WPRB

WPRB (103.3 FM) is a commercial freeform FM radio station licensed to serve Princeton, New Jersey. The station is owned by Princeton Broadcasting Service, Inc., and broadcasts a diverse range of music genres, including shoegaze, slowcore, noise music, harsh noise wall, plunderphonics, illbient, classical, jazz, electronic, folk, reggae, ska, metal, world, soul, blues, and rock. Its broadcast tower is shared with WKXW "New Jersey 101.5" and is located in Lawrence Township northeast of Trenton at ().
While the station is non-profit, it is licensed as a commercial radio station. The station is funded primarily by listener contributions, raised especially during WPRB's annual 10-day Spring Drive, hosted in April. As well, the station derives income through community underwriting contracts with local businesses.
Almost all of the on-air and management staff consists of Princeton University alumni and students. WPRB uses HD Radio, and broadcasts Indian-formatted "Radio Mirchi" on its HD2 subchannel. One of its disc jockeys, Jon Solomon, has hosted a 24-hour+ Christmas music radiothon every year but one since 1988.
WPRB's slogan is "New Jersey's Only Radio Station."
History.
The station was founded as WPRU in 1940 by H. Grant Theis, a Princeton University student at the time. It often is cited as the oldest commercially licensed campus radio station in the United States. In 1955, WPRU got its FM license. It signed on as WPRB, the first college station on the FM dial in the United States, after the WPRU call sign was found to be already in use by a ship. It is considered a pioneer in FM Stereo broadcasting, transmitting a stereo signal beginning in 1964.
WPRB has broadcast on three different FM frequencies in its history: it first was heard on 103.9 MHz; in 1959, it moved to 103.5 MHz; and it moved to its current frequency of 103.3 MHz in 1962. During the 1960s and 70s, it joined with other Ivy League universities to form the "Ivy Network," sharing some programming and resources. It later was an affiliate of the ABC FM Network.
In 1986, Spin Magazine named WPRB the best commercial college station in the country.
After decades of operation under an advertising-supported business model, in 2006 WPRB switched to a listener-supported model (although it remains a commercially licensed station). In 2009, WPRB went on to acquire a Princeton student magazine, the "Nassau Weekly". "Nassau Weekly" was founded in 1979 by Princeton students including David Remnick, who later became the editor of "The New Yorker".
WPRB was the first commercial radio station in the United States to play Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" when it debuted on John Weingart's long-running program "Music You Can't Hear on the Radio."
Broadcast Signal.
WPRB is a full class B signal. Its service contour covers all of Central New Jersey and portions of the Philadelphia and New York City radio markets.
WPRB is short-spaced to two other class B stations: WKTU "103.5 KTU" (licensed to serve Lake Success, New York) and WARM-FM "Warm 103.3" (licensed to serve York, Pennsylvania). WPRB and WKTU operate on adjacent channels and the cities they are licensed to serve are only 45 miles apart. The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 105 miles. WPRB and WARM-FM operate on the same channel and the cities they are licensed to serve are only 112 miles apart. The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles, but because WPRB dates back to the early days of FM broadcasting (before many rules had been established) it is grandfathered on its current frequency and power level.