haydenmatthews14 wrote:

PwrSurge wrote:

dmcjeff wrote:

Hot 95.3 Urban CHR

Energy 95.3 should have switched to and kept an Urban CHR format from the start which they had back in the Energy 108 days. Although there was a bit of hope when they first switched back to the Energy name with the legendary Wayne Williams having a show, the station progressively became softer and lost its edge that made it famous back in the day.

Their biggest mistake was to soften their format to Hot AC once they snagged Tucker & Maura who were let go from Virgin 99.9.  Their current format is virtually identical to CHUM 104.5, Virgin 99.9 and to a lesser extent, KiSS 92.5 who all have a stronghold with Hot AC and CHR formats in this market.

They should keep the Energy name but rebrand to "The NEW Energy 95.3" and switch to Rhythmic / Urban CHR and really bring back the energy and spirit they had in the 1990's which was spectacular.



 

Their 2nd biggest mistake was also airing a syndicated show from Seattle. But then they would later drop it and replace it with a local host. Then after Tucker and Maura moved on to CFNY. They decided to simulcast the Kitchener morning show from 91.5 The Beat which does not make sense to me. So with this somewhat format change or rebrand will they improve it or make it more worse? We will have to wait and see.

I agree with that, only a few national syndicated shows are good enough to successfully replace morning or PM drive regardless of location such as Howard Stern back in the day when he was still on terrestrial radio. 

Radio station groups have got to stop being so cheap and have local live shows for at least mornings and drive.  In addition to running ads, having the shows sponsored and doing remotes are also good ways to get additional income to cover talent costs.

Last edited by PwrSurge (November 10, 2025 3:15 pm)

Yep I doubt 95.3 would flip back to Country. There is so many country stations from Toronto to Buffalo and beyond. We don’t need anymore.

PwrSurge wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

km93 wrote:

Wouldn't they run into the same issue they had with bringing talk to FM in Calgary? https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/q107-fm-says-it-will-dial-back-to-music-after-crtc-objects-to-talk-radio-format

Not anymore. In the recent revision of rules, they can flip an FM station to talk for a year, and then apply to extend that.

If they were considering an FM talk flip, they would have done this with CHML instead of shutting it down.  Also, the CRTC would most likely object if they tried flipping 640 to 95.3 given both stations are licensed for separate markets.

CHML has nothing to do with it. It's about what's best for the Toronto cluster. And yes, moving 640's programming to 95.3 would cause a compliance issue. It's not the only way to get 640 on FM....

HD2 is irrelevant.

They will flip to Christmas for cume, and then switch to 640 thereafter

Energy 108 was not black urban. More like dance-rthymic chr hybrid.

What i meant Was to suggest a format like KVEG 97.5

PwrSurge wrote:

dmcjeff wrote:

Hot 95.3 Urban CHR

Energy 95.3 should have switched to and kept an Urban CHR format from the start which they had back in the Energy 108 days. Although there was a bit of hope when they first switched back to the Energy name with the legendary Wayne Williams having a show, the station progressively became softer and lost its edge that made it famous back in the day.

Their biggest mistake was to soften their format to Hot AC once they snagged Tucker & Maura who were let go from Virgin 99.9.  Their current format is virtually identical to CHUM 104.5, Virgin 99.9 and to a lesser extent, KiSS 92.5 who all have a stronghold with Hot AC and CHR formats in this market.

They should keep the Energy name but rebrand to "The NEW Energy 95.3" and switch to Rhythmic / Urban CHR and really bring back the energy and spirit they had in the 1990's which was spectacular.



 

dmcjeff wrote:

I now suggest 95.3 The Hog

haydenmatthews14 wrote:

torontostan wrote:

They will flip to Christmas for cume, and then switch to 640 thereafter

They will not flip to 640 AM.

 

If that's the case, they certainly already have the artwork they can reuse to promote it, with just a simple change to the frequency.

haydenmatthews14 wrote:

torontostan wrote:

They will flip to Christmas for cume, and then switch to 640 thereafter

They will not flip to 640 AM.

There's another way around that.

CKOT Tillsonburg and CKWR Kitchener flipped to classic rock, why not CKDS 95.3?

RadioAaron wrote:

haydenmatthews14 wrote:

torontostan wrote:

They will flip to Christmas for cume, and then switch to 640 thereafter

They will not flip to 640 AM.

There's another way around that.

They tried doing it in Calgary. They flipped Q107 Calgary as a simulcast of their AM station there and didn't get the necessary permission first. They got in trouble with the CRTC and had to flip back so that's how Edge Calgary was born. I do not see them going to the CRTC to apply to air talk on FM anytime soon. Plus the CRTC will most likely deny it anyways. They have been really cautious about allowing to much talk on FM.

