be paid again when the stations financial situation improves. The three full-time weekday hosts are still on salary as they have other behind-the-scenes positions and/or responsibilities in addition to being on-air.

I believe that WUMB had originally offered to finance the Maynard HS upgrade to 500 watts with the stipulation that they simulcast WUMB whenever HS students aren't on the air, however, I recently saw where the high school station was trying to raise their own funds for construction of the upgrade. That may mean that WUMB may no longer be able to afford to fund that upgrade, and given their current situation, perhaps they may not be able to afford to follow through on constructing those other two CP's at this time either, but I don't have any official information.

 

[aaronread]

Eli, your info contradicts my info...I heard that WUMB posted one of their best fundraisers ever AFTER the CPB-financed format switch. Supposedly a lot of people liked the music, they just didn't like the idea of listening to "folk radio"...too much association with hippy music, I guess. I've heard this is a perennial problem with "World Cafe" as well; people who haven't heard of it hear "World Cafe" and assume it's a world music show, not a Triple-A show. But the name is so entrenched that it's never never changing now.

Anyways, I haven't heard about WUMB's fundraising since then, but I do find it distressing that they might be posting poor fundraiser support. Most NPR stations are showing a marked increase in listener donations these days; it's their underwriting that's taken a giant nosedive...and in many cases the donation increase hasn't been enough to offset the underwriting decrease.

I can attest that's it a lousy time to be winning CP's, though...WEOS has two of them and we're scrambling to find the funds to build them out.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Eli, your info contradicts my info...I heard that WUMB posted one of their best fundraisers ever AFTER the CPB-financed format switch. Supposedly a lot of people liked the music, they just didn't like the idea of listening to "folk radio"...too much association with hippy music, I guess. I've heard this is a perennial problem with "World Cafe" as well; people who haven't heard of it hear "World Cafe" and assume it's a world music show, not a Triple-A show. But the name is so entrenched that it's never never changing now.

The information you received was incorrect. If you got it from a representative of the station, I'm sure they were trying to paint a rosy (if not completely false) picture of the results of their format change. Their first fundraiser after their format change just over a year ago was their worst in well over a decade. The "tote" on their website that week showed well under $100k after nearly two weeks of fundraising. I can't recall the last time they didn't break $100k. They netted less in pledges for the time fundraising than WMBR, a non-formatted station that doesn't even try for ratings and covers a much smaller geographic area, did during their annual pledge week that year. WUMB recovered a bit in their fundraisers since then, but still not up to pre-format change levels. That's why they've been adding folk music back into the format that had been dropped at the consultants suggestions over a year ago.

It was after last years poor fundraisers that WUMB stopped paying their weekend hosts, and canceled presentation of this years annual "Boston Folk Festival" due to lack of funds. (It has since been revived as a smaller scale event later this year with only local up-and-coming artists willing to perform for free for the publicity, no major national paid headliners as in past years).

As for "World Cafe", it was getting better Arbitron ratings weeknight evenings than WUMB's locally produced daytime format, which was one reason why consultants suggested changing the whole station to AAA, and doubled the airtime for "World Cafe" in the evenings. However, the daytime change apparently alienated a significant percentage of their longtime supportive audience for the former folk format without attracting the numbers of new younger AAA listeners they were hoping for, at least ones who were willing to donate to public radio. Their Arbitrons did not go down significantly, which perhaps suggests that some of the new listeners they may have attracted, who may have been largely former commercial radio listeners (maybe to the old WBOS AAA format) were not accustomed to the concept of donating to public radio stations.

I still believe that if WUMB management was willing to listen to their excellent and extremely knowledgeable in-house PD and longtime airstaff rather than spending huge grants on out-of-town consultants who may have been successful elsewhere but didn't know the Boston market, the local competition, and the relationship of the heritage of the station to its longtime local audience, that they would have not taken the fundraising dive that they took last year, and they would have been a much more successful entity right along for many years.

Anyways, I haven't heard about WUMB's fundraising since then, but I do find it distressing that they might be posting poor fundraiser support. Most NPR stations are showing a marked increase in listener donations these days; it's their underwriting that's taken a giant nosedive...and in many cases the donation increase hasn't been enough to offset the underwriting decrease.

WBUR has been doing better than ever with listener fundraising support, though it is true, as you said, that some of their underwriters are feeling the economic pinch and have cut back. The only other non-comm that I have direct knowledge of, WMBR, had their best ever annual pledge week two years ago, and last years held just about steady with that result despite "the economy" (the average amount pledged per listener went a bit down, but the total number of listeners pledging was up).

