It's not WEEI vs. WCRB - it's WEEI *and* WCRB

[Scott Fybush]

mike@miscon.net wrote:
> 
>> Scott Fybush wrote: 
>>   
>> I would also imagine,
> though, that there'd be cause for one of the 
>> noncomms to take
> up the slack. It's not at all impossible to imagine 
>> WGBH
> mustering the resources to buy a smaller commercial signal... 
> 
> Hmmm... why would WGBH do that? Surely the classical music
> community would just migrate to WGBH right where it is, should the
> classical format disappear from the standard commerical bands.
> They're not ignorant (and probably already aware) of WGBH, and are fully
> capable of changing their radio dial. WGBH - I'm thinking - could care
> less about commerical competition (as in, how things are working
> now). While the current WBOS/WGBH (via WCAI) news partnership is based on
> some radio community friensdships, I do not detect a desire by WGBH to
> expand into the commerical realm - but I could be wrong. 
> 
> I guess what I'm asking is, what would WGBH actually gain by venturing
> in the FM commerical realm?

I didn't mean that WGBH would run a commercial classical station!

I meant that *if* WCRB as we know it were to go away, I can imagine WGBH 
purchasing what's now a commercial signal in order to turn it 
noncommercial as an all-classical outlet.

I don't see WGBH adding any additional classical programming to the 
existing 89.7 lineup - they do too well with Morning Edition, ATC and 
especially The World, and the jazz fans would be up in arms over losing 
the evening hours. They'd need a second signal to go all-classical, and 
that would have to come from the commercial side of the dial.

It's not hard at all to imagine a scenario in which Entercom puts WEEI 
programming on 99.5, then tries to save face with classical fans by 
donating another signal (97.7?) to WGBH to become an all-classical 
noncommercial outlet. Entercom would get a nice tax writeoff, and pretty 
much everyone (except WAAF fans in Boston proper and classical fans 
beyond the reach of 97.7) would go home happy-ish.

s