Another False Alarm Or Head-Chopping Time?

Entercommies are buzzing about a previously-unexpected visit to Boston by the WRKO-WEEI owner’s CEO scheduled for Wednesday morning. Though David Field does occasionally stop by for rah-rah sessions to put a happy face on his debt-laden operation (repeat after me: “easy comps, easy comps, easy comps”), this one seems rushed and may have a more significant purpose.

Some staffers apparently believe Empress Julie Kahn may finally find her days numbered for a myriad of reasons, both personal and professional. Her replacement may already be in the building, but names will be omitted here as I don’t want to jinx anyone’s chances of being promoted, particularly since this person is said to be a pleasure with which to work.

After the overnight success of rival CBS’s WBZ-FM sports talker, Entercom is now so far behind the curve that the Boston operation may be beyond saving. And with Clear Channel’s new political talker set to arrive on scene shortly, WRKO could become as endangered as WEEI.

Good luck, guys, you’ll need it.

Ratings: A Surge For The New Guy

It’s monthly ratings time again and September’s results brought confirmation that CBS has successfully tapped into market demand for an alternative sports station in the region.

WBZ-FM’s first full month to be measured by Arbitron brought good news for the fledgling outlet: a 2.5 share and seventeenth place overall, much better than would reasonably be expected at this early date. It logged 488,000 listeners, some 100,000 more than beleaguered talker WTKK-FM, which has been on the air for ten years.

Since WBZ-FM’s body count was just 160,000 below WEEI’s, which carries Sox games, it’s no wonder Entercom is in panic mode.

Beyond that battle:

— WBZ-AM again took second place with a 6.5 share and 836,000 listeners, down from 847,600 last month.

— WEEI: a Sox surge, fifth place to 5.2 share and 642,600 listeners.

— WRKO: took a hit from the loss of Sox games, seventh place, 4.8 versus 5.5 last month and 445,100 listeners.

— WTKK: flat with 3.5 share and down to fourteenth place overall. Body count: 382,400 vs 408,400 in August.

— WCRN of Worcester registered in the Boston ratings with a 0.3 and 51,100 Hub listeners. Not bad for a distant signal from a separate market.