thedelihaus
08-22-2006, 02:00 AM
Boston's excellent WCRB 102.5 FM classical station, currently owned by Charles River Broadcasting, has been saved from the clutches of a feared format change!
Thanks can be sent to the new owners, Nassau Broadcasting, owner of 53 New England, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania radio stations.
WCRB will movefrom 102.5 FM to 99.5 FM, as , follow this, the sale of WCRB will initially be made to a company called Greater Media. Greater Media is then keeping the 102.5 dial space, and selling the format, call letters and the dial space of 99.5 which they already own, to Nassau Broadcasting.
The move should take place by this November, so mark your calendars.
Nassau Broadcasting currently owns four Maine stations known as W-BACH (two of which are Kennebunkport's WBQQ and Bar Harbor's WBQI), which utilize WCRB's format. After the purchase is complete, expect up to 5 of the 23 exclusively Vermont and New Hampshire based stations owned by Nassau Broadcasting to drop their Adult Contemporary, Classic Rock, and Alternative formats and convert to the Classical format.
Citing that Classical Music afficinados are a small bunch, Chief Executive Officer of Nassau Broadcasting, Louis F. Mercatanti notes it's a niche market, for sure. But, he adds, classical listeners are a loyal bunch, and according to data collected via ratings services, they listen for longer periods of time than rock or talk radio fans, and, as a bonus, they tend to be a more affluent bunch. This allows popular-format also-ran stations that are playing second fiddle to a more popular station of the same playlist/customer demographic a chance to convert to a smaller, but more reliable, dependable format and market.
Later plans are to take WCRB national, by January 2007. Shows produced through WCRB will be licenced, in whole or in part, to stations across the nation.
WCRB-
http://www.wcrb.com/
Thanks can be sent to the new owners, Nassau Broadcasting, owner of 53 New England, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania radio stations.
WCRB will movefrom 102.5 FM to 99.5 FM, as , follow this, the sale of WCRB will initially be made to a company called Greater Media. Greater Media is then keeping the 102.5 dial space, and selling the format, call letters and the dial space of 99.5 which they already own, to Nassau Broadcasting.
The move should take place by this November, so mark your calendars.
Nassau Broadcasting currently owns four Maine stations known as W-BACH (two of which are Kennebunkport's WBQQ and Bar Harbor's WBQI), which utilize WCRB's format. After the purchase is complete, expect up to 5 of the 23 exclusively Vermont and New Hampshire based stations owned by Nassau Broadcasting to drop their Adult Contemporary, Classic Rock, and Alternative formats and convert to the Classical format.
Citing that Classical Music afficinados are a small bunch, Chief Executive Officer of Nassau Broadcasting, Louis F. Mercatanti notes it's a niche market, for sure. But, he adds, classical listeners are a loyal bunch, and according to data collected via ratings services, they listen for longer periods of time than rock or talk radio fans, and, as a bonus, they tend to be a more affluent bunch. This allows popular-format also-ran stations that are playing second fiddle to a more popular station of the same playlist/customer demographic a chance to convert to a smaller, but more reliable, dependable format and market.
Later plans are to take WCRB national, by January 2007. Shows produced through WCRB will be licenced, in whole or in part, to stations across the nation.
WCRB-
http://www.wcrb.com/