97.9 The Box vs KTSU
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
97.9 The Box
Listen to live radio streams and access exclusive content from your favorite station. Stay connected on the go with social media integration and unique features. This app is free to use and offers a convenient way to enjoy audio content.
- Live radio streaming
- Social media integration
- Access unique content
- On-the-go connectivity
- Audience measurement software
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Download the official 97.9 The Box app, it’s easy to use and always FREE! With the official app, you can stay connected from work, home, or on the road. Follow us on social media, get access to all our other unique content, features and more! * Radio streaming only playable in the U.S. & CANADA Please note: This app features Nielsen’s audience measurement software which will allow you to contribute to market research, such as Nielsen’s TV Ratings. To learn more about our digital audience measurement products and your choices in regard to them, please visit http://www.nielsen.com/digitalprivacy for more information.
KTSU
Listen to live radio with DVR-like controls, including pause and rewind. Explore on-demand content, view program schedules, and set alarms to wake up to your favorite station. Share stories easily with friends and family.
- Live audio streaming
- Pause, rewind, and fast forward live audio
- Integrated program schedules
- On-demand content access
- Sleep timer and alarm clock
- Share stories and programs
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The KTSU App: The KTSU App allows you to listen to KTSU, pause and rewind the live audio, and view the program schedule for KTSU all at once! You can explore and listen to On Demand content whenever you want, share stories with your friends, and wake up to KTSU with the alarm clock! Live Streaming • DVR-like controls (pause, rewind, and fast forward). You can pause the live stream to have a conversation and pick up right where you left off! Or rewind to catch a comment you just missed! • Listen to live streams from KTSU even while traveling! Start the app and your favorite station starts playing. • Integrated program schedules for our streams! • One click stream switching – flip over to the program you noticed on another stream with a single click. • Listen to KTSU in the background while browsing the web or catching up on your emails! Additional features • Easily share stories and programs with family and friends via the “Share” button. • A built in Sleep Timer and Alarm Clock allows you to go to sleep and wake up to your favorite station. • Read news stories, articles, and other information from the station all in one place. The KTSU App is brought to you by the people at KTSU, and Public Media Apps. We work to provide our valued listeners with great solutions to find what you want, when you want it, on whatever device you have! Please support KTSU by becoming a member today! https://ktsuradio.com http://www.publicmediaapps.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: KTSU at 4.9 against 97.9 The Box's 3.3. KTSU also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 61%) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
KTSU holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KTSU has 107 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of 97.9 The Box's written reviews are positive against 100% of KTSU's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | 97.9 The Box | KTSU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (7 ratings) | 4.9 (107 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 107 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 90 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Urban One, Inc. | Texas Southern University |
Customer experience
97.9 The Box
KTSU
Bugs and requests
97.9 The Box
Reported bugs
14 issues- Random buffering
- App stops playing music
- App freezes
- App forces close
- App is out of sync
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- App needs to be updated but doesn't update
- App doesn't work on mobile internet
- App stops playing during phone calls
- Bad sound quality after update
- App times out
- App crashes
- App doesn't load
- App has error messages
- Background playback doesn't work
Requested features
9 requests- Fix buffering and connection issues
- Improve app performance and stability
- Reduce or eliminate commercials
- Allow multitasking while using the app
- Show artist info for each song
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Option to pay to remove ads
- Fix update issues
- Improve sound quality
- Fix background playback
KTSU
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
97.9 The Box
No in-app purchases
KTSU
No in-app purchases
