NorthEast Radio Watch 4/16: BBF is Back!

[fybush@world.std.com (Scott D Fybush)]

*One of the best-known callsigns in Rochester radio has been revived
on FM.  In the 60s and 70s, WBBF (950) ruled the Flower City dial with
top-40 music, and now many of those same songs are being played on the
"New 99BBF."  

On Monday afternoon, Entercom's oldies station WKLX (98.9), a sister
station to WBBF(AM), began calling itself "BBF" -- and, more
important, ditched the satellite-delivered oldies format that it's
been using in favor of live, local programming.  The soon-to-be
WBBF-FM is being programmed by Chris Whittingham (formerly with sister
station "The River," classic rock WQRV 93.3 Avon), who's also doing
middays.  Former WKLX morning jock Mike Vickers moves to the 2-7 PM
slot, and Ellis B. Feaster returns to Rochester from KBEE (98.7) in
Salt Lake City to do mornings.  Feaster handled AM drive duties on
98.9 in its WKLX incarnation before leaving for Salt Lake as well.

NERW expects the WBBF revival to be just the first in a series of
changes at the Entercom stations, which were purchased from Heritage
(by way of Sinclair and News Corp.) just a month ago.  Rumors are
flying about a call change at WBBF(AM) to avoid confusion, although
we're told there may not be any truth to the speculation that the new
calls will be WEZO, last heard on 93.3 -- and before that on
Rochester's AM 990 (later WRMM, WCMF, and now WDCZ), and most
memorably for 16 years on 101.3 FM (now WRMM).  AM 950 is now local in
morning drive, with operations manager Todd Blide spinning the
standards.  And morning drive at WQRV is being handled by fill-in
jocks now that Whittingham is across the hall at BBF-FM.  As for
Entercom's other Rochester outlet -- well, you don't fix what ain't
broke, so expect no changes at top-rated country station WBEE (92.5,
and the original WBBF-FM back in the sixties).

NERW's enjoying the "return" of a station we fondly remember from our
younger days -- and now we're just waiting for some savvy radio
operator in Buffalo to find a way to resurrect "KB"!

*Elsewhere in NEW YORK...that construction permit on Long Island's
East End is being rushed to the air.  We're told 105.3 in
"Calverton-Roanoke" (we like to call it "Riverhead") will be operated
by Jarad Broadcasting, which owns WLIR-FM (92.7 Garden City) and WDRE
(98.5 Westhampton), with a dance format.  "Party Radio"'s calls will
be WXXP, according to Long Island's Newsday.  Those calls were last
heard in Anderson, Indiana, on the 97.9 FM that's now religious
WGNR-FM.

There's a "1000 W AM daytimer near Albany" being shopped for sale in
the trades; the only thing we find that meets that specification is
WCKL (560) down in Catskill.

Across the border, Sunday is the big day for Toronto's CBL (740) and
CBLA (99.1), as the CBC officially moves its Radio One service from AM
to FM.  The event will be commemorated by an all-day open house at the
CBC Broadcast Centre at 250 Front Street West, as well as by an
hour-long broadcast at noon.  As crushed as we are by the imminent
loss of CBC service to upstate New York (the AM transmitter will be
turned off for good sometime this fall), NERW can't pass up a good
open house, so we'll be up there checking out the scene and rolling
tape on the Big Moment.

*On to MASSACHUSETTS, where we have more details on the changes to
come at Costa/Eagle's Merrimack Valley stations.  An article in the
Boston Sunday Globe's North West Weekly section says the
English-language programming and WCCM calls will move to Haverhill's
1490 within a few months, possibly as an all-news outlet.  Replacing
WCCM on 800 in Lawrence will be Spanish-language programming now heard
on WNNW (1110) in Salem, N.H.  And 1110 will get the Spanish-language
tropical music that's currently on 1490 as WHAV.  Costa tells Globe
freelancer Christine MacDonald that he's now scouting stations in
Worcester and Springfield.

