WRFH 101.7 fm Hillsdale Radio Station maintains high number of downloads despite its online platform change.

Student shows at WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM have received nearly 83,000 downloads on their new publishing platform since September. 

According to senior and Digital Director Abigail Snyder, WRFH switched from Soundcloud to Transistor at the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year. 

“It was a necessary change, but we definitely lost listeners in that move,” Snyder said.

Snyder said the total number of downloads dipped slightly from last year, likely due to the change in hosting platforms.

“For the 2021-22 year, we saw 96,000 downloads. This year, it was 82,596,” Snyder said. 

Radio Station General Manager Scot Bertram said when the listens that occurred in the early months of the school year prior to the switch are accounted for, the numbers look more similar to last year’s.

“The decline almost solely can be attributed to our move in September from SoundCloud to Transistor as the host of all of our content,” Bertram said. “In fact, if we add in the additional 12,000 listens that occurred at SoundCloud in August and September you get a total very much in line with the last two years.”

According to Bertram, Transistor better suits the needs of the station, providing them with more robust options, but it also means the place where most people used to stream their content is no longer being updated with new shows. 

“We’ve changed the language in our on-air announcements and in the way we promote our content inside shows and on social media, so the audience who might not have followed us is aware of the change,” Bertram said.

Snyder is happy with the station’s performance this year, given the turnover. 

“Considering we had quite a number of shows not returning due to seniors graduating or other factors, and the switch to Transistor, I’m quite pleased we essentially matched the previous year’s downloads,” Snyder said.

According to Snyder, the most popular locations of listeners are the U.S. and Taiwan.

“The U.S. makes up 92.95% of our listener base, with a large number of U.S. based listeners from the Midwest, and Taiwan makes up just over 3%.”

Snyder said she does not have an explanation for the listener base in Taiwan. 

Bertram said the station attracts a notable local audience as well.

“These numbers also do not reflect the significant local audience that tunes in at 101.7 FM. We’ll never be able to report an exact number of listeners on the radio side, but based on emails, phone calls, and conversations, I’m confident it’s a sizeable number,” Bertram said.

Senior and Program Director Josh Barker said he is very pleased the numbers are almost identical to the previous year, despite the changes in online location and transition.

“The results are clear, our student content is really making a difference and having a truly worldwide reach,” Barker said.

Barker attributes the station’s success to being both thoughtful and engaging. 

“That’s why we won Michigan College Radio Station of the Year this year, and frequently win state and national awards,” Barker said. “Some college stations are almost exclusively student DJs playing music 24/7. We have a few music shows, but most of our content is spoken word and that makes it perfect for podcast distribution too.”