Re: FCC grants WJLT application for 2 kW-D

[dan.strassberg@att.net]

WSRO's proposed day pattern doesn't make a whole lot of 
sense to me. I understand the restricted radiation to 
the southeast--it protects WBET (and also just about 
eliminates Framingham and Natick from the coverage 
area). It is unclear to me that there was a need to 
correct the overlap with WBET; the condition had existed 
for so long that I assmed that it was grandfathered.

That said, the proposed pattern seems to require the 
construction of one more tower at the Hudson site than I 
believe to be necessary. I think a two-tower day pattern 
would work (using two of the three towers in the night 
array). Such a pattern would spread the signal southwest 
toward Worcester and northeast toward Lowell, rather 
than concentrating it toward Fitchburg, Leominster, 
Clinton, and Lunenburg--towns that so far, have shown 
themselves incapable of supporting more than one secular 
AM (and that one, just barely).

WSRO's proposed day pattern has a null to the south that 
seems to protect nothing. At first I thought WSAR, but a 
check of the map shows that the null is aimed quite a 
bit west of Fall River. I don't think WMRC would be a 
problem if that null weren't there.

Seems to me that if Mega were to buy or lease WSRO 
(assuming WSRO's day pattern isn't modified), Mega would 
wind up with two signals that attempt to serve Worcester 
(WARE and WSRO), but which both fail to do so. Two 
rimshots that target but miss the desired market do not 
equal one signal that covers the market right from 
downtown. Of course, Mega has already spent $500k on 
WARE. If they were to acquire WNEB as well, WARE would 
be redundant (it doesn't serve Springfield either). A 
better plan might be to buy WNEB and take it dark so 
that they could move WARE to Worcester. That assumes, of 
course, that land near Worcester could be found for a 
directional array.

> Langer isn't doing much with this
> station at this point, so it's possible that he is looking to sell it
> off to either Grace or Mega.  He may want to dump it now and let the new
> owner construct the new towers in Hudson.  If Mega can't get Grace to
> sell WNEB, they may pick up WSRO and relay one of their Boston stations
> on it.  Or simulcast WARE on it and have a "one-two punch" in
> Worcester.  :)  With the amount of Puerto Ricans and Brazilians in
> WSRO's footprint, the station could be attractive to Mega.
> 
> Mike Thomas
> WXLO & Mediabase 24/7