Posts Tagged ‘WPSE’

WMCE listeners migrate from 104.9 translator

Michael Leal, Director of Broadcasting for Mercyhurst College’s 88.5 WMCE, writes to tell listeners of the jazz station that they are about to lose their second signal at 104.9 FM. Here’s the release:

If you listen to Mercyhurst College’s JAZZ FM – WMCE Radio over 104.9FM, program director Michael Leal is asking listeners to switch frequencies to 88.5FM, effective immediately.

Mercyhurst owns the 88.5 FM frequency which it broadcasts a full-time jazz format. It has also been simulcasting its programming over translator 104.9FM (W285AI), which is not owned by the college and the license is expected to be sold to a local commercial broadcaster in the near future.

The 88.5 FM frequency has increased its power significantly in recent years and anyone listening to Jazz FM over 104.9 will be able to receive it over 88.5

“All Jazz FM programming will continue without interruption, but only heard over 88.5FM,” Leal said.

You can also continue to hear programs as usual on the station’s Internet at www.ErieRadio.com.  Questions can be directed to Leal 824-2264.

The commercial broadcaster Leal refers to is Citadel, who is planning on picking up 104.9 to put it’s WRIE/ESPN sports station on the FM band. That would make two Erie AM’s also available on FM via translator frequencies; the other being WPSE business talk out of Penn State Behrend on 107.1.

WPSE picks up 107.1 Erie translator

WPSE

WPSE AM 1450

AllAccess.com is confirming what P&T had heard for weeks now, that the Pennsylvania State University is purchasing W296BW/Erie, the 107.1 FM translator owned by Michael Celenza. The price was $68,000.

Celenza was transmitting a rebroadcast of the CSN International network, a Christian station from Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, ID.

P&T has heard that 107.1 will be a new signal of WPSE-AM 1450, which broadcasts business news and Penn State sports from the Behrend campus. FCC rules have changed in recent years to allow FM translators to be used to retransmit AM signals. My understanding is that university funds were not used for the purchase of the station, but came from a donor.

UPDATE: Ron Slomski, the manager of WPSE has confirmed that the 107.1 signal will rebroadcast the WPSE programming stream, if the sale is approved by the FCC.

Star 104 goes super nova in Erie Spring radio ratings

WRTS/Star 104

It’s got to be one of the biggest Top 40 stations in the country.

According to the recently released Spring 2010 Arbitron ratings for Erie, the nearly 18 percent share of the Erie radio audience that WRTS/Star 104 enjoys at any given part of the day means that if you were to pile all those people into one place it would be the equivalent of the population of a decent sized city all jumping up and down to The Black Eyed Peas. Star definitely benefited from the sheer depth of great Top 40 songs currently in rotation. Erie has gone GaGa for the Lady, the glam of Adam Lambert, and the Gurls of California.

In fact, market watchers tell me that Star 104 has reached audience Nirvana with its “skew graph.” Connoisseur Media’s WRTS scored nearly the same percentage of adult listeners in each demographic slice, meaning that it’s the station that Grandma, Mom, and Sissy can agree on. Most Erieites listen to Star and another station; from Bob to Z.

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