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What T.O. Radio Station Has Had The Most Format Changes Since The 60s?
It’s not often a radio station changes direction, and when they do, it’s often big news here. But which of the major Toronto outlets has swapped formats the most often since the 1960s – roughly 65 years or so? I’ve been pondering that question of late and while I could be very wrong, my best guess is one you might not expect – 1050 CHUM.
Consider:
Top 40 – Everyone remembers May 27, 1957, the day CHUM went full rock and roll, a format that would last for decades.
Adult Contemporary – Similar music but not Top 40. This one started in the summer of 1986, using Favourites of Yesterday and Today and later, Toronto’s Soft Rock.
Oldies – Next to the original, my favourite version of CHUM. The “Good Times & Great Oldies” went on from 1989-2001. It would return one more time.
Sports – Nobody wanted to join The Team 1050 in 2001 and it only played until it was retired a year later.
Oldies (again) - When the sports struck out, the reliable old Oldies format re-emerged again in 2002.
CP24 Radio – Everybody’s least favourite format, the TV audio from CP24. This one started in 2009, and the news was over two years later.
And finally
TSN 1050 – Where we are today, a format that began in 2011 and still continues with virtually no listeners today. How the mighty have fallen.
That’s seven formats in 66 years. Maybe there are other stations with more churn, but that’s the first one I thought of.
- Shorty Wave
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Re: What T.O. Radio Station Has Had The Most Format Changes Since The 60s?
The 1989-2001 version of the Oldies 1050 was when I first heard them, as my girlfriend at the time, (now wife), listened to it, a lot. I enjoyed it and was surprised when CHUM decided on the sports format. I worked for CHUM/City, as it was officially known as, at the time, and the water cooler talk was that there was no market research put into it, they just wanted a sports radio station. It didn’t last, as RA mentioned here. I remember the tv promos for it, a batter smashing a clock radio was involved…..
- Paul Jeffries
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I much preferred the 2002-2009 version of the oldies on CHUM. During their second go-around with the format, they went well into the 1970s (quite heavily, actually) and even a little bit into the early 1980s. They also didn't just play the obvious hits either, they'd dig a lot deeper and play stuff you hadn't heard of in a long time (or stuff that you might not even been aware of), like "Star" by Stealers Wheel or "Early in the Morning" by Vanity Fare, just to name a few.
I found that the 1989-2001 version of the oldies on CHUM wore out real quickly and got stale real fast. But then again, I wasn't really in their target demo, so that's probably not the most fair assessment.
PJ
ClassicHitsOnline.com...The place where all the cool tunes hang out!
- mace
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Re: What T.O. Radio Station Has Had The Most Format Changes Since The 60s?
Actually CHUM would have had an 8th format. The one from their 1945 sign on until the 1957 flip to then Top 50.
- AspectRatio
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Re: What T.O. Radio Station Has Had The Most Format Changes Since The 60s?
Just for fun, I asked Google Gemini "What Toronto radio station has had the most format changes since the 1960s?" and it suggested the below. AI can get things wrong, so I'm curious if this information checks out for those who know it incredibly well:
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When looking at the history of Toronto radio since the 1960s, the AM frequency originally occupied by CKFH (later CJCL, and now CHKN/various shifts)—along with its sibling dial-hopper CKEY/CKYC/CHKN—underwent a staggering number of identity and format upheavals. However, looking specifically at a single continuous frequency/station lineage with the most dramatic and frequent reinventions, the historical frequency at 1430 AM (starting as Foster Hewitt’s CKFH and evolving into CJCL) takes the crown for continuous reinvention. The Chaotic Evolution of 1430 AM (CKFH / CJCL)Since the 1960s, this single lineage has cycled through an extraordinary number of distinct formats:
[list=1]
[*]Full-Service / Eclectic (1960s): Varied programming including MOR (Middle of the Road) music and sports.
