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103.7 ?

E

edthedeal

Guest
I love sports radio but my question is , why did any music format didnt do well on 103.7 ? With that killer RI signal ( Strong signal ) I would had think ,almost any music format would had been great on 103.7 .<P ID="signature">______________
JACK FORMAT KILLED THE RADIO BIZ AS WE KNOW IT</P>
 
> I love sports radio but my question is , why did any music
> format didnt do well on 103.7 ? With that killer RI signal (
> Strong signal ) I would had think ,almost any music format
> would had been great on 103.7 .

If I remember WRX's signal as a classic rocker wasn't that good in all areas.I don't even recall the politics of it all but it seems regardless of numbers or signal,as part of a cluster the station could have survived since there are currently a fair number of Providence stations that do survive due to being part of a group with more successful stations.
 
It's powerful, but the 103.7 signal comes from Exeter, which is not exactly the center of the Providence market. At one brief point, 94.1 WHJY and 103.7 were co-owned by Clear Channel. Both were rockers, and WHJY was right on top of the population. To spin off 103.7 to a company (WFNX) that was going to run more modern rock made business sense and left the field more open for mainstream heritage rocker WHJY.

103.7 also has a killer signal in Westerly (its city of license) and most of Eastern Connecticut, where it had very respectable numbers as classic rock and later modern rock. The lure of a top 40 market up the road meant CT and Southern RI would always be the afterthought. It had been a tough balancing act between Providence and New London. Their Providence signal is decent, but they would have to find a unique niche there against signals a stone's throw away from the city and all its big suburbs. Sports is evidently one of them. As a CT listener, 103.7 WRX is still missed, even though they used to cheer on the Bruins against the Whalers!
 
> 103.7 also has a killer signal in Westerly (its city of
> license) and most of Eastern Connecticut, where it had very
> respectable numbers as classic rock and later modern rock.
> The lure of a top 40 market up the road meant CT and
> Southern RI would always be the afterthought. It had been a
> tough balancing act between Providence and New London.
> Their Providence signal is decent, but they would have to
> find a unique niche there against signals a stone's throw
> away from the city and all its big suburbs. Sports is
> evidently one of them. As a CT listener, 103.7 WRX is still
> missed, even though they used to cheer on the Bruins against
> the Whalers!
>

I also remember them as "RI 104" in the mid and late 1980s. The current 103.7 FM signal is so-so here in New Britain, CT ("so-so" as in a noisy stereo signal).
<P ID="signature">______________
#13 Dan Marino...2005 Football Hall Of Fame Inductee :)</P>
 
Where I am, in Norwood, Massachusetts, I pick-up a good signal from 103.7 on my better FM radios.
 
The signal debate regarding 103.7 was one that I had often on this board. I still maintain that the signal is one of the most powerful in the region. Moreover, the signal is comparable to that of PRO-FM or WHJY in nearly all parts of the Providence metro area. The exceptions are in East Providence, where there is interference from other towers; and areas on the northernmost fringes of Route 146, such as North Smithfield, Woonsocket, and Burrillville. However, 103.7's signal is strong into Eastern Massachusetts, and the late WRX performed well in both Fall River and New Bedford. Moreover, 103.7 is heard nicely in much of the lower Cape, including Hyannis.

As we have seen with WEEI-FM, 103.7's signal is not a ratings impediment. I fully expect to see WEEI-FM competing with WPRO for the top spot among talkers next summer.
 
> Where I am, in Norwood, Massachusetts, I pick-up a good
> signal from 103.7 on my better FM radios.

In the MetroWest suburbs, 103.7 also comes in on better quality radios, but static as a result of distance rather than surrounding stations definitely hurts the signal. But go further out into Worcester County and 103.7 (along with most other Providence stations) sounds like a local.
 
> Where I am, in Norwood, Massachusetts, I pick-up a good
> signal from 103.7 on my better FM radios.
>
In the Springfield, MA area, it fights heavily with WKNE out of Keene, NH.
 
> I love sports radio but my question is , why did any music
> format didnt do well on 103.7 ? With that killer RI signal (
> Strong signal ) I would had think ,almost any music format
> would had been great on 103.7 .
>
There was a summer (I think '96) where 103.7 WRX was having signal trouble. The Exeter transmitter signal was fine, but the relay signal from their Providence studios to the transmitter site had the problem, and all of WRX's programming was staticky. They resolved the problem, but their ratings, while they were decent before, took a hit that summer. Since then, up until recently, 103.7 has had to fight for its numbers. In addition, 103.7 was a Clear Channel station since the mid-90s, and after aquiring WHJY, among other local radio stations, they needed to spin one off.

Jacko<P ID="signature">______________
I live for my dream,
And a pocket full of gold.
</P>
 
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