Rimshot (broadcasting)

Rimshot is a radio and television broadcasting term for a signal that attempts to reach a larger market from a distant suburban, or even rural, location.

Rimshot stations are often at a disadvantage compared to full-power signals in a market. Many rimshot operators attempt to serve the larger market with a signal that has deficiencies in the intended listening area.

Rimshot examples

In the Washington, DC radio market, classical music outlet WGMS (FM) 104.1 now resides on a signal licensed to Waldorf, Maryland, which aims at the Washington market from the southeast. It also has another signal, WGYS (FM) 103.9, which covers parts of the market from the northwest.

In the Columbus, Ohio radio market, rock music station WAZU (FM) 107.1 aims at the Columbus audience from a transmitter northeast of its city of license, Circleville, Ohio.

In the Ottawa-Hull, Canada radio market, the current CKBY-FM 101.1 is a Smiths Falls station which has twice taken on callsigns and radio programme formats which had formerly been used by Ottawa stations: CKBY (country) and formerly CKMO (easy listening) were both re-creations of former Ottawa radio brands and aimed at the Ottawa market from 101.1 FM Smiths Falls, a station in a small community (10000 people, 80km distant).

In the Minneapolis-Saint Paul radio market, a trimulcast of three suburban stations, WGVX 105.1 in Lakeville to the south, WGVY 105.3 in Cambridge to the north and WGVZ 105.7 in southwest Eden Prarie make up one soft adult contemporary station called "Love 105", which covers most of the metropolitan area.

Television rimshots

The term rimshot is more widely used in radio, but also exists in the world of television. KCWX 2 in Fredericksburg, Texas has served as the UPN affiliate for both the San Antonio and Austin television markets. Though its signal is still seen in Austin, the station now focuses on San Antonio, since becoming a CW Network affiliate.

Many affiliates of ION Television are also rimshots, such as WPXA in Rome, Georgia, which focuses on Atlanta; WPXC-TV in Brunswick, Georgia, which focuses on Jacksonville, Florida; and WPXD in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which focuses on Detroit, from a transmitter that is actually closer to Lansing than Detroit.

Stations transmitting primarily across international borders, such as WNPI-TV 18, depend on rimshot coverage to reach millions of cable television viewers. WNPI retransmits programming from New York's WPBS using facilities in Norwood (Potsdam), reaching Ottawa-Hull as its primary audience. Coverage of Montréal, Québec from Plattsburgh-Burlington stations is also rimshot.

With the advent of digital television, some rimshot stations in analog, such as WPCW in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, which targets Pittsburgh, and Kenosha, Wisconsin's WPXE, which serves the Milwaukee area, have been able to erect digital transmitters which still provide a strong signal to their city of license, but are located in the traditional areas of television transmission within the main metropolitan area.

ee also

* border blaster
* city of license