I hope that Irish is the end game here. The Irish population is even larger than the a Hispanic population in Boston proper, and because not many people actually have HD Radios, this could be a good way to attract an audience.
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What will be the new format for WRCA?
- Thread starter Tomgsinger
- Start date
1330 seems to be at full power at both day and night signals. Coming in fairly well in Salem/Peabody. I think it's fighting with WCOD on 106.1 because the Newburyport translator dosen't reach this far south.
Yes, there are plenty of people of Irish descent in Boston, but most of the families have been there for three generations or more. How many want to hear traditional Irish music or old-style Irish-American pop outside of mid-March?
WNTN does during the afternoon drive nowdays. It is always been more of a weekend type thing though.
That said 97.3 WJFD down in New Bedford has a 24 hour Portuguese format. Has for decades. Not exactly the most common format...
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I think there is an AM in Fall River that does it too.
Also WFNW 1380 in Naugautck, Connecticut.
93.3 WFAR Danbury which is also on WMRQ 104.1 HD3 (Waterbury/Hartford). I know it's odd that they're on an HD3 channel of a non-co-owned station, but it was an arrangement made when WMRQ bought a translator on 104.9 in Bridgeport (now on 104.5) to simulcast the Spanish format of WMRQ HD2. They used to be on 92.1 in Waterbury, but last I knew they were not on the air. (They got displaced from 97.9 when WPKX (now WUCS) moved from the Springfield Market to the Hartford Market).
Here is your new Beasley format in Boston: http: //925maxima.com/
Irish sounds whimsical but makes no financial sense, and there are no simple words to describe just how "frugal" Beasley is. This format--call it Spanish CHR, Tropical, Spanglish or whatever--is a simple plug-in from their Ft. Myers and Tampa operation. It will get numbers in Boston and create new ad dollars. In short, a simple, cheap win. Now, back to Joe Shortsleeve.
Irish sounds whimsical but makes no financial sense, and there are no simple words to describe just how "frugal" Beasley is. This format--call it Spanish CHR, Tropical, Spanglish or whatever--is a simple plug-in from their Ft. Myers and Tampa operation. It will get numbers in Boston and create new ad dollars. In short, a simple, cheap win. Now, back to Joe Shortsleeve.
If they are so frugal, then why aren't already playing it?
They have been playing Irish for five days now.
And if this is stunting, they are attracting the wrong fan base.
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Probably using whatever audio is easily available to finish equipment testing. Since an AM is involved, they may have had to do some touch-ups on the directional system, perhaps even a partial proof... for which purpose there are often short )few seconds) reductions in modulation to get accurate readings.
Outside of the link from what I assume is a new studio for WRCA to the AM site, what is different?
Beasley has owned WRCA for a while now, although it is a shared transmitter site, it is not that old and IIRC Grady Moates was heavily involved in its construction, the AM should have been turn it back on and go..... why they ever applied for a STA is beyond me, they could have stunted and flipped, bringing the translator into the mix once it was in place and proofed.
This whole WRCA / Translator thing has taken waaaay more time than it should have.
I have also heard that Beasley is "frugal"
Probably since it involved spending money on something that will not return money very quickly, there was no rush.
Not to mention, as David said, tweaking proofing, audio processing, installing the FM, etc.....all require man-hours, and I think the technical people there have other priorities with the recent sale and such. From what I understand the Beasley Boston engineering department is understaffed right now as a couple of engineers have left to take new jobs...and they are currently hiring replacements (Know any engineers looking for work?)
Also, as others have mentioned...most assume they planned for something Urban on this frequency, but were set back a bit when 97.7 took that format hole.
It's always a bit exciting when a new product/format hits the airwaves....so I guess we are all chomping at the bit to see if it ends up being anything listenable!
Who isn't these days!? ;-) I am waiting to see the new realities set in at CBS after the sale to Entercom. CBS had been one of the last good companies....we'll see how the "corporate culture" chances at the cbs stations.....
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Length of time it's taking has some obvious.
First, the studio move. Not sure if they had a new studio setup when they signed off or not but if they did not, then it would require a build (Racks, Processing, STL, etc) That can take months.
Assuming they did, then the problem was obviously the format. I'm guessing like everybody else that they planned to go with Urban AC until 97.7 took their format. Which means possible months of planning was thrown out the window.
