OPERA ON AM (wasRe: Red Sox this Saturday)

[Bill Piacentini <billpi@ll.mit.edu>]

At 08:57 PM 4/15/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Doug wrote:
>> Due to a previous commitment with the Metropolitan
>> Opera, WKVT AM (1490 Brattleboro) will not be
>> airing this Saturday's (4/18/98) Boston Red Sox
>> game. The game will be heard instead on WKVT-FM
>> (92.7 Brattleboro) beginning at 12:30 PM. All
>> other games this season will air only on 1490.                           
>                                  I didn't know that WKVT-AM carried
>Met.Opera.Do you have the honors of board-op duties for that?Does anyone
>know if any other AM's carry the Met?Just curious.                 Mark
>Watson
>
>
According to the Texaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network
page (http://www.texaco.com/arts/met/radio.htm) besides Brattleboro,VT's
WKVT@1490 there are four other AM's in NY and New England:
RI:Providence    WPNW      550
NY:Olean         WHDL      1450
NH:Keene         WKNE      1290
ME:Millinocket   WSYY      1240

BTW, the network was created in 1960 for the sole purpose of broadcasting
the opera. After hearing the opera hosted by Milton Cross on NBC from 1940
to '43, ABC from '43 to '58, and CBS from '58 to '60, audiences complained
that broadcasts were delayed or canceled to suit the network's needs, or
taped to be aired at inconsistent (and sometimes inconvenient) hours. Not
only did the new network require stations to carry the entire 20-week
season, but also to broadcast each opera LIVE, in its entirety. In 1990,
this unique venture added International to its name and they began
broadcasting abroad - extending their reach to 22 countries in Europe,
expanding the Met's audience from London to Moscow.
Texaco has been its sole sponsor since December 7,1940! I believe it's the
longest sponsorship.
- --Source:http://www.texaco.com/arts/met/met_main.htm
Regards,
Bill Piacentini

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