On the Radio

[Benjamin Grimm]

The Post is reporting that the Mets may be nearing a deal to switch from WOR 710 to WCBS 880 next season.

Mets closing in on deal to switch radio stations

[Edgy MD]

Traffic and weather on the eights! No more Sean Hannity dates!

I think this is the worst and best legacy of the Sandy Alderson era — the struggling franchise sliding into less-desirable relationships post 2010 (going from Buff to Vegas, almost losing Binghamton, losing their GCL team briefly, losing WFAN) and rebuilding that infrastructure and equity piece by piece.

[Frayed Knot]

You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you ... umm, an inning plus commercials. More or less anyway.

Admittedly it's a slogan that needs a little work.

[Guest d'Kong76]

CBS880 and FAN660 are owned by the same company now. The slide of the Yanks
down the dial i thoght was to get sports off the flagship news staion. At least in part.
Wonder what has changed. It's not like the Mets have been killing it ratings-wise?

[G-Fafif]

WOR built a Mets-friendly atmosphere as well as it could, but leaving the radio set at 710 AM after a game and turning it on in a non-Mets daypart was a reminder of just how either nauseating or morose the rest of its schedule is. Pete McCarthy was a real find and I hope he can make the move to the new frequency; he's smart, engaging, knowledgeable -- a latter-day Howie Rose in Mets Extra terms. Same for Wayne Randazzo, who is to announcing and hosting the opposite of what his idiot cousin Tony is to umpiring. Randazzo was a breath of fresh air after the moribund Eddie Coleman. Then again, with the Mets back in the same broadcasting family as WFAN, it's not inconceivable that there'd be a reassignment/reunion.

WOR's signal is fairly dismal, WCBS would figure to be an upgrade. When there is breaking news (for example the kind that 'CBS would have carried live on August 8, 1974), I wonder if there'll be an FM companion that will take on the games, perhaps recently rechristened WNEW-FM, part of the same company. Football Giants games used to be rerouted there from WFAN when the Mets held forth.

Needless to say, Howie should come with the franchise. Josh, too.

[bmfc1]

Pro: not hearing promos for any of the other programming on WOR; not hearing commercials featuring certain WOR hosts.
Con: not having Pete McCarthy ease us into the game on the pre-pre-game or help ease our anger on the post-post-game show. Also, as G-Fafif said, we will inevitably have Ed Coleman forced back onto the scene and treated as a reunion

[MFS62]

Great news!
I can't get WOR up here, and WCBS comes in loud and strong.

LAter

[Guest d'Kong76]

Yeah I can only get WOR outside here, which is weird because I believe
they both transit at maximum wattage and are both clear channel.

[HahnSolo]

This would be welcome news for me. WOR very hit or miss up here.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

all about signal strength for me, 710 is a loser in that regard. I like that they support the club but would also like a FM counterpart

[Frayed Knot]

d'Kong76 wrote: Yeah I can only get WOR outside here, which is weird because I believe they both transit at maximum wattage and are both clear channel.

Both are 50,000 Watts clear channel, but WOR's transmitter is in New Jersey while CBS's in the Bronx
That's probably at least part of the answer for youse Westchester/Conn folk - although at 50K of power it still shouldn't be that drastic a difference.


And the Mets win as I type!!!!!

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: And the Mets win as I type!!!!!

Your job, should you choose to accept it Mr. Phelps, is to type during every Mets game the rest of this year.
This tape will self-destruc





Later

[Edgy MD]

50,000 WATTS OF POWER!

[youtube:m802jww4]6BB4EmfzYyo[/youtube:m802jww4]

[Ceetar]

the audio quality on WOR is garbage, with all sorts of canned noise, something about gaming ratings or something.

the game on 104.3 HD2 is crystal clear though.

Streaming through my phone, despite the obnoxious volume of the commercials, is still preferred though.

[Lefty Specialist]

We got 50,000 watts, and a big acoustic tower.....

[youtube:10h387dr]YEpr8kaczck[/youtube:10h387dr]

[Benjamin Grimm]

Newsday says this could be official within a few days:

The Mets could announce as early as Monday that they are leaving WOR (710 AM) after five seasons and moving their radio home to WCBS (880 AM) starting in 2019, a move that has been expected since early summer.

[seawolf17]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Newsday says this could be official within a few days: The Mets could announce as early as Monday that they are leaving WOR (710 AM) after five seasons and moving their radio home to WCBS (880 AM) starting in 2019, a move that has been expected since early summer.

Ooh. I think 880 is clear channel -- we might be able to get that up here at night.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It would be great to get an FM counterpart.

No static at all.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: It would be great to get an FM counterpart. No static at all.

It's 2018. 104.3 HD2

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah what the hell is HD2.

[Guest d'Kong76]

880AM is most welcome news, powerhouse signal!

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Yeah what the hell is HD2.

HD radio! all the rage!

I dunno, my car has it. 104.3 HD2 is the digital signal of WOR. it's crystal clear.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I don't think my car has this. None of my radios -- the newest of which is probably 25 years old -- has this either.

[Guest d'Kong76]

The only thing I get on 104.3 is classic rawk, which I'm told by
some never takes the day off...

[Ceetar]

You have to have the HD radio receiver to receive all the bonus channels/signals. It's weird-ish because you still tune to 104.3 but there's a side option for HD1, HD2, HD3 on the same frequency.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I know, just being silly. Silly.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It's official:

Newsday wrote: The Mets will move their radio home to WCBS (880-AM) starting in 2019 and running through at least 2025. Entercom, the parent company of WCBS -- as well as WFAN, the Yankees’ radio flagship -- made the long-expected announcement on Monday morning. The move ends a five-year run on WOR. It also means Mets personnel again will be able to appear as guests on WFAN.

[Ceetar]

101.1 HD2

[Edgy MD]

The only better news would have been WOR changing their programming format.

[Edgy MD]

Josh Lewin himself said that it took a letter-writing campaign for WOR to include him when they took the Mets over from WFAN. CBS, like FAN, is headed by Mark Chernoff, who presumably hired Lewin originally, but Lewin fans may want to warm up their pens one more time.