But you still need to activate your account.
Mac Smith has big plans for his 5,000-watt AM radio station in Presque Isle.
The owner of WEGP (1390 AM) successfully instituted the first of those plans last month when he secured exclusive local rights to broadcast Boston Red Sox games.
“It started right after the World Series. I put some calls in and wanted to make sure I brought it along with plenty of time to get it done,” said Smith. “We actually wanted to have it last year, but it didn’t really work out.”
So it was that the Presque Isle area was without a Red Sox affiliate for the historic 2004 season, and don’t think Smith didn’t hear about during the offseason.
“I had repeated inquiries from fans and listeners all year,” he said. “I was sick of going to my Rotary luncheons and everyone complaining about not getting the Red Sox.”
So after three months of legwork, WEGP is part of the Red Sox radio network for the first time in Smith’s five-year association with the station, but he doesn’t plan on stopping there.
“I’m also looking to beef up our Maine hockey game schedule,” he explained. “And I don’t know if we’ll be able to pick up Patriots games, but oh yeah, we have interest.”
In the meantime, the response has been nothing short of fantastic from listeners and advertisers alike.
“We nearly sold out all our spots in less than a month,” Smith said. “People are ecstatic. It’s unbelievable. I mean, it’s the greatest response we’ve had yet since putting on Rush Limbaugh three years ago.”
If that’s not enough to jolt sports fans and couch potatoes right out of their Barcaloungers, this might be: Smith is also waiting for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to increase his station’s power ten times over to 50,000 watts after recently being licensed to increase his wattage to 25,000 at night.
“The increase would make us the highest wattage AM station in the state, to the best of my knowledge, and give us all of New England [coverage-wise],” Smith said. “Shoot, at 5,000, we’re getting overseas into Sweden and Norway. We get calls and e-mails verifying it.”
Not bad for a 45-year-old news-talk station whose coverage area is supposed to run from Bridgewater to Van Buren.
“If it goes through, I will have the best electronic signal of any TV, radio or internet signal in the area,” Smith said.
The 52-year-old Smith has been an avid baseball fan for much of his life, not surprising given his family tree.
“My great uncle Elmer Smith played on the 1920 Cleveland Indians team and hit the first grand slam in World Series competition,” he explained. “He got two World Series rings, with the 1920 Indians and 1927 Yankees and he also played for the Boston Braves and Washington Senators.”
Rising with the tide
The Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race will attract live radio and television coverage for the night straight year with both Bangor TV station WABI (Channel 5) and all-sports radio station WZON (620 AM) reporting from all over the course.
“I think this is our 10th straight year covering it from start to finish, but our 11th overall,” said WZON program director Dale Duff. “The first year [1994], we did periodic live updates of the race.”
Duff is one of 10 people who will be involved in WZON’s 31/2-hour coverage (8:30 a.m.-noon).
“In terms of the number of people and the amount of effort and production it takes, it’s probably the largest event we do,” Duff said.
WABI, which will provide live coverage for the ninth straight year, will begin broadcasting from the race at 10 a.m. and continue through 12:30 p.m. It will also makes its live coverage available on the Internet for the second straight year at watchmainesports.com. The fee for the Webcast is $9.95.
“It’s very similar to doing the other sporting events we do. It’s about the size of the crew we’d have for UMaine broadcasts [about 15 people],” said WABI program director Steve Hiltz.
Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net
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