The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » What format do you listen to?

Johnny B · January 12, 2022 2:46 pm

I very rarely listen to terrestrial/local radio...only if I need traffic info or if there's a local news story unfolding...other than that it's SiriusXM or CDs (yes I still have those)....one day I might figure out how to hook up my phone to the car and play my tunes off of that once I figure out how to put tunes on my phone...anyway...the stereotype I get from this board is that 90% listen to either Talk Radio, oldies or classic rock formats....so let's see what the poll reveals...

mace · January 12, 2022 3:26 pm

At home and at work I use my Tune-in app exclusively. In the car, 75% Classic Rock 25% N/T.

Radiowiz · January 12, 2022 4:03 pm

IF both AM and FM were to go all static tomorrow,
the only stations I would miss are 680 news and MAYBE Boom 97.3

YouTube has great music. It's the same thing as listening to the radio after a certain point in the evening anyway, since there are no over night live/local announcers.

paterson1 · January 12, 2022 4:09 pm

I listen to more than one format. I like A/C/Variety, Top 40, Talk. Classic Rock, Alternative. Still prefer local radio/GTA best of all. Satellite I listen to maybe 15-20% of time, but almost never talk on satellite. I guess CBC Radio 1 would be talk and radio 2 Alternative?

Ale Ont · January 12, 2022 4:22 pm

I listen to all news radio - WCBS New York. I also tune in many stations on SiriusXM...Underground Garage, Classic Vinyl, Deep Tracks, Classic Rewind, 6os Gold, 50s Gold, 70s, 80s, 90s. Beatles channel, Tom Petty radio, Margaritaville.
Over the air, beside WCBS, TSN1200 and CBC one and two, and I listen quite a bit to CBC Listen.
Most commercial radio has lost me as a listener. I don't fit the right demographic and so Satellite, Internet and related channels are for me.

John D · January 13, 2022 6:59 pm

Other than 680 News and CIUT-FM in Toronto, I listen to WFUV in NY and WWOZ in New Orleans. And oh yes, Flash Phelps; in the morning; on 60s on 6 Sirius/XM Radio.

mojo55 · January 13, 2022 9:01 pm

For terrestrial radio, classical 96.3, AM740, 680 news, CBC One.
On Sirius XM, Escape, The Bridge, Radio Classics, The Village (folk music)
Online, Stingray, Amazon Music, AccuRadio, various easy listening and crossover classical stations

Note: you should have listed options such as classical, jazz, country

Paul Jeffries · January 13, 2022 10:29 pm

I don't listen to a lot of terrestrial radio, but when I do my choices are Zoomer Radio, Boom 97.3, Q107 and occasionally CHFI, if I'm in the mood for some newer music. CHFI has a pretty good balance of the newer and older pop music, IMO.

Never been a big fan of talk radio, and when I want news I'll just go online for that.

The Grand 92.9 Caledonia, AM580 Windsor/Detroit, 1460 CJOY Guelph and Boom 99.7 Ottawa are some of the terrestrial stations I'll listen to online because I'm out of their signal range.

Internet-only stations I'll check out from time to time include RewoundRadio.com and FM108.ca...that is, when I'm not listening to ClassicHitsOnline.com, of course...

PJ

alangee · January 13, 2022 10:44 pm

I listen mostly to stations all over the world on the Radio Garden app. - 60's 70's and 80's, soft jazz, classical, comedy and whatever else I come across that sounds interesting. Not much from Toronto I'm sorry to say.

RadioAaron · January 13, 2022 10:51 pm

Almost all of them!

I don't listen to much classic or mainstream rock as I'm either tired of it all or don't like the newer music.

Love Boom. For pop I like Kiss - the announcers set it apart from the other stations playing the same songs. Country is a once-a-week indulgence. Bounce 102.9 is a new favourite.

I like CBC Music and indie88 to find new songs.

Radio One and 680 for news and talk. Don't like the old AM talkers.

I like Classical 96 but have never been able to get into Jazz.

Last edited by RadioAaron (January 13, 2022 11:03 pm)

g121 · January 13, 2022 11:42 pm

Newstalk 1010 - John Moore weekday mornings
Internet - Southern Rock - Music City Roadhouse, Bob's Southern Rock, All Dixie Rock, Aardvark Blues - dinner time & on weekends
Funny 820 - late night

markow202 · January 14, 2022 6:38 pm

Love mostly the older stuff and talk radio so...

Boom 973.
Q107
Chum 1045
Lite 885
1010
680

splunge · January 14, 2022 6:47 pm

well, considering i'm an old 80s metalhead, Rebel FM in Ottawa or more recently The Bruce from Port Elgin using radioplayer. CHTZ has gone downhill dramatically in the last few years with zero talent left. Boom Toronto is also very well programmed.

djwildbill · January 14, 2022 8:37 pm

splunge wrote:
Boom Toronto is also very well programmed.

Thank you Troy McCallum & the boom team!!

RadioAaron · January 14, 2022 10:59 pm

djwildbill wrote:
splunge wrote:
Boom Toronto is also very well programmed.
Thank you Troy McCallum & the boom team!!

One of, if not the best, programmed stations in the country. I'd also add The Beat 92.5 Montreal, LiVE 88.5 Ottawa, Now 102.3 Edmonton, and CFOX Vancouver to the list

markow202 · January 17, 2022 11:36 am

Boom is amazing and the programming and "culture" of the station is sometimes a daily change which is nice.. For example today is known as "Blue Monday" (and its not the song) but they annouced it will be a Marvelous Boom Monday.