If the studio is still not ready, plugging in the 96.9-2 STL would be a good way to get the station operating for adjustments while everything else is being finished. Either that or (assuming 96.9-2 has it's own studio which is unlikely) then 96.9-2 will simulcast with the others (Possible, not likely)
First, the studio move. Not sure if they had a new studio setup when they signed off or not but if they did not, then it would require a build (Racks, Processing, STL, etc) That can take months.
Assuming they did, then the problem was obviously the format. I'm guessing like everybody else that they planned to go with Urban AC until 97.7 took their format. Which means possible months of planning was thrown out the window.
If the studio is still not ready, plugging in the 96.9-2 STL would be a good way to get the station operating for adjustments while everything else is being finished. Either that or (assuming 96.9-2 has it's own studio which is unlikely) then 96.9-2 will simulcast with the others (Possible, not likely)
Unfortunately, when the new product/format turns out to be targeted at a non-English-dominant Hispanic audience, that usually means more than a few expressions of disgust and/or thinly veiled racism, because unlike urban AC and urban oldies, Spanish CHR has few fans among non-Hispanic, non-Spanish-speaking listeners. I'm not a fan myself, but I understand the potential of the format on FM in a big market like Boston, where only AMs and pirates have been serving that target audience in the past. So good luck to WRCA even if the format is ultra-cheap, plug-and-play Spanish CHR, because at least it will be entertaining to a significant audience, unlike the dollar-a-holler infomercial, talk or religious formats, to which entertainment is an afterthought.
oh I hope not
What is a "Hispanic" audience? Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and various Central and South American nations don't have much in common beyond the language.
And the biggest "Hispanic" community in Greater Boston doesn't even share that; they are Brazilians, and speak Portuguese not Spanish. There are more Portuguese speakers in Massachusetts than Spanish speakers.
And the biggest "Hispanic" community in Greater Boston doesn't even share that; they are Brazilians, and speak Portuguese not Spanish. There are more Portuguese speakers in Massachusetts than Spanish speakers.
Per the OMB / Census definition, "Hispanic" does not include Brazilians or Portuguese.
The Boston MSA now has over 500,000 Hispanics.
The Spanish CHR format, such as the one on WRUM in Orlando and the Beasley station in Tampa has great appeal across all national origins as the format includes the songs that are hits from Chile to San Juan.
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I assume the Irish stunt is dragging on, since this thread continues to be speculative. What's the delay? Does that much technical fix-up/tune-up work still need to be done? And again, why stunt at all when there's no unwanted audience to blow off? The station was off the air for months.
Just throw the switch and put the real format-in-a-can on the air.
Just throw the switch and put the real format-in-a-can on the air.
This sure is a good station for a stunt. I hope it stays.
Anybody know the amount of Irish population in Boston compared to Spanish or Portuguese?
WNTN must be making money with Greek music.
There are Irish shows on WROL Sat., Sun., so there must be some kind of audience. (Wishful thinking)
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Sorry for the double post.
I admit Spanish or Portuguese could be the end game, and they could make some money.
I hope that at least they keep Irish on 96.9 HD2.
Also, would a Mike format hurt their other stations? WROR, WBOS, WMJX.
They could go after WZLX with The Bone from WROR HD2. They do own the iconic letters WBCN.
I admit Spanish or Portuguese could be the end game, and they could make some money.
I hope that at least they keep Irish on 96.9 HD2.
Also, would a Mike format hurt their other stations? WROR, WBOS, WMJX.
They could go after WZLX with The Bone from WROR HD2. They do own the iconic letters WBCN.
It's not about "Irish Population" but about Irish heritage persons who like traditional Irish music. You might look at the formats and ratings of stations in Ireland to see how small a segment that is... and that is in Ireland itself. Most Irish in the US today are well beyond first generation and are, like me, only prone to caring about the music on St Patrick's Day, if at all.
For any population, you have to look at how many first generation folks there are, as using of ethnic radio lessens in the second generation and is all but gone in the third.
As mentioned, the market has over 500,000 Hispanics, 11.4% of the population based on 2016 ACS (Census Bureau) data. In most comparable markets, about 50% of Hispanics will be Spanish dominant, with another significant percentage being bilingual. But, since the original population in the Boston area came from Puerto Rico in a migration that lasted through the 50's and 60's, most under-55 year old Hispanics descendant from those migrants are second and even third generation.
On the other hand, there are lots of national buys for Hispanic audiences but there are absolutely zero for Brazilians.
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