Whoever is behind it, it's not the only station they're promoting. There's another oldies station called "The Breeze Xtra AM 1630," an all-Christmas outlet called K-ZOP 3, supposedly from "Southwestern Ontario," something called Nightscreen Radio, WOLY 1500, an all 90s channel, The Breeze Country, a second country format and an 80s show webstream. 

All of them seem to be claiming they're "HD Radio" stations on 106.5. although I very much doubt they're on that frequency anywhere in Ontario. 

You can check them out at a single website here. 

markow202 wrote:

Mystery station(s)!

I wonder if the creator of all these stations has anything to do with Crush FM Toronto?  https://liveonlineradio.net/crush-fm-toronto 

Radiowiz wrote:

The Breeze 106.5, CGHT-DB 
Whatever that means. Not legal call letters, if that's what they are. 

markow202 wrote:

Mystery station(s)!  I listened to it for the past hour - lol very interesting playlist!  I went from Jennifer Lopez to Frank Sinatra to AC DC.  None made sense but definitely variety and also not a hint of a commerical or voice over.

Very mysterious indeed. Also there doesn't appear to be any contact information, nor is there a SOCAN logo to indicate compliancy, assuming they are in fact operating from Canada. Neither is a legal requirement as far as I know, but the latter is certainly a damn good idea.

It would appear that whoever is running this is trying to capitalize in some way off of Stingray's The Breeze stations. Although not exactly the same, the logos look similar enough to confuse listeners into thinking that they are somehow affiliated. (I assume they're not). Admittedly, I have a couple of IDs on my internet station that *wink* at the terrestrial competition, but they're in good fun, more than anything else. (Besides, I haven't heard from the phone company or the guy that came down the hill with the tablets, so I think I'm okay.)

Even if Stingray hasn't registered The Breeze as a trademark, I think (although don't quote me on this, because I'm not a lawyer or a legal expert) they could claim that this station is infringing on their intellectual property, and the use of that moniker could potentially cheapen their brand. Not to mention that, even though internet stations aren't competing for ratings points, a set of ears that's listening to an online station is a set of ears that's not listening to a terrestrial station, and that could potentially chip away at their audience, even if it's just a miniscule amount.


PJ

 

Radiowiz wrote:

Paul Jeffries wrote:

It would appear that whoever is running this is trying to capitalize in some way off of Stingray's The Breeze stations. Although not exactly the same, the logos look similar enough to confuse listeners into thinking that they are somehow affiliated. (I assume they're not). Admittedly, I have a couple of IDs on my internet station that *wink* at the terrestrial competition, but they're in good fun, more than anything else. (Besides, I haven't heard from the phone company or the guy that came down the hill with the tablets, so I think I'm okay.)

Even if Stingray hasn't registered The Breeze as a trademark, I think (although don't quote me on this, because I'm not a lawyer or a legal expert) they could claim that this station is infringing on their intellectual property, and the use of that moniker could potentially cheapen their brand. Not to mention that, even though internet stations aren't competing for ratings points, a set of ears that's listening to an online station is a set of ears that's not listening to a terrestrial station, and that could potentially chip away at their audience, even if it's just a miniscule amount.

Who owns the rights to the breeze design? It seems to be an international imaging. 
Breeze Australia uses the same:  https://thebreeze.com.au/
 

I was thinking the same thing myself. In which case, I think trying to protect something that is "intellectual property" might be a little trickier than protecting something that is an actual registered trademark.

I'm reminded of the situation back in 1999, when 92.5 CISS-FM (now CKIS-FM) flipped from country to Top 40 and branded themselves as "Power 92". This drew the attention of CKDX-FM Newmarket, which at the time branded themselves as "Power 88.5". They had reportedly threatened to sue CISS, as they had gone to great lengths to establish their "Power" brand in the Newmarket/Toronto area. If memory serves though, I don't think 88.5 had registered "Power" as an actual trademark per se, but apparently their argument was convincing enough for CISS to change their moniker to "Kiss 92" a few weeks later. Rogers (CISS-FM's soon-to-be owners at the time) might have had some legal standing, but they probably decided that legal proceedings weren't worth the hassle.

The logo on The Breeze 106.5 website appears to be lifted from the https://thebreeze.com.au website. That could be considered copyright infringement right there, as it appears as though the design was stolen, and the Toronto station doesn't appear to be affiliated with this Australian company.


PJ

Last edited by Paul Jeffries (November 16, 2021 2:03 am)