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FAN to FM

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 08 2012 10:34 AM

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 Oct 08 2012 10:36 AM Re: FAN to FM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: This sucks Howkum?

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 08 2012 10:38 AM Re: FAN to FM

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

Edgy MD Oct 08 2012 10:42 AM Re: FAN to FM

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

HahnSolo Oct 08 2012 11:10 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 08 2012 11:24 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 08 2012 11:24 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 08 2012 11:39 AM Re: FAN to FM

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

Ceetar Oct 08 2012 11:46 AM Re: FAN to FM

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.

sharpie Oct 08 2012 12:16 PM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 08 2012 01:10 PM Re: FAN to FM

The Mets not being on a 50,000 clear-channel station is a national tragedy. Ok, maybe not. But still a catastrophe.

Swan Swan H Oct 08 2012 01:14 PM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 08 2012 05:33 PM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 08 2012 07:06 PM Re: FAN to FM

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

Ashie62 Oct 08 2012 07:10 PM Re: FAN to FM

Introducing the SNY Radio Network.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 08 2012 07:48 PM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 08 2012 07:51 PM Re: FAN to FM

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

cooby Oct 09 2012 08:29 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 09 2012 08:35 AM Re: FAN to FM

Is that the game? To drive folks to SNY?

Ceetar Oct 09 2012 08:37 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 09 2012 08:40 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 09 2012 08:45 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Oct 09 2012 09:17 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Nov 01 2012 10:31 PM Re: FAN to FM

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 Nov 02 2012 06:59 AM Re: FAN to FM

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 Nov 02 2012 07:15 AM Re: FAN to FM

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.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 02 2012 07:36 AM Re: FAN to FM

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

Mets – Willets Point Nov 02 2012 07:59 AM Re: FAN to FM

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

Edgy MD Nov 02 2012 08:12 AM Re: FAN to FM

"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 Nov 04 2012 05:54 AM Re: FAN to FM

I use XM or MLB AtBat.

MFS62 Nov 04 2012 07:23 AM Re: FAN to FM

When ESPNNY radio went to FM, they said it was because the signal didn't reach the far suburbs like WFAN did. I had the opposite, ESPNNY radio came in loud and clear (well, loud and a little static) and the WFAN signal would die about 15 miles south of my house. So I missed the ends of a lot of games while driving home from work. But now, that WFAN FM signal is with me all the way home, so I'll be able to follow my Nets until baseball starts again. Later

Frayed Knot Feb 17 2013 05:45 AM Re: FAN to FM

The story here is that CBS has been slowly rolling out a new national sports radio network, one which will launch in the NYC market sometime the next few months. When it does that will end the AM/FM simulcast of WFAN which has been going on since November or so, but what remains to be decided (or maybe just announced) is how the national vs local content is divided between the CBS-owned 660 AM and 101 FM frequencies. Will the current locally-oriented format remain on its long-time 660 slot where it's resided since the late 1980s, or will the corporate bigwigs want the stronger/longer signal to go to their new baby with whatever talent they've managed to so-far hire away from ESPN (Jim Rome, Doug Gottlieb) and remand WFAN to the FM side only? It is also possible that some kind of 'mix-and-match' thing will go on where local programming will get the AM chair for certain hours of the day while the national show gets other hours; or maybe a weekday/weekend thing. The other wrench into this work is that both the Mets and Yanx radio deals are up after this coming season. CBS shirley would want one and maybe both so how those would be assigned to AM and FM will be a big deal. Plus you figure ESPN is going to bid for one or the other. Michael Kay as the lead-in to your New York Mets games anyone? as per Phil Mushnick

Mets – Willets Point Feb 17 2013 08:02 AM Re: FAN to FM

Ha - you used "talent" and "Jim Rome" in the same sentence.

Frayed Knot Feb 17 2013 08:43 AM Re: FAN to FM

Hey, 'Obnoxious' is a kind of talent. I actually heard Rome has toned down his act since his early days although I haven't heard him in years so I can't say and, even if true, it still could be just a relative thing.

Kong76 Feb 17 2013 09:14 AM Re: FAN to FM

Frayed Knot wrote: Michael Kay as the lead-in to your New York Mets games anyone? Please, gonna have nightmares now.

Swan Swan H Feb 17 2013 09:17 AM Re: FAN to FM

Frayed Knot wrote: Hey, 'Obnoxious' is a kind of talent. I actually heard Rome has toned down his act since his early days although I haven't heard him in years so I can't say and, even if true, it still could be just a relative thing. Jim Rome being less of a dick still leaves a lot of wiggle room.

Ceetar Feb 17 2013 09:48 AM Re: FAN to FM

I've pretty much stopped with the sports talk radio (okay, i've stopped with the radio entirely) so I guess I don't really care. It'd be nice to have a real Mets/baseball guy talking baseball and Mets in the hour or so leading up to a game, especially games where you'd be more likely to tailgate and have the radio on outside the park or something. The only real benefit of WFAN before the game is I can't read my Twitter feed for real updates on breaking news/lineups as i'm driving. But there are seemingly more and more Mets podcast options, and with streaming and 4g and all sorts of connectivity, (and the MLB At Bat app which is only ..$20? and includes the audio broadcast anyway..) I don't know that I can get that worked up over WFAN/CBS type deck chair rearrangements.

metsguyinmichigan Feb 17 2013 05:51 PM Re: FAN to FM

Guys, the best way to get the Mets on the radio is the MLB At Bat ap! It's the best $15 dollar I spend each spring. You get all the Mets games -- and every other team's games, for that matter -- and even the opposing team's broadcast. It works in the car, it works in the speakers at home. As an out-of-market fan, it's essential for me. You don't get Mike Francesa, but I'm not sure that's a downside, either.

The Second Spitter Mar 07 2013 02:59 AM Re: FAN to FM

I listen to the FAN on the go using an app called "TuneIn Radio". It's free.