Boston Radio: Listeners Can Expect Big Changes

The Boston radio industry has been buzzing for months about the impending merger of radio giants CBS and Entercom. Between the two companies, they already own 10 stations in the market, so it was clear from the start that something would have to change.

There is little information but a lot of speculation, and columnist Tom Shattuck with the Boston Herald has heard it from every corner of the radio market:

• Will “traffic on the threes” be “gospel on the threes” on AM 1030 very soon?
• Will ’RKO be blasting Espanol chat into the airwaves?
• What happens to Howie Carr? Dan Rea? Toucher and Rich? Felger and Mazz?

Shattuck has some thoughts starting sports talk.

"The yakkers at 98.5 the Sports Hub will be in fine shape wherever they land. And if you talk to many of the people gloomily roaming the halls at Entercom, they should be thankful they’re going elsewhere. 

Meanwhile, their rivals including Kirk Minihane and Gerry Callahan at 93.7 WEEI will further thrive on torching the Hub — especially during morning drive."

According to Shattuck, things get darker on the talk radio side.

"WRKO — the storied home of the masters of talk: the late Jerry Williams, the late David Brudnoy, Avi Nelson, Gene Burns, and now Howie Carr — could flip formats entirely. Entercom has routinely sold stations that have switched to religious programming. The last three stations that spun off as a part of this merger all went to a nonprofit that specializes in contemporary Christian content. 

"Alternatively, an iHeart purchase of ’RKO would make sense, as it could feature Rush Limbaugh leading right into Howie. If local greats were complemented with more iHeart personalities like Sean Hannity and a cadre of other national talkers, beleaguered Bay State conservatives could once again find an oasis on the AM dial. 

"As far as WBZ, who knows? It’s got a big, honking signal that covers just about the entire continent, but listeners who fretted about the whereabouts of the Lindbergh baby are sadly diminishing and not being replenished by young people. 

"AM is just about driving under a permanent bridge, demographically speaking. It would be a shame to lose WBZ, because it’s the last example of a real news radio station, packed with talented broadcasters, many of whom I’ve had the pleasure to work with."

Shattuck concludes:

"More and more Americans are consuming their content online, where big discussions are being had without corporate or government constraints, and listeners are not beaten over the head with the Kars4Kids jingle every five minutes. In the meantime, only the strong will survive on the terrestrial radio dial while it still exists."