FAN to FM

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Twittered.

Will take over 101.9 FM, and CBS will switch 660 to a different format.

This sucks BHMC as far as I'm concerned.

[batmagadanleadoff]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: This sucks

Howkum?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I need the powerful AM signal to tune in Mets games while on summer road trips of course.

[Edgy MD]

I assume it's staying in the CBS family and therefore off of the satellite, correct?

[HahnSolo]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I need the powerful AM signal to tune in Mets games while on summer road trips of course.

Very true. Also, I'm about 60 miles north of NYC. The signal for the current 101.9 is erratic at best.

[Frayed Knot]

That's shocking.
Not sure what they think is better about FM for a talk format or what they think they can do with 660 that'll make them more cash than now.
And, yeah, FM signals travel a fraction of the distance of AM.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That sucks for me, too. I can't get FM stations from NYC on my car radio. In recent years, with my Extra Innings subscription and the Mets sucking, I've rarely listened on the radio, but if the Mets ever get good again, I won't like not being able to listen to the games.

[G-Fafif]

Clarification: It's a simulcast until further notice, starting in November. WFAN-AM and WFAN-FM.

[Ceetar]

G-Fafif wrote: Clarification: It's a simulcast until further notice, starting in November. WFAN-AM and WFAN-FM.

I'm sure someone will jump at that signal though, it's just until they find a replacement.

Haven't seen it confirmed that the Mets go with them though.

Ultimately I get both signals anyway, and it's cleaner and smoother to stream the game through the MLB app when I'm out of town anyway.

[Guest sharpie]

I'm against it for JCL's reason and also because on the clock radio in my bathroom if you switch from WFAN AM to the FM dial you get WNYC so I can listen to them if no Met game is on without having to play with that pesky dial.

[Gwreck]

The Mets not being on a 50,000 clear-channel station is a national tragedy.

Ok, maybe not. But still a catastrophe.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

It does suck, not having that powerful station. Being able to hear the game while camping was always a pleasure. No way the 101.9 FM signal gets there.

[Frayed Knot]

From Crains:

The tunes, they are a-changin.
Radio station New Rock 101.9, which only three months ago was changed from talk radio to alternative rock, is going into sports. CBS Radio announced Monday that it has signed on to purchase 101.9 FM from Chicago-based Merlin Media for $75 million. By late fall, the station will launch a simulcast of Sports Radio 66 WFAN. Its call letters will be changed accordingly.
"Sports is a very popular format and a huge growth category for our business," said Dan Mason, CEO and president of CBS Radio, which is owned by CBS Corp., in a statement. "As a result of this new asset, we look forward to The FAN building on its position as the leading sports radio franchise in the country."
The purchase, which is subject to regulatory approval, will allow WFAN more reach, as it moves to include an FM dial. 101.9 will be the 127th station operated by CBS in 28 markets nationwide. The all-sports channel, which houses radio personalities including Mike Francesa, Boomer Esiason and Steve Somers, first launched in 1987. It is the flagship station for local teams the New York Giants, New York Mets, Brooklyn Nets and the New Jersey Devils.


You wouldn't think they'd go out and spend $75 mil on a radio station (even though that's probably under the couch cushion money for CBS) just for simulcast purposes and it seems to me that they'd opt to keep the sports talk on AM and maybe just simulcast while they search for something more long-term for their new FM property, but what do I know?

[Edgy MD]

There's another shoe out there. Don't know what it is, but it's bound to drop.

[ashie62]

Introducing the SNY Radio Network.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Edgy DC wrote: There's another shoe out there. Don't know what it is, but it's bound to drop.

Not sure their plans but they have been introducing these "CBS Sports Radio" bits which sound like the efficent national plug-in for local market shows, i.e. a competitor to ESPN and their local affiliates. I guess there's speculation that one could be the national feed and the other the local.

[metirish]

Damn, and I'll tell you , that rock station wasn't half bad either , wtf is it with NYC and rock stations?

[Guest cooby]

Swan Swan H wrote: It does suck, not having that powerful station. Being able to hear the game while camping was always a pleasure. No way the 101.9 FM signal gets there.

What sucks is being a fan 220 mere miles away and not having a way to watch your favorite team unless you want to shell out extra money. I don't, just on principal. And baseball teams wonder why they lose fans? They will lose more if they can't be heard on the radio either.

Oh wait, I've ground this axe before...

[Edgy MD]

Is that the game? To drive folks to SNY?

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: Is that the game? To drive folks to SNY?

I doubt it..Mets presumably had nothing to do with the move, and isn't their contract with WFAN up anyway?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Article in the Daily News today quotes some FAN official as saying that they plan to simulcast on AM "for as long as they can." I have no idea what they mean by that.

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Article in the Daily News today quotes some FAN official as saying that they plan to simulcast on AM "for as long as they can." I have no idea what they mean by that.

Until they lose their license for broadcasting the Mike Francessa show.

Later

[metsmarathon]

when espn radio made the switch, i feared i would lose out on micahel kay for those brief moments when i wantred afternoon sports talk administered by some buffoon other than mike francessa. turned out, while they were simulcast, i actually got the fm station better for most of my commute, axcept for about two miles where i'm on the lee side of a mountain that effectively blocks the signal. overall, the listening experience was improved, and there was less static and whatnot.

if i can get the same effect from wfan-fm, i won't be too disappointed, though it is true that i'm on about the edge of fm-listenability, and am signals do travel farther.

the biggest impact though, will be that i will no longer be as attuned to the electrostatic nature of the atmoshpere, and will no longer be able to estimate the nearness, frequency, and severity of summertime elctrical storms.

[G-Fafif]

Listening to the WFAN simulcast on 101.9 FM with crazy new jingles to match. Steve Somers had Suzyn Waldman on in homage to the first voice ever heard on WFAN 1050.

Sounds like a talk station on FM.

[Ceetar]

G-Fafif wrote: Listening to the WFAN simulcast on 101.9 FM with crazy new jingles to match. Steve Somers had Suzyn Waldman on in homage to the first voice ever heard on WFAN 1050. Sounds like a talk station on FM.

I was actually listening to 101.9 last night at 11:40. They did a promo "Rock back in NY" or something. I laughed.

[Frayed Knot]

I didn't realize the big switch-over was last night (I guess I assumed that it had already happened) so, when I turned on the radio briefly a bit before midnight, I couldn't figure out what Waldman was doing schmoozing with Schmoozer. I kept it on for a minute thinking there may be some breaking Yanqui news (perhaps something Suzyn picked up via pillow talk with Hank Steinbrenner) but when they just seemed to be joking about the good ol' days I clicked it off.
Now I feel turrible about missing out on such a piece of momentous history.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm digging the edgy sounds of alternative rockers Boomer & Carton and 2020Update.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Ooooh, drunk angry guys yelling and griping in stereo!!

[Edgy MD]

"Hey Mike, congratulations on the move. We can now crank up the volume and hear you snoring in hi-fidelity. No static at all, baby."

[Theoldmole]

I use XM or MLB AtBat.