Sox look to move broadcasts to WBOS (Red Sox moving to FM?)

The Red Sox are negotiating with the owner of radio station WBOS to take an ownership stake in the station and move its radio broadcast rights there, a move that would effectively end the team's relationship with Boston's dominant sports station, WEEI.

The talks are ongoing, and no deal has been reached, according to three executives briefed on the situation. WEEI could still make a rich, last-minute bid to retain the right to broadcast Sox games, though the executives said that appears less likely than it did last year.

If WBOS owner Greater Media Inc. reaches a deal with the Sox, it is not clear how the station might change from its current rock format. The Sox are looking to acquire about a 25 percent stake, according to the executives, who requested anonymity because the talks are continuing. (The New York Times Co., owner of the Boston Globe, owns 17 percent of the Red Sox.)

The Sox parent organization already owns a controlling interest in NESN, a television network that features sports shows and games. With a radio station, the Sox could be looking to replicate the NESN model, with less risk because they would not own the station outright. The deal also has appeal because it would put the Sox on FM radio, which offers better sound quality than AM. WEEI is an AM station.

Major League Baseball on FM (flagship station)? It's that way in Atlanta, Kansas City, and Wash DC. You get better sound on crowd noise and "bat hitting the ball", and "no static at all" on those thunder-y nights. N.E. Patriots are on FM (WBCN) for similar reasons.

Suggested slogan for WBOS if they pick up the team: THE STATION THAT ROCKS YOUR SOX

I'd think Greater Media's FM talker, WTKK, would be more of a better fit for the team (have them on a talk station). If _that_ were to happen it would displace Jay Severin (lots of pre-emptions) but Jay's contract with WTKK is just for a year so he could move to WRKO or WBZ if need be.

Personally I'd love it if they could be on WMKK "Mike FM" which comes in very well where I work (and I work nights!)

I'd like to know why many sports teams are using FM stations to broadcast their games. The problem with FM is that it's limited to line of sight for radio reception, which means a very small coverage area listeners. Compare this to KNBR (680 kHz AM); their broadcasts of San Francisco Giants games can be heard almost throughout the western quarter of the continental USA at night--that's how strong the signal is.

Interesting. Yes, many teams take advantage of strong AM signals at night, like WPHT 1210 (Phillies), WBAL 1090 (O's), etc. In Boston WEEI (850) has a limited signal but the Hartford affiliate WTIC (1080) is better at night (I know I picked them up while in Ohio) for those considerably further from Boston.

NFL teams like the Patriots (on WBCN 104.1) wanted to take advantage of FM because of the stereo sound quality (crowd and player-contact noise) and also they linked with a station that had a strong following among young adults (The Rock of Boston = N.E. Patriots Rock Radio Network). The football plugs the rock and vice versa.

FM baseball? You'd have the crack of the bat and crowd noise in stereo, announcer's voices in stereo, and "no static, no static at all" as Steely Dan once put it. During thundery weather it can be a challenge on AM (esp. a weaker/faraway FM signal) to hear the game with all the static. Of course FM does have limited range in terms of line-of-sight. This is why, for example, WFNX in Lynn/Boston, MA (101.7) had to put up a repeater at 101.3 in Boston itself (reg. transmitter is slightly north of town) to aid reception (but now that WFNX is moving its signal to the top of the "Pru" in Boston, the repeater will no longer be needed).

Sometimes you can get a good solid signal on FM but yes, there's the line of sight problem. Ideally it would be great to have both and AM and and FM carrying games (most likely co-owned)...Entercom, which owns WEEI (850) could also run the games on its sister station WMKK (93.7). And starting this year, WEEI-FM (103.7) from Westerly, RI, which has a killer signal, will also carry the Sox.

If _that_ were to happen it would displace Jay Severin

That, I think, would be a very good thing indeed.

Since Severin has gone syndicated he has gone psycho.

His commentary is no longer insightful but is now grating.
I want to reach through the radio and choke him when ever he says "the war in Iraq-nam".

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