Entercom buys WILD-FM

[Aaron Read]

While I think it's great that WAAF now has a decent Boston signal to 
compete with (arguably) WBCN, WFNX and WZLX...methinks there's faaaarrrr 
more interesting speculation on "What does this mean for WEEI, WRKO and 
the Red Sox in 2007?"

Obviously there was tons of spec about whether a huge FM signal was 
better than a huger AM signal (albeit weak in Metrowest).  But it's even 
more debatable whether a *weak* FM signal like WILD is better than an 
huge AM signal like WRKO or WEEI.  Especially since any signal on Blue 
Hill has trouble getting into (and over) downtown Boston; even WGBH 
can't do it so great and they've got 98kW ERP vs. WILD's 2kW.

And mind you, 97.7 still doesn't get into Metrowest thanks to co-channel 
Class D WYAJ...which has been off the air for a while due to a rebuild 
of the entire high school in Sudbury, but there was an article recently 
saying WYAJ was coming back this fall.

Still, methinks a simulcast of 97.7 and WEEI makes a helluva lot more 
sense than that weird arrangement of WEEI and WRKO.

One also suspects that Lucchino & company will want VERY badly to get 
people to stop listening to the daily tirades on WEEI...although the way 
this season's going - they're in no position to make any demands in that 
regard.  :-)

Besides of the Red Sox, I wonder if a WAAF-97.7 simulcast really makes 
more fiscal sense than a WEEI-97.7 simulcast?  Obviously WAAF+WILD means 
a lot more area better covered instead of WEEI+WILD just meaning (at 
best) the same area covered.   But it's hard to discount that AM vs. FM 
issue.

Speaking of which...is WILD running IBOC already?

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--------------------------
Aaron Read
readaaron@friedbagels.com
www.friedbagels.com
Boston, MA 02246

Fried Bagels - Broadcast Radio & Web
Engineering & Operations Consultant