I think CHIN neads to apply for 106.5 to have a better frequency for 91.9
Maybe they could add some indiginess programing.

This is sad but completely predictable. 

The station never truly lived up to its mandate because being a 'Toronto FM' was always more important than that.  When I was involved, I begged and pleaded to move the frequency to AM.  There are so many clear channels available now, and that's the kind of provincial broadcast range required to make this even start to be viable.  It could have provided an incredible service, but it couldn't get to  90% of the people who would have benefited from it.  What use is a specialty FM that can't be clearly heard in Scarborough?  

The other real option would have been making it a Sirisu/XM free channel.  CRTC would have loved that and imagine a station with that mandate being available across the continent.

I hope they try again, but I hope there's some serious thought to the mandate, as opposed to the postal code and frequency.

 

ig wrote:

I begged and pleaded to move the frequency to AM.  There are so many clear channels available now, and that's the kind of provincial broadcast range required to make this even start to be viable.

"Should we run an AM radio station that nobody will listen to for five times the cost, or an FM station that maybe gets some non-indigenous listeners? Tough choice" 

I like the cabin radio model. Built an online audience, then if the online business is self supporting, take a look at moving into AM, FM or even OTA TV as an extension of your already profitable business.

The business model in this case was never going to work.

torontostan wrote:

"Should we run an AM radio station that nobody will listen to for five times the cost, or an FM station that maybe gets some non-indigenous listeners? Tough choice" 

I believe so, yes. 

I understand the cost challenges, but this is also a service that is desperately needed and receives (received?) a large influx of funding from both the government and other radio stations.  The idea that nobody listens to is a fair one based on PPM, but again, this is a bit like CBC French, it's not for ratings generation, it's to provide news, entertainment, features to a group that doesn't have access to it.   

I don't honestly think it was a tough choice; it should never have been about listeners or 'ratings,' which is why it should never have subscribed to PPM.  

Again, imho, proof that the mandate was being completely missed.  Aboriginal listeners make up about 0.7% of the CMA, it was never going to be a threat to Chum-FM, nor should it have been operated as one.  

Take a listen to CFWE, as a non-Aboriginal, I find it entertaining and informative, while it remains unapologetically programmed to its core audience.   It's not like their core doesn't like Faith Hill or Elvis, but they also have unique tastes and requirements that are met.   They have a network of transmitters across the province giving the required reach.  That would obviosuly be an option,  but all those transmitters need maintenance and land, and Alberta is a damn site cheaper to do that in than Ontario.  

https://cfweradio.ca/player
 

This wasn't the CRTC, nearly as much as 'broadcasters'.   Broadcasters made the presentation and promises about how it would 'work'.   Had this been about putting a stick in Hagersville, it wouldn't have had nearly the cache or broadcasters wanting to run it, though a much better chance of meeting the mandate.

Of course, listening couldn't be forced, but in the limited range of the station, it probably would have been better to string wires directly to homes and cars. 

It was the model and the desired result that were completely messed up.  Just playing a couple of Snotty nose Rez Kids tracks and a few Halluci Nation cuts doesn't make you an 'indigenous' station and it's a bit offensive to pretend it does.  

<my opinion> As usual, it was about broadcasters broadcasting to their peers and not the desired target audience.  Meet minimum COL and then try to run a Toronto radio station. How could it possibly ever have made money?  They couldn't target the retail outlets that could advertise on it, nor their potential listeners.</>  

torontostan wrote:

The CRTC needs to calm their indigenous hard-on. This proves once again that it cannot be forced down the audiences' throats. Either people will listen to it, or they won't, wasting airplay and spectrum on a small fraction of a potentially interested population is not the way. Let the market decide

RadioActive wrote:

I'm trying to remember the last Toronto FM that signed off the air for good.

CIRR Proud FM 103.9. Sept.  1/2023
 

ig wrote:

AM allows anyone, anywhere, to listen without any special equipment whatsoever.

An AM radio *IS* special equipment, now. They've pretty much vanished from homes and offices, and they quality in the car radios is getting worse all the time.

Scarboroughbluffsradiof99 wrote:

I think CHIN neads to apply for 106.5 to have a better frequency for 91.9
Maybe they could add some indiginess programing.

Or 106.3?

Iain Grant you are out to lunch my friend... radio is a mass medium, so a format that only caters to 0.7% of the population is a complete waste of spectrum and waste of the tax-dollars spent making it happen. AM radio is not accessible to everyone, no new AM station will succeed unless it's in Punjabi, Chinese or similar. Nobody new is finding the band, and the number of band listeners falls every month. The vast majority of people DO have a smartphone and a data plan that allows streaming in the car, and everyone has internet at home. Saying that indigenous radio is "desperately needed" is a highly subjective judgement, especially in 2025. Yes, it was the CRTC that forced this fate upon us, they excluded all worthwhile applicants from applying for these frequencies in 2015 and only allowed those targeting "urban Aboriginal communities" (which, by the way, is an oxymoron). As RA notes, 106.5 should be used to simulcast an incumbent AM station.... it's the only use case that helps the industry. 

Scarboroughbluffsradiof99 wrote:

CINA 1650, CJYE, CJMR, or a new aplicent neads to apply for the frequency for a real community station not just a campus one for hipsters and indie and hip-hop fans, but one just like ckua or the old ckwr.

Perhaps, CJTM (1280 AM)?

Just checked 106.5, and the carrier current from Elmnt is gone.

And WYRK Buffalo is coming in like a local. So if you're a country music fan, you now have another over-the-air choice. 

RadioActive wrote:

Just checked 106.5, and the carrier current from Elmnt is gone.

And WYRK Buffalo is coming in like a local. So if you're a country music fan, you now have another over-the-air choice. 

Iwas able to pick up WYRK weakly in my apartment with my DX-286. Probably listenable if I took it outside.

I remember a while back (may have been Toronto's original 106.5) subway ads that mention the frequency, but then it would read "Put that in your smoke and pipe it!"  
Silly ad, but it surely made people check out the station...if only for a minute or two. (before wandering off to something else) 

Last edited by Radiowiz (September 2, 2025 11:09 am)