newsbot 256 Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) https://www.masslive.com/worcester/2020/02/entercom-sells-waaf-a-worcester-and-boston-rock-radio-station-to-educational-media-foundation-for-107-million.html Edited February 19, 2020 by newsbot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMassMediaGeek 95 Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) Dang, end of an era. Here’s radioinsight.com’s version of the story. Here’s the question though: Will the WAAF callsign stay? https://radioinsight.com/headlines/184545/entercom-sells-waaf-boston-to-educational-media-foundation/ Edited February 19, 2020 by TheMassMediaGeek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
newsbot 256 Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 It's not unusual for these Christian outfits to retain the legacy calls. In fact, Salem makes a point of doing so. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tyrannical bastard 2,062 Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 13 hours ago, newsbot said: It's not unusual for these Christian outfits to retain the legacy calls. In fact, Salem makes a point of doing so. Back in 2012, when WABB in Mobile was sold to EMF, the call letters were done away with in favor of WLVM. They also had an AM sister station that was later sold with the same calls, but they ended up going away. It was a heritage CHR station that ended up back on it's same frequency several months later through a set of swaps with Cumulus and EMF between Mobile and Nashville. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
newsbot 256 Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) The WAAF calls are being parked on WBZU in Scranton, PA and the WBZU calls are headed to WAAF. That marks four (count 'em) variants of WBZ in the Boston market, all with separate owners. Edited February 21, 2020 by newsbot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
justin2kx 196 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) here's the last hour of WAAF. It appears according to DJs in its last day on air, there were plans for the new WAAF to launch on March 2 with a new lineup and talent. It was about to come to fruition until Entercom sealed the deal this past week. Will the EMF spree end anytime soon? I wonder why entercom had to make that deal? Money aside, was the station ratings challenged? Rock radio isn't reverberating as much in Boston these days? What is the state of Rock music in general + in Radio? Is KLOS or KUPD next? I remember them days of Korn, Marilyn Manson, Rage against the machine charting up in late 90s + 00s right up with pop/rap acts of its day (Britney, NSync, Jay-Z) Lest we forget Alternative/grunge acts in the early-mid 90s as well. Nonetheless, Rest in paradise, 'AAF! Edited February 23, 2020 by justin2kx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TSSZNews 978 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 The rock format has been very tough on terrestrial radio in Boston. WBCN got knocked off the air, then WFNX, and now WAAF--all basically within 10 years' time. Meanwhile you have festivals like Boston Calling and the Newport Folk Festival thriving in the area. The audience can't ALL be discovering new artists through Spotify and other streaming services...can they? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
newsbot 256 Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 The rock format has become very fragmented, so it's hard to cobble together a playlist that will appeal to a broad cross section of the audience. That's why classic rock still does well while contemporary rock formats struggle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRob 591 Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 That's too bad about WAAF, but it was always kind of a rimshot station. KQRC (also Entercom) here in Kansas CIty has fallen way behind in recent years. On my way home from work, they played "Over the Hills and Far Away" by Led Zeppelin in between a couple of hard-edged currents/recurrents, a jarring transition of songs 50 years apart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
newsbot 256 Posted March 2, 2020 Author Share Posted March 2, 2020 Classic rock has shifted to the point where '90s songs are now very commonplace. The smart stations focus on keeping within the demographic sweet spot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.