 

[Deleted User]

Personally I hope WUMB goes belly up.

I am sick of them grabbing every open frequency
The Marshfield station got to them on a BS technicality, a legit non profit that would have provided a unique service to the south shore was screwed because Ed Perry was on the Board of Directors.
The Talking Information Center deserved that license. God forbid that WUMB didn't get full strength coverage in Marshfield and Plymouth.

When WPAA went dark, the ink wasn't even dry on the letter relinquishing the license when U Mass Boston went after the frequency. WUML should have gotten in there and asked to change their nulled pattern, that had to be that way to protect the pre existing WPAA. Ya I know there are WMFO issues too, but if they went away I'd be happy too, I'm sick of them throwing dead carriers as programming.

they already have:
* WUMB heard on 91.9 fm in greater Boston
* WBPR heard on 91.9 fm in greater Worcester
* WFPB heard on 91.9 fm in greater Falmouth, Martha's Vindyard, Nantucket, Southeastern MA, and Eastern RI
* WNEF heard on 91.7 fm in greater Newburyport
* WFPB AM heard on 1170 AM in greater Orleans and Nantucket



Look at the coverage map for cripes sake. they won't be happy till it looks like a Sherwin Williams logo
http://www.wumb.org/images/reception_hwymap.gif

 

[Eli Polonsky]

The Marshfield station got to them on a BS technicality, a legit non profit that would have provided a unique service to the south shore was screwed because Ed Perry was on the Board of Directors.
The Talking Information Center deserved that license. God forbid that WUMB didn't get full strength coverage in Marshfield and Plymouth.

I agree that was a real shame, depriving visually impaired people on the South Shore of a unique non-profit service, all just for a repeater of a Boston station that can already be heard, via transmitters in Quincy and Falmouth, in most of that area (and online). Of course, I'm sure that what WUMB was worried about was potential for adjacent interference from Perry's proposed TIC for the Blind cutting out reception of their existing stations in that area, but it just goes to show the ethics to which they will go just to gain or maintain coverage.

When WPAA went dark, the ink wasn't even dry on the letter relinquishing the license when U Mass Boston went after the frequency. WUML should have gotten in there and asked to change their nulled pattern, that had to be that way to protect the pre existing WPAA. Ya I know there are WMFO issues too, but if they went away I'd be happy too, I'm sick of them throwing dead carriers as programming.

WMFO is not doing that so much anymore. Since they upgraded to digital studios, I believe they now run automated music programming at some times when they have no DJ on the air.

they already have:
* WUMB heard on 91.9 fm in greater Boston
* WBPR heard on 91.9 fm in greater Worcester
* WFPB heard on 91.9 fm in greater Falmouth, Martha's Vindyard, Nantucket, Southeastern MA, andEastern RI
* WNEF heard on 91.7 fm in greater Newburyport
* WFPB AM heard on 1170 AM in greater Orleans and Nantucket

You forgot about WPNI heard on 1430 AM in Amherst, Northampton, the Pioneer Valley, Springfield, and most of Western MA and northern CT in the daytime. (It lowers power at night, but is still heard in the Amherst/Five Colleges area after dark).

They don't own that one, but finagled to get it to rebroadcast WUMB when U. Mass Amherst withdrew their programming from it a couple of years ago. The station is owned by an Albany, NY company and is up for sale, and the WUMB simulcast agreement was to be in effect temporarily until the station is bought, but no interested buyers have stepped up. A standalone AM (with a low-power night signal) in western MA is a tough sell nowadays, so it may be rebroadcasting WUMB for a long time to come, though they don't tout it on their website because they don't own it, and so can't commit to promoting their programming on it long-term.

 

[aaronread]

When WPAA went dark, the ink wasn't even dry on the letter relinquishing the license when U Mass Boston went after the frequency. WUML should have gotten in there and asked to change their nulled pattern, that had to be that way to protect the pre existing WPAA.

Separate from WUMB, I have zero sympathy for WUML (aka WJUL) in that particular regard. Everyone knew WPAA's license was doomed for years before the FCC finally deleted it. If they wanted it so badly, they should've had an engineering study ready and willing (like Grady Moates at WUMB did) and paid a measly few hundred bucks a year for the Womblebot or GARgoyle monitoring service (as I believe Grady at WUMB does) and they should've had a reserve of funds waiting.

