Breaking News: 98.5 becomes All Sports WBZ-FM

[Kevin Vahey]

The reality is in this PPM world CBS couldn't care less that WBZ can
be heard in Montreal in the daytime, just inside 495 is what they can
base ad rates on

I don't want to see 1030 go all sports but it can not be discounted.

I do think CBS will use the BZ-FM handle on the sports side as they
are going to great pains in saying what the new calls will be

But I am confounded in why blow up MIX98 that has been promoted for
over a decade. The signals of 104.1 and 98.5 are a wash unless 98.5
does better in Providence which is a major consideration for sports.
In my prep school days in RI in Woonsocket 98.5 was huge as WRKO-FM
and to be honest over the past few decades I would check out what WHJY
or WBRU were up to not WBCN.  I suspect 98.5 does cover Providence
metro better.

Doug says
Anything is possible, but for the life of me I can't see this happening.
WBZ is not only a Boston, but a New England, institution.  Its evolution
into a news-and-talk station was very gradual, but through it all it has
held its own as the dominant AM station in the region.  I know people way up
here in the middle of Maine who listen to 'BZ regularly.   Seems to me CBS
would be foolish to shuffle the format over to FM.

I don't know much about WIP's history as a sports station, but
Westinghouse/CBS converted what was WMAQ to all-sports WSCR because WMAQ had
been in the ratings toilet trying to compete with WBBM as an all-news
station (a failed Westinghouse experiment).  And WFAN, under Emmis, was
all-sports for several years before it moved to 660 and got gobbled up by
CBS.   I don't think one can do comparisons here with any significant degree
of legitimacy.

-Doug