[*]Top 40 / Rock (1967–1973): Famed for its run as a rock music station under founder Foster Hewitt.
[*]Oldies (1973–1975): A brief pivot into nostalgia/oldies music.
[*]Country (1975–1981): A complete flip to country music.
[*]Adult Contemporary / Talk mix (1981–Early 1980s): Following its sale to Telemedia and rebranding as CJCL, it tried adult contemporary music mixed with talk elements ("Metro 1430").
[*]"Music of Your Life" (Mid-1980s–1991): Standard syndication targeted at older demographics.
[*]All-Sports ("The Fan 1430") (1991–1995): Canada’s first all-sports station, which later swapped frequencies to 590 AM (where it remains today as Sportsnet 590 The Fan).
[*]Ethnic / Multilingual (Post-1995 to present): The 1430 frequency was subsequently reallocated to other broadcasters, eventually housing various ethnic programming formats (such as CHKN).
[/list]
Honorable Mention: 590 AM (CKEY / CKYC / CJCL frequency swaps)Another major contender is the frequency at 590 AM. It shifted from CKEY's full-service/easy-listening format in the 60s to "Solid Gold" oldies in the 80s, transitioned to country as CKYC ("Country 59") in 1991, and finally became home to The Fan sports format after the 1995 frequency swap.
Compared to the frequency at 1430 AM (CKFH/CJCL) or 590 AM—which frequently flipped between country, oldies, MOR, top 40, and ethnic programming across the 60s, 70s, and 80s—CHUM spent the entire 1960s, 70s, and first half of the 80s locked firmly into one format. Most of CHUM's identity and format shifts happened later, clustered between 1986 and 2011.
- Doug Thompson
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Re: What T.O. Radio Station Has Had The Most Format Changes Since The 60s?
In 1957, Allan Waters, who by now owned CHUM which was losing money every month, looked at what was successful in radio in the U.S. and found Todd Storz Top 40 stations. He took a gamble it would work in Canada. Several of the announcers tried to talk him out of it. One even cancelled his purchase of a new home. But Mr. Waters did not waver and CHUM 1050 (later 1050 CHUM) became hugely successful and profitable.
In 1986, with CFTR beating CHUM at Top 40 and CFRB still # 1 overall, CHUM execs listened to their consultants and switched to "Favourites of Yesterday and Today". It only lasted a couple of years.
Oldies radio made perfect sense as CHUM could continue to play the songs that made them successful.
With The Team (where I was Creative Director), most of us in senior positions (and quite a few of the on air people) had launched The Fan at Telemedia. CHUM execs (specificlally Mr. Waters) was told by our leader Paul Williams and Program Director Gerald McGroarty that it was going to take 5 years to start making a profit.
CHUM panicked and pulled the plug in less than two. There was a lot of in-fighting at 1331 Yonge Street and in a couple of other cities where The Team aired that helped cause the demise. That's a tale for another day.
When CTV bought CHUM, the television execs had absolutely NO idea what to do with 1050. CHUM FM was bringing in tons of money. So, in the middle of an oldies song (literally), they pulled the plug and inserted audio from CP24. It was the TV execs way of sticking it to something they never understood.
As for TSN 1050, the less said, the better.
Last edited by Doug Thompson (Yesterday 12:56 pm)
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- SpinningWheel
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Re: What T.O. Radio Station Has Had The Most Format Changes Since The 60s?
Great to read these accounts. I remember stopping by Jingles one day in May 2001 for a beer. It used to be across from CHUM on Yonge. It was a hushed bunch at the bar that day.
One guy I remember from crass Sunday AM sports stuff was Lindsay Kehoe.
Lindsay used to run Chandlers, across from CFRB. He's from New Zealand is an expert on Rugby.
That's why he was on 640 at 8am on Sunday.
I remember him referring to another host as a "Black Stud". I laughed. Almost lost control of my car.
Last edited by SpinningWheel (Yesterday 6:16 pm)