Instead, after intentionally and explicitly antagonizing the UMass Lowell administration and publicly airing a lot of dirty laundry (which is an incredible Cardinal Sin at a college...I know to outsiders it didn't seem as big a deal, but to the administration it was HUGE) they then sat around and bitched about how UMass Lowell wouldn't do the work or pay for the work to be done to have an FCC application drawn up. Let's score a big fat "DUH!" shall we?

BTW Eli, here's the link that partially...PARTIALLY...contradicts you:
http://www.current.org/radio/radio0806renewal.shtml (April 7, 2008)
In March, WUMB, the University of Massachusetts’ professionally staffed folk-music station, broadened its music mix, shuffled its lineup and dropped “folk radio” from its branding, according to Pat Monteith, g.m. Apart from complaints from a few dozen Celtic music fans, the schedule changes have been well received, she said, adding, “If you listen to the flow of the station, it makes so much more sense now.”

WUMB launched its spring fundraiser last week and midway through had seen a 35 percent increase in pledges and a 25 percent boost in donors, she said. “Apparently, people are speaking with their wallets,” she said.

Interesting, a followup article in September 2008 says that they "(didn't) have solid audience data that could show the effects of schedule changes." Which, indeed, strikes me as slightly fishy. It certainly would imply that the rosy scenario in April wasn't maintained. That's a shame.

but it just goes to show the ethics to which they will go just to gain or maintain coverage.

This is bullcrap sentence. If ANYONE but WUMB got that signal, it would effectively erode their fringe coverage. It doesn't matter if was a "worthy cause" like the TIC or a bunch of Neo-Nazis...if it's not WUMB on 91.7 in Marshfield, then it hurts WUMB, period. It wasn't a lack of ethics, it was simple physics. Now I wasn't thrilled to see the TIC application lose, because I agree it would've been a good group and a good station. But if it had to lose I'd rather see it go to WUMB than many of the other potential applicants...and I certainly don't begrudge WUMB for protecting their own signal.

People moan about WUMB "hogging all the frequencies" and it really gets my goat. You don't see people moaning about how WBIM, WMFO, WBMT, WMWM, WIQH, WZLY, WBRS, WRBB, WSHL, WDJM, WXPL or WUML (just to name a few) are "hogging all the frequencies"...even though most of the time (if not all of the time) all of those stations are putting out a mediocre broadcast product that (at best) duplicates the same product found on bigger (and better) signals like WERS, WMBR or WZBC, serves few (if any) listeners, and really should be a web-based student activity instead of wasting precious spectrum that's in high demand.

At least WUMB goes out there and DOES SOMETHING with their frequencies. Although one wonders what the collective value of all those frequencies is...because I can guarantee you that Grady and Pat Monteith would much rather have one big Class B FM signal than trying to cobble together a bunch of small Class A's.

Look at the coverage map for cripes sake. they won't be happy till it looks like a Sherwin Williams logo

How exactly is this any different than WBUR or WGBH? Or even WERS, for that matter.

WMBR, a non-formatted station that doesn't even try for ratings and covers a much smaller geographic area,

True on the ratings call, but I take issue with the geographic area claim. Factually that is accurate, but WMBR has a big advantage in that their signal is smack in the downtown area and, AFAIK, smack in the area of their highest listenership (Cambridge and Somerville). WUMB is "shunted away" down in Quincy on a weaker signal, and their prime listenership ZIP codes are all on the far side of the city in Lexington, Weston, Waltham, Reading, etc.

Yes, of course, WUMB has all their repeaters, but I've often wondered how much weighting you have to give against WUMB for that weak overall signal in Metrowest, despite all the repeaters. And don't forget, WFPB-AM is a daytime-only AM...tough go in the winter.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

BTW Eli, here's the link that partially...PARTIALLY...contradicts you:
http://www.current.org/radio/radio0806renewal.shtml (April 7, 2008)
In March, WUMB, the University of Massachusetts’ professionally staffed folk-music station, broadened its music mix, shuffled its lineup and dropped “folk radio” from its branding, according to Pat Monteith, g.m. Apart from complaints from a few dozen Celtic music fans, the schedule changes have been well received, she said, adding, “If you listen to the flow of the station, it makes so much more sense now.”

