KPRI increase power and coverage

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 by SDRadio.

KPRI Transmitter Move Improves San Diego Radio Market Signal

San Diego’s independent radio station 102.1 KPRI moves its transmitting antenna to a new site atop Mt. Soledad in La Jolla. Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Schwartz comments: “Broadcasting from the new site gives KPRI a signal that is competitive with all of the other major stations in the San Diego market.” The move happens at noon today.

The transmitter move caps an eleven-year campaign by KPRI to improve its signal, to serve more people, and thus to even better serve the public interest. “There were a number of hurdles for us,” said Schwartz. “In addition to getting approval of the Federal Communications Commission, we also had to get permission from Mexico’s “FCC” because the San Diego market is so close to the Mexican border. It took a long time, but eventually the two governments agreed.” Schwartz was the chief negotiator for KPRI, noting: “We took each issue as it came up and worked on it until it was resolved. The result is a much better KPRI listening experience for more people in more places.”

“KPRI’s transmitter site improvement does not change the fact that we continue to be licensed to the City of Encinitas. We’re not changing our city of license, nor our commitment to Encinitas,” said Schwartz, adding: “In fact, by moving our antenna we are making KPRI’s signal more competitive. Starting now, we’re serving an estimated 2.4 million people, many of whom have not been able to hear us they way they would like. We are sure that this enhancement will allow us to even better serve the City of Encinitas and our surrounding service area.”

Because Mt. Soledad is more centrally located closer to the population center of the San Diego radio market, Scwhart Schwartzz said the result is “more people will be able to listen to us more often, more reliably, in more places. Listeners everywhere will notice that in-car reception is better. Many will also be able to pick us up inside steel buildings so that they can listen during work. Entire areas of the San Diego market that just couldn’t hear us because of terrain will now be able to listen. We anticipate this will give us a chance to improve our audience ratings, making us a stronger voice in the San Diego radio market, and helping us to do an even better job serving the public interest.”

Mt. Soledad is used as a transmission site by most of San Diego highest rated radio stations including KMYI, KYXY, KLQV, KIOZ, KIFM, and KFMB-FM. 102.1 KPRI is owned and operated by San Diego based Compass Radio Group, a private firm controlled by local residents Jonathan Schwartz and Robert Hughes.

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