RadioActive wrote:

the company may be planning to move its talk format to CING-FM, which I'm guessing would make AM 900 no longer viable. He cites what happened with a format flip from AM to FM in Calgary as a prior example. 

Moving CHML to CING would be the best move, first it would get someone other than seniors to listen to the station and it would finally eliminate another redundant Hot A/C format. I actually hope this happens.

With all the identical programming, moving CHML to 95.3 would take ratings from 640. 640 can't afford to have even one listener listen to 95.3.

The real answer is to move 640 to 95.3 and include some Hamilton-focused content.

However, there's a snag. The recent sudden shutdown of 1310 Ottawa, and the fact that it's been over a month since Corus said "something new" was coming to 99.1 Winnipeg (https://twitter.com/peggy991/status/1706389540515020979) it would appear that the CRTC has quietly told the broadcasters to cut this out and apply for these flips if they want them.

With respect, I disagree. Their licence clearly states they must serve the residents in the city where they're based. Six hours or so of local programming with everything else piped in from someplace else doesn't fill that mandate, in my opinion. And it's not just discussions about Hamilton City Hall. There are a ton of issues that are unique to that area that they could address if they had actual local shows on to do it. 

I will concede the economics may not be there for 24/7 programming, but if they want to be a satellite for 640, that's not what a Hamilton station should be doing. (It's even more inexcusable in London.) Endless discussions on Olivia Chow, changing the name of Dundas St. or talking about curing the problems of the TTC don't do much for the folks in Steeltown. I can't help but think that they deserve better. They have housing issues, homeless problems, local politics, increasing crime and more to deal with. I don't think it's going out on a limb to guess you won't hear about it on a Toronto radio station. 

I have the same complaint about CFRB's Newstalk Tonight, which is almost entirely about Toronto issues, made worse when you consider it's heard in major cities like Montreal and Vancouver. No matter what he tries to do, Jim Richards always seem to deal with local issues on that show, despite knowing it's nationwide. It's a one-salary-covers-several-stations solution, so it's cheap, but why would a confrontation about tolling the Gardiner or the DVP mean anything to someone in Regina?

It's about saving money, not serving audience. And that's says a lot about the current state of radio under these large corporations. I don't expect it to change. But it deserves to be called out.

For context of this discussion, CHML had a 0.9 in the last Hamilton book.

RadioActive wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

For context of this discussion, CHML had a 0.9 in the last Hamilton book.

Do you think a switch to FM would improve that a lot? In other words, is it the band or the format or both?

I do not. What we've seen in the US is that moves to FM have been good for all-news and sports stations, not as much for NewsTalk.

So far in Calgary, the AM is still out-rating the FM, but the combined share isn't any higher than before the simulcast.

No it doesn't have to be all local. But it's more likely to attract an audience if they deal with more local issues than stories from a nearby city.

Imagine if some of AM640's topics for a 6-hour day was about traffic in Guelph, the Guelph mayor's latest controversy or a story about the housing shortage in Guelph. Even if they occasional mentioned Toronto stories, I don't think many would tune in. (Not that many are tuning in as it is.)

Local is all that a talk format has. If it's only there 6 hours a day, then there's not much point in tuning in. I'm not anti-CHML. I think they were a great station once. Not anymore. And that's Hamilton's loss.  

Well first P1 - If CHML is indeed on death's door, then piping in 640 simulcasts WILL NOT save it, especially when you can pull in 640 just fine in the Hammer.  I lived in Stoney Creek up until 2014, so I should know.  Besides, 640 is even more in the doldrums than ML is, so why would I want to listen to more of that?  No disrepect to Kelly Cutrara and Dani Stover; they are talented broadcasters.

When CHML had more weight to throw around (even in the last decade), it was THE place to go for news on the CHCH layoffs by Channel Zero, Hamilton election coverage, news wheels and what have you.  Bill Kelly often had people like Marvin Ryder from the De Groote School of business to discuss financial news from a Hammer perspective.  In the evenings if I'm in the Hamilton area, I would prefer to have Scott Radley on as opposed to a 640 "clip show".  By the way, referring to something that would be "all Hamilton" as "boring" sounds a tad misinformed on your part.  No hard feelings I hope.

So it would seem by the process of elimination that I'm more aligned with RA's mindset.  I really, REALLY want to be!  However, I don't think a younger audience finds much use for a local talk format.  I don't think most young people en masse REALLY care about "local!  local!  local!" as much as radio people do.  As long as the influencer/YouTuber provides the content they are interested in, they're good.  I'm 53, and the ones I follow most are in Des Moines, Houston, Jersey, Chicago and the UK.  What I get from them is perfectly relevant to where I'm sitting in Richmond Hill.

So, where do I get local news?  I guess from the twenty or so minutes I tune into 680.  I think radio people want younger people to care about journalism the way we do, or did.  You can't make somebody want something.  They really don't care that Canadian news outlets are starving poor or that Facebook and Google might block their stories.  The concern just isn't there.  I even wish that I cared more, but I must admit it the concern for the future of Canadian media is occupying less real estate in my mind.  It is a sad reality; I wish I could say something more supportive.

Last edited by Jody Thornton (October 30, 2023 7:22 pm)

I just posted in the hit the post thread about an experience I had with my son about 20 years ago , we were listening to an old air check of mine and he asked why I talked over the intro's to the songs. He said he would rather listen to a CD or his IPOD to hear the whole song. He is now 30, and never listens to radio, barely ever even watches live tv. That is today's world, playlists and streaming. I have said here many times, I loved being a DJ, but I have never regretted leaving the industry when I did.