WUMB launched its spring fundraiser last week and midway through had seen a 35 percent increase in pledges and a 25 percent boost in donors, she said. “Apparently, people are speaking with their wallets,” she said.

As I previously said, "if you got it from a representative of the station, I'm sure they were trying to paint a rosy (if not completely false) picture of the results of their format change".

Also, that spring 2008 fundraiser was immediately after the format change, so soon that people hadn't become aware of it yet. They were still donating to support their old "folk radio" format. It was the fall 2008 fundraiser, a half-year after the change had plenty of time to "sink in", when they really tanked. That was the one that was well under $100k for nearly two weeks of pledging. I think it was only around $60k.

Interesting, a followup article in September 2008 says that they "(didn't) have solid audience data that could show the effects of schedule changes." Which, indeed, strikes me as slightly fishy. It certainly would imply that the rosy scenario in April wasn't maintained. That's a shame.

They were well aware that the format change tanked by then. That was a little double-talk to publicly deny the facts on the record at the time.

If the format change had worked, they wouldn't currently be adding all the folk music back into their playlists that they had dumped, at the consultants suggestion, last year.

People moan about WUMB "hogging all the frequencies" and it really gets my goat. You don't see people moaning about how WBIM, WMFO, WBMT, WMWM, WIQH, WZLY, WBRS, WRBB, WSHL, WDJM, WXPL or WUML (just to name a few) are "hogging all the frequencies"...even though most of the time (if not all of the time) all of those stations are putting out a mediocre broadcast product that (at best) duplicates the same product found on bigger (and better) signals like WERS, WMBR or WZBC, serves few (if any) listeners, and really should be a web-based student activity instead of wasting precious spectrum that's in high demand.

None of those stations are running simulcast repeaters all over the state like 'UMB. How are they hogging frequencies by running just one college station per university apiece?

Those stations are serving their purposes, an outlet for the students at their colleges who are interested in radio, and I don't agree that they should be banished to web streams only. What happened? I recall you were once a champion of the cause of on-air student college radio years ago!

 

[aaronread]

None of those stations are running simulcast repeaters all over the state like 'UMB. How are they hogging frequencies by running just one college station per university apiece?

My point is, with them all running effectively the same programming (especially in the ears of your average listener) that they ARE acting like a bunch of simulcast repeaters. Christ, it'd be nice if they could all at least get on the same page, and instead of each having a handful of hours each week for a given genre, have one station be the jazz station...one be the world music...one be the classical...etc etc etc. Despite the mountains of evidence that listeners do not like the block format approach to music programming, college radio stubbornly clings to it because they're too lazy to force their DJ's to think of something bigger than themselves.

Those stations are serving their purposes, an outlet for the students at their colleges who are interested in radio, and I don't agree that they should be banished to web streams only.

Banished?!? Go to most campus and ask the kids if they even own a radio, outside of their car (assuming they have a car). On virtually every campus, at least 50% will say "no". On a lot, it's more like 80-90%. That number is only going up as more and more kids have high-end smartphones (like the iPhone) that can listen to webcasts. So if the purpose of a college radio station is to be a fun activity for the students (I'll come back to this) then a web-only station should be perfectly sufficient to achieve that goal. Granted, it would need the proper funding and the proper on-campus promotion...something most colleges (students and administration) are unwilling to invest in their existing stations now. But that doesn't change the fact that it could be done no more or less easily than the existing method; it's a question of politics more than anything.

Now I'll grant you: recent RIAA/SoundExchange shenanigans have cast doubt over the future viability of "small webcasters"...but they've also cast doubt over the viability of small radio stations, too! Allegedly the performance tax is not going to happen now...but it ain't over 'til it's over. And considering how close this round was, I suspect it's only a matter of time...maybe a year, maybe five, maybe even ten, but it WILL happen sooner or later.

I mentioned how the purpose of a college radio station is just to be a fun activity for the students. I've spend a lot of time both thinking about and empirically examining this, and I've come to the conclusion that the prototypical "college radio" station no longer serves any other function:

• They aren't the sole outlet for unusual and underserved music anymore; web-based services like Pandora have destroyed the "gatekeeper" model of radio in general. Podcasting likewise, and even satellite radio has done a number on that concept.
• They aren't training the next generation of broadcasters; college radio is completely unlike anything a student would find in the commercial radio world: the programming freedom, the equipment quality, the management structure, the workload expectation...all totally different.
• They aren't providing experience for job seekers...in the sense that there aren't any jobs out there! What few jobs do open up are being deluged by 100's, even 1000's of resumes, most of which are from laid-off professionals with 10+ years of experience and willing to for the same, or less, than a recent college grad is.

