doings at WUBB 95.3 seacoast of NH/ME...

[David Tomm]

WHRB regularly wreaks havoc on WUBB south of Portsmouth, but it's 
really pronounced in the summertime.

CHR would not make sense for WUBB.  WERZ is still reporting to the 
trades as a CHR, even though they have always taken an adult approach 
with it.  The station has 25 years of heritage in the format, is 
normally a top 4 station overall in the ratings, and bills well.  Why 
would CC want to mess with that? Combine that with the ratings success 
co-owned WJMN normally pulls in the market, there really is no need for 
another female targeted 18-34 station.  Even if the company was to 
transition WERZ to a full-blown Hot AC, thats too many stations chasing 
after similar demos in a small market.  That doesn't even include WRED, 
the JJ Jeffrey-owned rhythmic station in Saco, right up the dial and 
down the road from WUBB.  It would be overkill.

Doing country didn't make sense either in the shadow of the mighty WOKQ 
but WUBB stuck with it for nine years and rarely even placed in the 12+ 
ratings.  I'm surprised CC didn't make changes sooner.  The last time 
that station pulled any kind of decent ratings was the mid-90's, when 
it ran an oldies format as Cool 95.3.  It normally placed in the two's 
12+ and was considered successful keeping in mind it's signal 
limitations.  If CC can find the right niche format that's cheap to 
run, they should be able to make some money with that signal.

Sports would be an interesting choice.  Running Fox Sports Radio along 
with Jim Rome and local games (CC holds the market rights to the Sox 
and I think the Celtics) would be an inexpensive solution.  My question 
is--with the Nassau deal to put WEEI on several of their stations 
reportedly dead, is Clear Channel thinking about putting WEEI on 95.3?  
Since they have the Sox and C's rights, WUBB could essentially straight 
simulcast WEEI including games, which would extend WEEI's reach into 
Southern Maine, where the 850 signal begins to fade out, particularly 
at night.   It would be unusual for Clear Channel and Entercom to work 
with each other like this, but with Entercom desperately wanting to 
extend the WEEI brand further into New England, it wouldn't surprise me 
if it was to happen.

-Dave Tomm
"Mike Thomas" (...channelling Joe Gallant...)


On Jan 2, 2008, at 1:34 PM, Bob Nelson wrote:

> First it was noticed that Clear Channel registered the domain
> kiss953.com and had a page up suggesting that the
> seacoast NH area station WUBB (lic. to York Center, ME) might become a
> Kiss 108 clone (it also suggested that Matty
> in the Morning would be carried, and a weather page linked to a
> forecast for Portsmouth NH). Then the page
> went blank. Now it's back up and saying "coming soon--Sports"...with a
> link to MSN/Fox Sports (Fox
> Sports Radio is syndie by Clear Channel's Premiere Radio). Something's 
> going on.
>
> The signal does reach into northern Essex County (a bit further south
> it's trumped by WHRB)
>