Now that Kiss 108 or WXKS 107-point-9 is also simulcasted on 95.3 WSKX would it be possible to listen to Kiss 108 all the way from Providence to Portland? I only ask because I was checking out radio-locator.com and the map for 107.9 shows that it is a distant signal in Providence and 95.3 has a fringe signal in Portland. So my question is could you drive from Providence to Portland without any signal issues if you had a good car radio?
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Kiss 108 Listenable from Providence to Portland.
- Thread starter wpxt
- Start date
I'd say yes - at least. Probably even Warwick to Portland, in fact.
WXKS overlaps with WSKX in the Portsmouth/Rye/Greenland, NH area and makes it up to at least York with a weak but listenable signal. By then, WSKX is local and would theoretically come in to at least the southern end of Portland. You might even catch it a little north of Portland, though it would be quite weak by then. That 95.3 signal is hardly a powerhouse, but it is a well-placed northern extension of Kiss 108.
WXKS overlaps with WSKX in the Portsmouth/Rye/Greenland, NH area and makes it up to at least York with a weak but listenable signal. By then, WSKX is local and would theoretically come in to at least the southern end of Portland. You might even catch it a little north of Portland, though it would be quite weak by then. That 95.3 signal is hardly a powerhouse, but it is a well-placed northern extension of Kiss 108.
wpxt said:
Roughly 165 air miles; more like 175 by car (depending on how you go).
Granted, Kiss 108 probably comes in even a bit farther south than Warwick, though it'll eventually have issues with the New London/Groton area signal at 107.7 and WEBE 108. I know I listened to it back when I went to UConn - though you could only get it in certain parts of the campus. Signal goes out a long way.
MassMusicMan
Banned
Kiss 108 isn't listenable anywhere.
N
necrat123
Guest
For a small period of time, Kiss 108 suffered from interference from a "on channel" pirate in South Providence, (which has since moved to 104.3). It's audiable to the south into Narragansett, South on I95 well into Coventry.
To the west, it now gets hammered in the hills west of Worcester by the 107.9 LPFMer in Springfield. Before the LPFM fired up, it wasn't too difficult to hear it in Springfield.
To the north, I noticed WSKX 95.3's HD signal was still being detected by the Riverside (?) exit in Westbrook?.
and the analog signal was fairly clear near the highway split north of Portland.
It's signal is at par with the other Pru FMs using the top master antenna.
To the west, it now gets hammered in the hills west of Worcester by the 107.9 LPFMer in Springfield. Before the LPFM fired up, it wasn't too difficult to hear it in Springfield.
To the north, I noticed WSKX 95.3's HD signal was still being detected by the Riverside (?) exit in Westbrook?.
and the analog signal was fairly clear near the highway split north of Portland.
It's signal is at par with the other Pru FMs using the top master antenna.
B
BoscoGoldBear
Guest
Will said:
For once I agree with you, Will! Kiss has been unlistenable since 1994 when John Ivey dumped the Kiss classics which made Kiss 108 great (i.e. Shame-Evelyn Champagne King, Grace Of God-Machine, Mighty Real-Sylvester, Good Times-Chic, Rapper's Delight-Sugarhill Gang, Brickhouse-Commodores, and all the great songs from Donna Summer, Kool & the Gang, Madonna, Prince and - yes - Michael and Janet Jackson)!
Steve N. said:
How would they attract their targeted demo if they played those songs today (many of which are now 30+ years old) ? I thought they were supposed to be a CHR.
Steve N. said:
Let's see, Kiss 108 is the most-listened to music station in New England and has become a consistent #1 in the key demos. So, what do we want to do? Change the music! Come on Steve, this makes no sense. Yes, I like those songs too. But that's not what Kiss is all about and hasn't been for a decade and a half. A lot has changed since then.
Better to agitate for a revival of Star than to make silly suggestions like these for Kiss. It's not going to happen at Kiss and it shouldn't happen.