So what's left? Well, it's a fun activity for students to do while they're in college. Problem is, that's a gross waste of a valuable resource...and it's still "valuable" as evidenced by the pent-up demand for LPFM licenses and the pirate radio problem in every major city. It's also a terrible ROI for colleges; even your average zero-budget college radio station costs the college more than every other student activity combined (it's true; I've seen the numbers for several Boston area colleges on this aspect). All this for an activity that benefits maybe 40-100 students, out of a college of thousands, usually. That's terrible ROI for the college! No wonder so many of them are either going NPR or just selling off the license.

Sadly, even a web-only station isn't much cheaper in many aspects. But it's an easy way to defuse criticism when selling off a license...and it definitely fits the mission better: it's "transmitting" in a medium more natural to fellow students, it's still audible to distant friends, parents and alumni, and the station is still "on the air".

Speaking of which, I don't exempt WHWS from this diatribe...I cut us some slack because we've only really been up and running since January, but we have a lot of the same problems. That's why I've been so insistent that WHWS do a lot of remote broadcasts (city council meetings, NYCBL Geneva Red Wings baseball games, etc...plus the 100+ HWS sports games every year) and also why we keep Radio Bilingue on the air from midnight to 10am.

What happened? I recall you were once a champion of the cause of on-air student college radio years ago!

What happened? I worked in this biz for ten years. THAT'S what happened. After seeing the same dumbass lines parroted by people unable to see reality crashing down all around them (both in the student bodies and the administrations) and seeing a lot of really well-run, well-organized groups desperate to get a license that couldn't...I got bitter. And then I started actually running one of these stations, and I got really bitter. It's hard not to, especially since I've effectively got two stations under one roof: an NPR outlet and a student LPFM. One gets listeners, donations, underwriting and lots of praise from the community. The other people barely know it exists...unless they actually work there. What few out-of-the-station listeners we do have are all listening to the non-student programming. It's an echo chamber the rest of the day...despite a lot of work by me, my co-worker, and my students. :-[

 

[Eli Polonsky]

You forgot about WPNI heard on 1430 AM in Amherst, Northampton, the Pioneer Valley, Springfield, and most of Western MA and northern CT in the daytime. (It lowers power at night, but is still heard in the Amherst/Five Colleges area after dark).

They don't own that one, but finagled to get it to rebroadcast WUMB when U. Mass Amherst withdrew their programming from it a couple of years ago. The station is owned by an Albany, NY company and is up for sale, and the WUMB simulcast agreement was to be in effect temporarily until the station is bought, but no interested buyers have stepped up.

Now they are considering purchasing this station to make it another official permanent co-owned repeater. More info here: http://www.wumb.org/amherst

 

[kc1ih]

So, getting back to the original topic, does anyone have any idea of what the coverage of the NH station will be? Where I live in North Salem, NH I cannot get WUMB in HD, the 91.9 signal is too weak, and the 91.7 signal from Newburyport (actually Amesbury) is stronger but suffers too much splash from WUML on 91.5, and certainly cannot be received in HD because of that strong adjacent signal. BTW, do do have a dedicated FM antenna on a rotor and it's still a problem.

Also, I don't think Grady is still with the station, I believe he's been replaced by Rob Landry.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

So, getting back to the original topic, does anyone have any idea of what the coverage of the NH station will be?

I can only speculate. I know that it will be located in the fairly high elevations between Nashua and the Monadnock hills, probably on south facing terrain. I'm going to guess that the idea may be not only to try to cover inland central southern NH, but also to cover inland north central Massachusetts from the inland Merrimac Valley (from the Lowell area westward) across the Route 2 corridor of central MA (out to Fitchburg, Gardner, etc..)

Where I live in North Salem, NH I cannot get WUMB in HD, the 91.9 signal is too weak

I can't even get steady HD on 91.9 with "rabbit ears" on my HD tuner here on the side of a south facing hill in Somerville, ten miles from the transmitter.

Also, I don't think Grady is still with the station, I believe he's been replaced by Rob Landry.

Grady is still listed as Chief Engineer on the station "Contact Us" page. Landry is not listed.

They are both listed as employees of the station in the U. Mass Boston website.

