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Ratings!

Covers all of Northern Lower Michigan (from Ludington to Tawas northward), as well as the Straits Area and Soo Region.
Kennelly Heaviside
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Re: Ratings!

Post by Kennelly Heaviside » Fri Aug 13, 2021 6:51 pm

I thought the ratings looked a little strange in many or all of the markets. Many have said they are scratching their heads.


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BayCityJohn2337
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Re: Ratings!

Post by BayCityJohn2337 » Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:08 pm

WTCM not being on top is very confusing to say the least. WKLT is kicking ass in Northern Michigan!



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Ratings!

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Aug 14, 2021 7:56 am

I thought the ratings looked a little strange in many or all of the markets. Many have said they are scratching their heads.
The unusually weak showings of the secular AC stations in Flint and in the Tri-Cities certainly caught my attention.

B93 also failed to crack a 1 share in Lansing, where it normally pulls about a 2 share. Its signal is much weaker in the eastern half of that market; maybe fewer diaries landed in Eaton County than normal.



Kennelly Heaviside
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Re: Ratings!

Post by Kennelly Heaviside » Sat Aug 14, 2021 1:51 pm

WJFM/WBCT not only went from 500 kW to 320 kW ERP over the years, but they may have mounted the antenna in such a way to maximize Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, and probably gave up on Lansing, where people went to Frandor, not the North Kent Mall. It's amazing that WBCT doesn't get a 70 dBu that far beyond the Grand Rapids City Limits, and the terrain is rough enough for that distance, that it gives a lot of signal fluctuation with location and time, called F(L,T). So they might have optimized it to get more signal. Has anyone noticed if WKAD Harrietta gets observably more interference from WBCT than WRCL Frankenmuth?

What passes for AC today can be more than a little edgy lyrically and musically now, and between that and a spiritual awakening due to the events of the last 2 years, there may be a move toward CCM type formats.

https://www.fccdata.org/?lang=en&facid= ... 3ebeb7&i=2


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MWmetalhead
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Re: Ratings!

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Aug 15, 2021 9:14 am

They definitely aren't maximizing signal over Battle Creek. The signal has always greatly underperformed there relative to FCC contour projections. Station won't even lock in on seek in spots and there is noticeable scratchiness, especially along I-94 from about Columbia to Beadle Lake Rd. Bear in mind WBCT's signal strength on paper should be city grade there.

I think terrain is a major factor, as WGRD is also weaker than forecast there. It's certainly not the only factor.

WBCT broadcasts from the WWMT tower. I suspect it's a near certainty the WBCT antenna bay is mounted on a westward, northwestward or northward facing leg of the WWMT tower.

WWDK delivers a noticeably better signal to Battle Creek than WBCT.
Has anyone noticed if WKAD Harrietta gets observably more interference from WBCT than WRCL Frankenmuth?
Many stations that transmit from TX sites south of Grand Rapids seem to overachieve with regard to northbound signal propagation.

WGRD, whose signal is pretty crappy south of I-94, does great all the way up to mile marker 131 on US-131 (no pun intended, lol). Range is a good 10 miles greater north versus south.

WBCT's signal used to make it to the Mecosta / Osceola border, a good 85 miles from its TX site, nearly effortlessly before WKAD took to the airwaves. About a mile or two before US-10 used to be the spot where reception would become poor enough to force a dial change.

What used to be a pretty solid signal in Big Rapids is now an irritant if in a moving vehicle thanks to WKAD. There's little doubt in my mind that circumstance contributed to the decision to flip 100.9 FM to Country, an ultimately wise move. I suspect Big Country 100.9 pulls monster numbers in Mecosta County.

I'm a little surprised ownership hasn't moved Country to the much stronger signal at 102.3 after all these years. Along M37 in Newaygo and Lake Counties, 102.3's signal is much stronger than 100.9. People in those areas want to hear Country, not fruity pop music (which is also available on a number of other signals).



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Re: Ratings!

Post by ftballfan » Mon Aug 16, 2021 8:32 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sun Aug 15, 2021 9:14 am
What used to be a pretty solid signal in Big Rapids is now an irritant if in a moving vehicle thanks to WKAD. There's little doubt in my mind that circumstance contributed to the decision to flip 100.9 FM to Country, an ultimately wise move. I suspect Big Country 100.9 pulls monster numbers in Mecosta County.

I'm a little surprised ownership hasn't moved Country to the much stronger signal at 102.3 after all these years. Along M37 in Newaygo and Lake Counties, 102.3's signal is much stronger than 100.9. People in those areas want to hear Country, not fruity pop music (which is also available on a number of other signals).
With Country being on 100.9 instead of 102.3, I can imagine WTCM does very well in Lake County (since it's about the only country station with a decent signal in most of that county). Same can be said for Manistee County



Kennelly Heaviside
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Re: Ratings!

Post by Kennelly Heaviside » Wed Aug 18, 2021 12:11 am

The Valleys of the Valley City do quite a bit of attenuation and fluctuation to the 320 kW WBCT signal, even within the Grand Rapids City Limits. I observed this way back in the early 1970s with my Sony Portable with a signal strength meter, and saw the fluctuation riding in a car. It was still 500 kW then.

https://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php ... beb7&map=Y

WFGR with 2.75 kW has no "red dots" within the immediate Grand Rapids area. True, it doesn't hit Kalamazoo.

https://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php ... beb7&map=Y

WTRV with 3 kW/100 meters.

https://www.rabbitears.info/contour.php ... beb7&map=Y


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