Although I am not a huge fan of Kiss 108 anymore, the comments about it being "unlistenable" reflect personal opinions that are not shared by a solid chunk of the audience in the Boston area. Right now, considering the market they're in and the formats available, they're being programmed very well. To me, they lean a bit too AC-ish, but they can not only get away with it, but they prosper with it.
What would really be interesting would be someone like CBS dropping a solid CHR format in Boston (like on BCN - the LOWEST rated full-power FM in the market). Such a station (if programmed and positioned just right) would the potential to wreak havoc with Kiss and JAMN.
B
BoscoGoldBear
Guest
BRNout said:
I never said change a thing - I do read the ratrings! Kiss and Magic aren't really anything I like, but they are successful. Clearly both stations know what they're doing. I only said that Kiss became unlistenable when it went overboard on Green Day, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple, Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow (who eventually sang with the Crows), Black Crowes (who were never on Kiss before '94), and the like. Clearly that was my opinion - I flipped to Mix when it was (at the very least) dance friendly, then tuned out when it went in the same rock direction as Kiss in '96. Ratings were not kind to either station until '01 (Mix) and '02 (Kiss). Yes, Mix was moved from #6 to #3 with the adult demo in '99 b/c of BNL - however Kiss, scared of its ghost (Star), went retro then and trumped Mix with a #2 rating (from #7), making Mix look like a failure.
Steve, I liked the old Kiss too and am the first one here to argue that Boston needs more variety (and rhythmic music) on the FM dial. However, Kiss is doing what they need to do right now and it's paying off in spades. That we may not care to listen isn't important because we're not even in their target demographic.
B
BoscoGoldBear
Guest
DToTheJ said:
1994 (no misprint)! Sunny Joe had these classics (and more) on the whole time until his drug-related ouster in 1991. Kiss dumped the classics then until they were skunked in the ratings by both Mix 98.5 and the Sunny Joe-led Zoo 94 (Sunny was illegally but clearly in charge of Zoo), and had the Kiss classics played on a semi-regular basis until John Ivey took over as Kiss PD from Steve Rivers (how's his health now?). Ivey then started playing songs that Kiss omitted, principally because these songs were the opposite of real Kiss (i.e. Nirvana-Come As You Are and Teen Spirit, Pearl Jam-Black and Alive, Black Crowes-Hard To Handle, and anything by metal groups Bon Jovi and Def Leppard). The important thing to Ivey, though, was that Kiss 108's then-new rock sound was the exact opposite of newly-purchased Jam'n 94-5. To be honest, given that Clear Channel is a duopoly and not a tripoly plus, I would do things the John Ivey way: NO Black Eyed Peas or Beyonce on Kiss because they're Jam'n artists, and no Miley Cyrus or Nickelback on Jam'n because they're Kiss artists, because I would target Kiss towards the boonies beyond Framingfish (where the COZ-era mullet is still the hairstyle of choice) wheras Jam'n would be targeted towards the projects.
Rivers & Engelman......anyone remember that? I know someone has to....then Scott showed up and I guess Steve just focused on being PD. The Z!
B
beantownradio25
Guest
Their 95.3 simulcast in Maine is not based in Portland, it is based in York Center, and can barely be heard in Portland.
B
beantownradio25
Guest
Oh okay, and yes I agree. I was in Providence Tuesday and was suprised how well I could get KISS, JAM'N, and alot of the other Boston stations. I have no clue how Kiss 108 does so good in the ratings, they literally play the same songs over and over again, and their morning guy isn't funny anymore!
And about BCN flipping to CHR, that could very well happen, who knows, maybe thats why JAM'N has gone way more Rhythmic lately.
And about BCN flipping to CHR, that could very well happen, who knows, maybe thats why JAM'N has gone way more Rhythmic lately.
Have to disagree; I think Matty is funnier now than his earlier days. If you listen to old shows from the 80's his voice was odd and the show was more fast paced, not much chemistry. I wonder what Bill Rossi is up to these days?
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