WBPS (890 Dedham) is getting a new owner, as John Douglas spins it to
New England Continental Media...AKA Salem Media, the owner of WEZE
(590) in Boston and dozens of other religious and conservative talk
stations around the country.  No word yet on format changes for the
leased-time ethnic outlet.  This is the second time in recent years
that WEZE has had a sister station; Salem ran WPZE on WEZE's old 1260
frequency for a year or so before spinning 1260 to Hibernia and Radio
Disney.

Meantime, Marlboro's WSRO (1470) is being sold by Great Radio to
Alexander Langer, the owner of two other Metro West AMs, WRPT (650
Ashland) and WJLT (1060 Natick).

Congratulations to Boston College's WZBC (90.3 Newton), which
celebrates its 25th anniversary this weekend, perhaps just a little
bit early.  The station's web page at

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/svp/st_org/wzbc/index.html

says that it was in 1973 that carrier-current WVBC (650) was granted
an FM license, but NERW's records show a 1974 sign-on date for the
FM.  No matter; it's nice to see a college station that's aware of its
own history.

Down in Attleboro, WARA (1320) is reportedly about to switch to
leased-time ethnic programming, supposedly by way of a week of
"Aquarium Sounds."

Opie and Anthony redux: The fired shock-radio pair could soon end up
with a new Boston radio home, according to the Boston Globe. Rumor has
CBS' WBCN (104.1) picking them up -- while their old home, WAAF (107.3
Worcester), has moved Rocko from nights to afternoons.

And check out http://www.whai.com for the brand-new website of Greenfield's
WHAI (1240/98.3).

*In CONNECTICUT, "La Nueva Radio Musical" is putting up quite a fight
in its effort to stay on the air sans license.  The 104.5
microbroadcaster has been reaping page after page of (mostly
sympathetic) newspaper coverage, especially after presenting a
petition with over 5,000 signatures during a rally on the steps of New
Haven City Hall yesterday.  The station has been forced to change
locations several times in the last few weeks after repeated FCC
visits, but its owners say they'll keep moving as they attempt to
bring local radio to New Haven's Spanish-speaking audience.

WTIC (1080) in Hartford has named a new news director.  Bill Pearse is
a 20-year veteran of Connecticut radio news.  He worked at WPOP (1410)
and WWYZ (92.5 Waterbury) before joining WTIC.

The Hamden zoning board has postponed a public hearing on WKCI
(101.3)'s request to build a new tower; it'll now be held May 21.

*In VERMONT, Jack Healy has changed his mind.  Last week, NERW
reported he was leaving Rutland's WSYB (1380) to join WVMT (620) in
Burlington, but we're now told Healy reconsidered and will stay at
WSYB.

Score it "Metropolitan Opera 1, Red Sox 0" in Brattleboro -- as WKVT
(1490) sticks with the Met this coming Sunday, sending the Sox over to
sister station WKVT-FM (92.7) for the afternoon.

*A few tidbits from NEW HAMPSHIRE: The new voice on WBYY (98.7
Somersworth) is Jack Casey, veteran of New England radio as far back
as a 1967-68 stint on WKBR (1250) in Manchester.  Speaking of 'KBR,
NERW listeners in the Granite State have been reporting a lot of
sloppy radio going on there -- including an unintentional simulcast of
WRKO's Howie Carr show yesterday afternoon.

WPEA (90.5) in Exeter was heard on the air last weekend for the first
time this school year.

*No news from MAINE yet -- although we hear Portland Sea Dogs webcasts
are on the way -- but we do have a couple of tidbits from RHODE
ISLAND: WKFD (1370) in Wickford is running automated 70s oldies, for
one.  And do you wanna buy a TIS?  For $80,000?  If so, NERW directs
your attention to the back pages of this week's Radio World, where the
same folks from "WCTD in Westerly" who advertise their "legal,
low-power AM transmitters" every issue are also advertising that their
"licensed non-commercial 10 watt AM station" is for sale.  NERW thinks
this is WPKN270, the 1620 kHz TIS licensed to the "Washington County
Chamber of Commerce."  There's no such organization listed in the
Westerly phone listings...and anyway, NERW wonders if it's legal to
sell a TIS at all -- and if it is, how long until Jacor buys all of
the TIS's, too.

*That's it for this week; see you again next Thursday!

- -=Scott Fybush - NorthEast Radio Watch - (c) 1998=-

------------------------------