All other stations remain stagnant in their own bullshit on a daily level.

boom boy · June 3, 2022 8:33 pm

Thank you for the nice words. The team at boom is truly a gift to be part of. It’s energizing to share a space with such passionate and creative people that prove radio is still very much alive and a lot of fun.

turkeytop · June 3, 2022 9:44 pm

The format I would listen to, if it still existed, is the beautiful music format that once was common on FM.

Peter the K · June 3, 2022 10:03 pm

When I listen to the radio these days, it's in the car. Usually only to grab a newscast if I feel like it. With Stafford gone, (from the air) there's nothing talk-wise that appeals to me.

For music, I have a USB stick with 1,621 of my favourite songs on it. (A _very_ ecclectic list indeed.) The car's player is set on shuffle. I have a rule that if I, or anyone else in the car, just doesn't feel like hearing a particular song when it comes on, I'll skip to the next random track until I or my passenger find something we're in the mood for. There are a few albums on the stick as well that I can call up if I'm really in the mood.

That can really spoil you. Music on the radio just doesn't cut it anymore.

Last edited by Peter the K (June 3, 2022 10:04 pm)

Radiowiz · June 3, 2022 10:45 pm

turkeytop wrote:
The format I would listen to, if it still existed, is the beautiful music format that once was common on FM.

I agree with you 100%!!! I miss tuning in and hearing instrumentals that I know the words to.
It's not Karaoke either. It's actual beautiful music, where the lyrics are replaced with beautiful music instruments.

I wish someone would bring that format back. Jewel...er...lite fm in Ottawa has a program from 10 pm until midnight that covers this well, (I believe?) but It would be nice to hear this format a lot more often.

I worry now that the truth is, the AM side made all the money (way) back in the day while the FM was a deliberate easy listening tax write off.
As time marched on and AM started making less and less money, the FM easy listening stations had no choice but to change format, it would seem...to something more profitable.

mojo55 · June 4, 2022 12:19 am

There are a ton of easy listening and beautiful music options available online. Sirius XM has Escape. Back in 2015,
Sirius XM tried to remove Escape (Channel 69) from the satellite and there was such an outcry from thousands of
listeners that it was reinstated a few months later. I used to love CKFM and CHFI back in the 70s and 80s especially
Carl Banas on 99.9 and Don Parrish on 98.1. Well on Spotify you can search for and find CKFM 70s and 80s playlist and CHFI Candlelight and Wine playlists that will last for hours. If you are a Rogers subscriber you have free access to Stingray which has several easy channels including Easy Listening, Pure Relaxation, Music for Quiet Moments and
Instrumental Wake Up Call. Tune-In and Simple Radio have many easy listening options including The Oasis from
Toronto, Beautiful Instrumentals, and Beautiful Music 101 as well as WQEZ, Instrumental Hits Radio and Instrumentals Forever. On Spotify a search for easy or beautiful instrumentals or music from John Fox, Richard
Clayderman, Paul Mauriat, Frank Chacksfield, Frank Pourcel or Pat Valentino will give you many hours of great listening. I love to play Name That Tune and try to sing along in my head whatever lyrics I can remember. This does wonders for relaxation and background for reading or doing chores.

Radiowiz · June 4, 2022 1:16 am

mojo55 wrote:
There are a ton of easy listening and beautiful music options available online. Sirius XM has Escape.

A local presence would be nice. It's sad that Eddie Luther passed away just as CKQT was switching over to CKGE with their Hot AC (or "Current music" format, as they called it at the time)

Eddie was a great example of a radio personality on a nice easy listening station worth listening to.
Perfect balance of easy listening and the information he threw in (locally).

I would have loved to have a breeze FM in Toronto, lighter than CHFI with a lite AC by day and easy favourites (beauriful music) by night. Too bad nobody sees any money in it.

Leslieville Bill · June 4, 2022 10:31 am

Classical and jazz but neither a choice on your poll.

turkeytop · June 4, 2022 10:44 am

mojo55 wrote:
There are a ton of easy listening and beautiful music options available online. Sirius XM has Escape. Back in 2015,
Sirius XM tried to remove Escape (Channel 69) from the satellite and there was such an outcry from thousands of
listeners that it was reinstated a few months later. I used to love CKFM and CHFI back in the 70s and 80s especially
Carl Banas on 99.9 and Don Parrish on 98.1. Well on Spotify you can search for and find CKFM 70s and 80s playlist and CHFI Candlelight and Wine playlists that will last for hours. If you are a Rogers subscriber you have free access to Stingray which has several easy channels including Easy Listening, Pure Relaxation, Music for Quiet Moments and
Instrumental Wake Up Call. Tune-In and Simple Radio have many easy listening options including The Oasis from
Toronto, Beautiful Instrumentals, and Beautiful Music 101 as well as WQEZ, Instrumental Hits Radio and Instrumentals Forever. On Spotify a search for easy or beautiful instrumentals or music from John Fox, Richard
Clayderman, Paul Mauriat, Frank Chacksfield, Frank Pourcel or Pat Valentino will give you many hours of great listening. I love to play Name That Tune and try to sing along in my head whatever lyrics I can remember. This does wonders for relaxation and background for reading or doing chores.

SXM Escape always seems really bland. A lot of unknown artists performing bland arrangements of what otherwise might be good music.

Occasionally they'll slip in something by Henry Mancini or Percy Faith, but not enough

It hardly compares with the old beautiful music stations.