Is it time for WTBS to make a comeback on 88.1?

[Shawn Mamros]

>How does the WMBR board feel about this? Obviously these calls would
>be snapped up quickly. [...]

I can't speak for the whole board, but I'll offer my opinion (plus
a point or two that some may be overlooking).

The cable channel named TBS is not going away, nor (as far as I know)
are they planning a name change anytime soon.  Granted, that has no
bearing on how the FCC assigns call signs - indeed, there is a KTBS-TV
in Shreveport LA (which I assume predates WTBS-TV 17 Atlanta - or
maybe it was co-owned at some point?).  But the TBS brand is certainly
well known nationwide, and I'm sure Time Warner has taken out all
applicable trademarks and what-not to protect that brand.

I'm sure everyone on this list knows it's common practice for stations
with W*** calls to be nicknamed by an abbreviation of those calls that
drops the leading 'W'.  I hear plenty of promos on AM 1030 where they
call themselves just "BZ" (except for the inevitable full "WBZ 1030"
at the end).  There probably isn't a station in town (except for those
that go by some non-call-sign-based brand name) that doesn't do this,
at least on an informal basis.  Or even just discussing stations on
this list, I can spit out BZ or RKO or BCN or EEI, and I don't need
to say anything else - you all know what stations I'm talking about.

But a station with the WTBS call sign - even if it were 88.1 in Cambridge
- could never refer to itself, or have anyone else refer to it as just
TBS without, at the very least, causing some amount of confusion with
the very-well-known cable station that goes by that brand name.  If such
a station were ever to call itself TBS on the air, you can guarantee
there'd be a letter coming from Time Warner's lawyers in short order.

For that reason, contrary to Kevin's assertion above, I don't think
any station in their right mind is going to want the WTBS calls,
unless they plan on completely burying them with some other brand
name - and if that's the case, why bother?

The point Sean made is also a good one.  We've been WMBR for 28
years now.  Indeed, that's a longer period of time than the station
was WTBS (only 18 years).  I daresay the majority of our current
listening audience would not associate the letters WTBS with our
station at all.  The nostaligia factor by itself isn't enough of
a reason to make the change, in my opinion.  Couple it with the
continued existence of the cable TBS, and it makes even less sense.

-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mamros -at- mit dot edu