WEEI-FM 93.7

[Dan.Strassberg]

WRKO has a better signal than WEEI almost everywhere and is local in
areas like southern NH and nearly all of Cape Cod that WEEI can only
wish to cover. The only exception is in MetroWest at night, where the
advantage goes to WEEI, but by less than a huge amount. The reason is
that WRKO is on a better frequency, has, by far, the better
transmitter location, and consequently, can have much better
directional patterns. Instead of wasting signal over Mass Bay and the
rest of the north Atlantic (a necessity for WEEI to deliver a
competitive signal to downtown Boston from its Needham location), WRKO
can send most of its signal to the north and southeast. The northern
lobe covers the Merrimack Valley and southern NH; the southeastern
lobe, which covers Boston, emerges from the City only modestly
attenuated and continues over the salt water to Cape Cod where it
becomes the Cape's best AM signal (well, OK, maybe second best, now
that WNSH is sending 30 kW in all directions from a point right at the
water's edge on the North Shore).

Given that WEEI, whether it remains a simulcast of 93.7 or switches to
full-time ESPN, will probably continue to make more money than WRKO
does, it might make sense for Entercom to switch WEEI to the better
680 signal. However, a big disadvantage of such a move is the
potential loss of some part of the audience that is used to tuning to
850 for sports. Lose them, and you probably lose any advantage you
might have gotten from having the bigger moneymaker on the better
signal. Entercom needs to bring on board somebody with a long history
at Buckley, and specifically, at WOR. Presumably, such an individual
would know how to tap the brokered-time market. I see brokered time as
a BIG part of WRKO's future and perhaps a not-insignificant part of
WEEI's future. WOR has been running brokered-time programs for well
over half a century; I remember Carleton Fredericks on WOR back in the
'40s. That was almost 70 years ago! WOR proves that brokered-time
radio need not be inextricably linked to colon-cleanse info-mercials.

-----
Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
eFax 1-707-215-6367

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Nelson" <raccoonradio@mail.com>
To: "A Joseph Ross" <joe@attorneyross.com>;
<boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2011 11:37 PM
Subject: Re: WEEI-FM 93.7


> http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html
>
> In the latest North East Radio Watch Scott Fybush wonders if perhaps
> Ent. could shift RKO to 850...
> a slight improvement in signal possibly (but would it be worth the
> trouble?)
> Also, Scott says he'll be part of a forthcoming Steve Leveille
> broadcast on WBZ celebrating the
> 90th birthday of WBZ radio (Sun into Monday 9/18-19) (My two pennies
> on the former: it may be a slight improvement but would it be worth
> it in long run? Changing minds to accept the new frequency, printing
> new stationery and so on... I suppose if they did it maybe we would
> see "WEEI AM 680" with local hosts and some ESPN...)
>
> >>Could WEEI's FM move provide an opening to relocate WRKO from 680
> >>to the 850 signal? Both are 50,000-watters, but 850's Needham
> >>transmitter site (where a brand-new Harris Destiny 3DX50
> >>transmitter is being installed this month) gives that signal the
> >>reach into MetroWest that 680 is notoriously lacking after dark.