 

[kc1ih]

And I just realized that I probably won’t get HD from the 88.7 signal either, as WERS 88.9 is too strong here.

 

[beantownradio25]

I am sick of them grabbing every open frequency

Me too, you are not the only one. I want new stations, not a million repeaters of one station I could personally care less about.

I know, they cannot be picked up most of Northern Mass (where I am - Lowell), and Southern New Hampshire which is part of the Boston market, but I doubt many people in Southern New Hampshire will want to listen to a Boston College radio station, when they have other, more local, non-profit radio choices.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I know, they cannot be picked up most of Northern Mass (where I am - Lowell), and Southern New Hampshire which is part of the Boston market, but I doubt many people in Southern New Hampshire will want to listen to a Boston College radio station, when they have other, more local, non-profit radio choices.

It's not a college station if you define a college station as a station with college students broadcasting on it. It's a professional Public Radio station with a "roots/folk" music leaning AAA format that's based at a college. There are no U. Mass. Boston students on the station.

 

[aaronread]

You can see a contour map with the current CP parameters via RECnet. Looks like it's located a few miles due west of the COL (Milford, NH) and has a null to the SSW, either from terrain or (I'd guess) a directional antenna.

Guessing how well a given facility will REALLY provide coverage is often a fool's game, but I would be surprised if this does a good job covering anything in Massachusetts. Even Nashua might be a stretch...it's well outside the proposed 60dBu contour and we're only talking 240 watts here. By the time you get to Chelmsford, or even Tyngsboro, I would think that the 88.7 signal would be very weak, very subject to terrain shadowing, and probably having the first-adjacent interference from WERS would wipe out whatever's left. (shrugs)

And I don't really know the terrain up there all that well, beyond the stock answer of "it's pretty hilly." : So the new 88.7 signal might barely reach Milford for all I know. Or maybe it'll do a lot better than that. I don't have easy access to plotting software to answer that at the moment.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

And I don't really know the terrain up there all that well, beyond the stock answer of "it's pretty hilly." : So the new 88.7 signal might barely reach Milford for all I know.

I've driven on the road pictured on the map by the proposed tower location. It's a south facing elevation high and clear enough so that most Boston market stations come in like locals, even a 720 watt college station like WMBR comes in up there. (However, WUMB's primary at 91.9 can't be heard there due to adjacent interference from 92.1 WFEX//WFNX on nearby Packmonadnock mountain). The signal should do quite well for its power to the south and southeast of the tower.

 

[aaronread]

I doubt many people in Southern New Hampshire will want to listen to a Boston College radio station, when they have other, more local, non-profit radio choices.

WZBC is Boston College's radio station, and they do have fans in the Merrimack Valley. Not so much in Southern NH because the signal doesn't reach that far...and there is (was? is?) a NHPR translator on WZBC's frequency (90.3) in Nashua.

Anyways, unless there's a local non-commercial folk/triple-A outlet in southern NH...and I don't think there is***...then I would think WUMB would have at least some fans in those parts.

*** Well, there's 92.5 The River I suppose, but that's not really the same format. Admittedly similar, though.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Anyways, unless there's a local non-commercial folk/triple-A outlet in southern NH...and I don't think there is***...then I would think WUMB would have at least some fans in those parts.

There used to be a commercial one - 92.1 in Peterborough, NH, which is now WFEX//WFNX, was commercial contemporary folk station WSLE in the late '70s/early '80s, with a format similar to the old WCAS in Cambridge. I used to enjoy listening to that format and strained to get it in the Boston suburbs, especially after WCAS, then a daytimer, had to sign off at night.

I doubt they're trying to attract the old WSLE audience at this time, though... they would be sparse, and aged.

 

[CTListener]

So, getting back to the original topic, does anyone have any idea of what the coverage of the NH station will be? Where I live in North Salem, NH I cannot get WUMB in HD, the 91.9 signal is too weak, and the 91.7 signal from Newburyport (actually Amesbury) is stronger but suffers too much splash from WUML on 91.5, and certainly cannot be received in HD because of that strong adjacent signal. BTW, do do have a dedicated FM antenna on a rotor and it's still a problem.

Also, I don't think Grady is still with the station, I believe he's been replaced by Rob Landry.

Salem and much of Beverly and Swampscott are also black holes for WUMB, due to splash from WMWM at 91.7, which, of course, wipes out WNEF as well. Not a problem all the time, as WMWM is a part-time operation, but still a significant coverage gap.