EMF enters Eastern Mass. with purchase of WAAF (Worcester-Boston) from Entercom

[newsbot 236]

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 by newsbot

[TheMassMediaGeek 91]

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 by TheMassMediaGeek

[newsbot 236]

It's not unusual for these Christian outfits to retain the legacy calls. In fact, Salem makes a point of doing so.

[tyrannical bastard 1,547]

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. 

 

 

[newsbot 236]

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 by newsbot

[justin2kx 176]

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 by justin2kx

[TSSZNews 841]

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?

[newsbot 236]

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.

[TheRob 497]

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.

[newsbot 236]

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.