RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC RADIO CHANGES ITS NAME • “MORMON ORIENTED RADIO” DEBUTS IN SALT LAKE CITY

In a surprising move, Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR) announced on Friday 10/12 that is has a new name: The Public’s Radio.

Torey Malatia, the organization’s CEO and GM, told the Providence Journal [link] the reason for the name change is to reflect the station’s larger coverage area and new listener engagement features. 

Plus, Malatia believes the new name will differentiate the station from other public media organizations in the area. 

Updated map from Aaron Read

The Public’s Radio (TPR) has seen its ratings surge since RIPR purchased WUMD 89.3 FM and made it their primary signal. 

With 89.3, RIPR more than doubled its coverage area and added new listeners in Fall River, New Bedford, Somerset and other southeastern Massachusetts communities. 

We reported on the ratings increases in July [link].

The station also changed its website [link] to reflect the new name.

TPR, which is currently celebrating its twentieth anniversary, has been locked in a ratings battle with NPR News/Talk WGBH from Boston.   

In the Nielsen Audio September PPM ratings (shown on the left), TPR was only inches above WGBH in both AQH share and estimated weekly listeners.

Before the name change, RIPR heavily promoted its “hometown” presence to gain additional credibility with the Providence business community. Now as TPS, it appears Malatia and company want to be perceived as a regional brand.

Spark News discussed the name change with the CEO of another New England regional broadcaster who told us it might take some time to establish the new identity. That person told us:

“Torey’s move is “puzzling” because the new name sounds so generic. At our organization, our state name is an important part of our identity.  There is a certain sense of pride in saying who you are and where you live. [Torey] has always been someone who tries new approaches, so we wish him well.”

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY’S NEW STATION DEBUTS WITH A FLURRY IN SALT LAKE CITY

A new radio format has debuted in Salt Lake City: M. O. R. – “Mormon Oriented Radio.” As promised, Brigham Young University (BYU) has gone live on terrestrial radio with a station that promotes the Mormon lifestyle, the Mormon religion and famous Mormons who are doing interesting things.

When BYU announced in October 2017 that the Classical music format would be cancelled on 89.1 FM, the local arts community was livid. After intense community protests, BYU changed its plans as we reported in April 2018 [link]. BYU agreed to keep the Classical format on KBYU 89.1 with one caveat: BYU would purchase another FM signal for Mormon oriented programming.

BYU bought a struggling Triple A FM station, KUMT, and debuted the new BYU Radio format on 107.9 FM this summer. For now, BYU Radio is still using the KUMT call letters.

In BYU Radio’s first full “book” – September’s Nielsen PPM ratings –KUMT had over 104,000 estimated weekly listeners. 

After the release of the ratings, BYU crowed that the strong showing was proof that the new Mormon format was very popular. But, a closer look at BYU Radio’s schedule shows this may not be true.

BYU Radio simulcasts programming heard on BYU’s Sirius/XM satellite channel. Most the programs are “religious teaching” talk shows. Each program is rolled-over three or four times during a typical day. It is doubtful that many of the 104,000 weekly listeners are tuning in for these shows.

It looks like the reason most people listen to BYU Radio is to hear the play-by-play broadcasts of BYU Cougar football. BYU Radio is the official voice of the team. Cougar football is a “religion” in Utah that is probably bigger than even the Mormon Church.