Not sure what they think they could do to squeeze in to Toronto without going urban or Rhythmic Chr at this point.   Sadly if they want money... Rhythmic would have more than Urban and music in urban isn't what it was.   In the last while they have shifted to a Hamilton focus in their branding.   With Klite (AC) gone, and classic hits on a lot of am and fm in the area I'm not seeing a path to revisit that.   I also know for sure they wouldn't be stupid enough to try country at this point again.

I think they are either going to try to hyper focus on Hamilton with an AC to try and get the old Klite audience, which did well... Or maybe simply keep going with their Energy format after a stop on the Christmas train.   They could even try going to a throwback format focused on 90/2000s hits "millennial hits" as some call it. 

Corus doesn't have loads of money.. and unless 95.3 is losing money, why blow money on a huge rebranding with no payoff? Hasn't worked on anything leading up to this point.  If 95.3 is losing money which I doubt, they could save money while helping 640 by moving to FM.    At the end..there has to be clients willing to buy and listeners to support it. 

Corus has always puzzled me on decisions.. I'm sure if this is true.. I will be equally confused...

Last edited by radiokid (November 11, 2025 11:49 pm)

RadioAaron wrote:

There's absolutely no point in focusing on Hamilton. And even if they wanted to, they no longer have any physical presence there.

Y108 is still there.   And legally they are always going to be a Hamilton station on 95.3.  It also does better ratings wise there currently. I also argue unless they are willing to find a hole, they will never win in Toronto.. it's too crowded.  It's why hot AC fell flat and they refocused on Hamilton.  Rhythmic could work for them if they had money to promote it and hire talent to staff it.  But as some have said with classic hits and country..  zero chance they will make any headway.  I also doubt you can justify putting 640 on 95.3 and losing a station revenue unless 95.3 is losing money.

Last edited by radiokid (November 12, 2025 12:06 am)

radiokid wrote:

Not sure what they think they could do to squeeze in to Toronto without going urban or Rhythmic Chr at this point.   Sadly if they want money... Rhythmic would have more than Urban and music in urban isn't what it was.   In the last while they have shifted to a Hamilton focus in their branding.   With Klite (AC) gone, and classic hits on a lot of am and fm in the area I'm not seeing a path to revisit that.   I also know for sure they wouldn't be stupid enough to try country at this point again.

I think they are either going to try to hyper focus on Hamilton with an AC to try and get the old Klite audience, which did well... Or maybe simply keep going with their Energy format after a stop on the Christmas train.   They could even try going to a throwback format focused on 90/2000s hits "millennial hits" as some call it. 

Corus doesn't have loads of money.. and unless 95.3 is losing money, why blow money on a huge rebranding with no payoff? Hasn't worked on anything leading up to this point.  If 95.3 is losing money which I doubt, they could save money while helping 640 by moving to FM.    At the end..there has to be clients willing to buy and listeners to support it. 

Corus has always puzzled me on decisions.. I'm sure if this is true.. I will be equally confused...

The AC stations that cover Hamilton are Lite 92 Brantford, Dream 105.7 Niagara and 98.1 CHFI Toronto. I don’t think AC would do well on 95.3 and 640 on 95.3 wouldn’t help ether. 95.3 has gone through a lot of format changes since 2001 and here we are years later what format or rebrand will take place. Hot AC does not even work. Formats that work are: Top 40 (CHR), Rhythmic CHR, AC, Classic Hits, Active Rock and Classic Rock. Hot AC and Adult Top 40 are pretty much merged into (CHR) or Rhythmic CHR.

Last edited by haydenmatthews14 (November 12, 2025 12:14 am)

Radiowiz wrote:

I wonder if they'll launch CHUCK FM? 

Just like in Edmonton? That station used to be 92.5 Fresh Radio and I thought about “Peggy @99.1” in Winnipeg too. They flipped to Country in 2023 as well. I wonder if 95.3 could ether flip to Rhythmic CHR or Adult Hits. We will have to wait and see.

haydenmatthews14 wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

I wonder if they'll launch CHUCK FM? 

Just like in Edmonton? That station used to be 92.5 Fresh Radio and I thought about “Peggy @99.1” in Winnipeg too. They flipped to Country in 2023 as well. I wonder if 95.3 could ether flip to Rhythmic CHR or Adult Hits. We will have to wait and see.

Ironically, in Edmonton, they were JOE FM long before switching to CHUCK FM, so maybe someone over there saw something in the Joe format that was working. Maybe they see an opportunity to do some form of CHUCK FM in Hamilton/GTA?
I have no idea, I'm just guessing...