KTU's ratings fall due to WPRB's IBUZ

[nd2023]

The cume is down too. KTU used to be listenable in Middlesex County, before WPRB downgraded to HD. The only reason it went HD was to eventually feed the 100.7 and/or 104.7 translators with the Indian music on 103.3-HD2.

 

[myke25]

it's terrible! I can't even listen in Edison now. I called Clear Channel and yea, got me nowhere. Awesome.

 

[d21ofnj]

Hmmmmm.....KTU not listenable anymore in that part of the 732.. ;D

 

[wprt949]

when i lived in southwest philly back in 1996 i was able to pull ktu in all the time when i moved to south philly in july of 96 i could not get it anymore but that was back when KTU was fun to listen too

 

[bigtom101]

Nick...you familiar with the term "Correlation does not imply causation"? Could it be that the holiday music meant that KTU listeners migrated to MGQ or LTW for the short term?

Give it another trend or book and them MAYBE I'll concede that IBOC is causing a issue. I can get KTU fine on my car stereo (granted, a Sony HD Radio model) within the 54 dbu contour of WPRB while tooling around Middlesex & Monmouth county fine.

KTU cume wise went from 344,100 to 312,30. MGQ's went south as well...in face, it seems that only PLJ, Now, Fresh, and Lite all went up.

It's one month - and December at that. Not a good time to jump to conclusions given that holiday music screws up the usual order. Wait till the Jan month comes out.

And again...what WPRB is doing is legal. PRB/KTU/NNJ are all shortspaced, and had to agree to accept mutual interference to get their current signals. I hate that WBEB destroys CBS-FM anywhere south of Union and west of Somerset, but that's the way it is. Can't get KTU? Get a smartphone and the iHeartRadio app and enjoy....

 

[nd2023]

I want WPRB to pay for my iPhone and data plan and even install the iHeartRadio app on it.

That's what Martz, owner of a new 104.7 translator in Detroit, did to the few listeners that complained about interference to the 104.7 in Toledo from the new translator.

The target audience of WPRB's HD2 lives in the Edison area, and the HD drops in and out in Edison. So no one's going to be listening in HD. The HD2 format's being programmed by the same people that programmed the former Dhoom FM 89.3, and they also own the 104.7 and 100.7 translators. Dhoom FM is now Radio Asia. I'm sure that once the contracts with Hum Desi (100.7/98.7 HD2) and WWFM (104.7) expire, Radio Asia will be on the translators. There's no point for Radio Asia to pay to downgrade WPRB to HD especially now with all we know about HD radio's lack of success.

The website claims that Radio Asia will be heard as far away as Allentown, PA and NYC. Yes it will, online. Might as well also claim to be heard in India. On an HD radio, it can be heard from Bordentown to South Brunswick. No way it will be heard in NYC because of KTU, and Allentown is too far to hear the HD decode at all. They got screwed if they think the HD coverage is equivalent to the analog coverage, and if they think a lot of people have HD radios.

 

[bigtom101]

The website claims that Radio Asia will be heard as far away as Allentown, PA and NYC. Yes it will, online. Might as well also claim to be heard in India. On an HD radio, it can be heard from Bordentown to South Brunswick. No way it will be heard in NYC because of KTU, and Allentown is too far to hear the HD decode at all. They got screwed if they think the HD coverage is equivalent to the analog coverage, and if they think a lot of people have HD radios.

And WKMK claims to be heard in NYC - it can be heard in the Outer Boros, but between WBLI and WHCY/WFAF it's untenable anywhere else in the city. Stations BS coverage claims all the time...nothing new. KTU & PRB should adjust their IBOC sidebands to reduce interference (PRB lowers it's upper sideband, KTU lowers its lower sideband), but it's up to them to do that. Complain to PRB about it if you feel so strongly.

HD coverage is not equivalent to analog, but at -14 or -10 on FM it is equivalent to the analog 54 dBu service contour (aka "What the station has for guaranteed coverage"). I was getting WRDW on 78 in Allentown/Bethlehem last week...well outside of where the station would care about being heard.

HD, much like AM Stereo, was screwed up by the radio industry in many ways. XM & Sirius paid to get into the dashboards of automobiles - iBiquity should have done the same back in the early 00's just to get a foothold. Radio's are not entertainment devices, they are appliances. People only replace them when they break.

 

[nd2023]

The website claims that Radio Asia will be heard as far away as Allentown, PA and NYC. Yes it will, online. Might as well also claim to be heard in India. On an HD radio, it can be heard from Bordentown to South Brunswick. No way it will be heard in NYC because of KTU, and Allentown is too far to hear the HD decode at all. They got screwed if they think the HD coverage is equivalent to the analog coverage, and if they think a lot of people have HD radios.

And WKMK claims to be heard in NYC - it can be heard in the Outer Boros, but between WBLI and WHCY/WFAF it's untenable anywhere else in the city. Stations BS coverage claims all the time...nothing new. KTU & PRB should adjust their IBOC sidebands to reduce interference (PRB lowers it's upper sideband, KTU lowers its lower sideband), but it's up to them to do that. Complain to PRB about it if you feel so strongly.

HD coverage is not equivalent to analog, but at -14 or -10 on FM it is equivalent to the analog 54 dBu service contour (aka "What the station has for guaranteed coverage"). I was getting WRDW on 78 in Allentown/Bethlehem last week...well outside of where the station would care about being heard.

HD, much like AM Stereo, was screwed up by the radio industry in many ways. XM & Sirius paid to get into the dashboards of automobiles - iBiquity should have done the same back in the early 00's just to get a foothold. Radio's are not entertainment devices, they are appliances. People only replace them when they break.

I've actually gotten WKMK in Manhattan a few blocks from Empire. WPRB would be impossible to hear in analog due to KTU's IBUZ. It would definitely be impossible to hear WPRB in HD in New York City or Allentown.

I've had to replace my Insignia HD radio 3 times in 2 years because it broke. If any other appliance broke that often, it wouldn't be replaced.

 

[d21ofnj]

I was in Bethpage a couple months ago for a charter trip. I picked up WKMK on the bus radio and WBLI's stick was not too far out. Make a right turn, WFAF comes in. Looks like in certain angles of Nassau you can hear Thunder.