from the Portland Press
Herald (Maine)
April 14, 2004
Portland's newest radio station owner announced its arrival in town Tuesday by putting shock jock Howard Stern on the air.
Nassau Broadcasting of New Jersey started airing three new formats Tuesday on Portland stations it acquired from WMTW radio group last week.
The three revamped stations are:
The Bone, a classic rock station at 106.7 FM and 104.7 FM, featuring Stern's controversial program in the morning slot and artists like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin the rest of the day. No other Portland station carries Stern.
The Voice, at 870 AM, a station airing the syndicated liberal-slanted Air America talk radio network. The network's midday host is comedian and political commentator Al Franken.
Frank FM, at 107.5 FM, a classic hits station playing artists whose heyday was the '70s and '80s, including Elton John, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.
Nassau bought a total of six radio station signals from WMTW radio group this year, and finalized the purchase last week. Earlier this year Nassau also bought the WBACH chain of classical music stations in Maine, which are continuing to play classical music.
Until Nassau took over the WMTW stations last week, 870 AM and 106.7 FM had broadcast news 24 hours a day. The station at 104.7 FM had been easy listening.
The country station that was formerly at 107.5 FM, The Wolf, was moved to 99.9 FM and 96.9 FM. The station that was on those frequencies, a contemporary hits station known as Kiss 99, was taken off the air.
Nassau also changed one of its news stations, 1470 AM in Lewiston, into a nostalgic radio format, which it had been four years ago before WMTW switched it to news.
Nassau conducted research, including listener surveys, before deciding to launch the formats, said Tim Gatz, vice president for the Maine stations.
The Portland market has about 20 radio stations, and Nassau tried to pick the formats that could draw the most listeners from other stations, Gatz said.
With The Bone (the name means nothing, says Gatz), Nassau is going head-to-head with classic rock station WBLM (102.9 FM), which has been on the air for 30 years and is often the top-rated station in Portland.
Gatz said the differences will be that The Bone will have Stern and his titillating and shocking brand of entertainment, plus the music will "rock harder" than WBLM.
"We're not going into this blind. We did a lot of research and it indicated that people here didn't have a lot of passion for any one radio station," said Gatz.
Stern was recently dropped by the Clear Channel radio station group, after the group was fined $495,000 by the Federal Communications Commission for a show Stern did on April 9, 2003, referring to certain body parts and bodily functions.
So why would a company moving into a new market, like Portland, want to carry Stern?
"For competitive reasons. We're a business, trying to draw listeners from other stations," Gatz said.
The odd station nicknames, like "the Bone" and "Frank FM" are indicative of a radio trend that has slowly been coming to Maine the last few years.
Nassau is also trying to fill a void in the Portland radio market by bringing in the fairly new Air America network, which is on about a dozen stations nationally. Portland's stations for syndicated talk, including WGAN (560 AM) and WZAN (970 AM) carry more conservative hosts, like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.
SIDEBAR
NEW RADIO STATIONS ON THE DIAL
Here's a list of the three revamped radio stations launched on Portland's airwaves Tuesday by Nassau Broadcasting of New Jersey.
106.7 FM,104.7 FM - The Bone
Format: Syndicated shock jock Howard Stern will be heard mornings, classic
rock will fill the rest of the day, including artists such as: Van Halen, AC/DC,
Ozzy Osbourne and Led Zeppelin.
Competition: WBLM (102.9 FM), rated the
most-listened-to radio station of any format north of Boston.
107.5 FM - Frank FM
Format: Classic hits. Artists will include performers who were big in the
1970s and 80s, such as The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John and the Rolling
Stones.
Competition: None directly, but will play some of the same songs as
WYNZ (100.9 FM), an oldies station.
870 AM - The Voice
Format: The syndicated Air America talk network, with liberal-slanted hosts
such as Al Franken.
Competition: None directly, but will fill a void since
most of Portland's syndicated talk shows feature conservative hosts such as Rush
Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.
from Radio
and Records
April 14, 2004
WMTW-FM had been News under former owner WMTW Broadcast Group, while WQEZ aired an AC format under previous owner Mariner Broadcasting.
Outside of morning drive, The Bone is featuring "Real Classic Rock All Day" from artists such as Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin.
Updated: April 14, 2004
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