markow202 wrote:

Is it going to be talk radio with two songs a hour? Sounds like it.   For music purposes im already not going to listen to their CHUM playlist because as I said in my previous post somewhere, its going to be Top 40 for sure and sounds like they are re-inventing the radio wheel.   Its not going to work well.

While I do think they are playing some tracks that CHUM FM does, they are also playing stuff that CHUM FM does not. Not sure how much Arcade Fire, The Verve, Oasis and REM you will hear on CHUM FM but I have seen them all on the Today playlist. Also they are playing mostly music vs talk. Again not my cup of tea as they play only tracks that  that achieved mainstream success on various formats but I will give them marks in terms of something new for the city.

I would have liked a deep triple A format and my idea  of variety was the old free form progressive radio when listening provided a musical education. Cross genre from rock, jazz, folk, blues to classical. I realize that ship  passed for commercial radio in this area around 1984 when the Oil of Dog program ended on WUWU FM. CFNY did continue the fight for sometime in a more structured rock context until their switch to exclusively modern rock.
 

eladb wrote:

So far it's more music and less conversations. Maybe it's because people don't know about the station yet and aren't calling in. The music mix is eclectic but some songs do repeat themselves more than others.

Meanwhile, I'm already curious as to where McGuire from "Vanessa and McGuire" is. Vanessa is flying solo and no mention was made of McGuire, even though the host from the shift before (who was on from 10-3 and not 10-2 as the website says) had specified that Vanessa and McGuire will be coming on after him.

It's possible that the McGuire of Vanessa and McGuire hasn't come in as yet. Down here in Buffalo, Cassiday Proctor was aware that she'd be getting a partner for her morning show at WEDG(103.3 the Edge), but he didn't arrive for a few weeks(Cass started, if memory serves, last November...and Anthony Wise didn't come in until early to mid December).
 

ckg927 wrote:

eladb wrote:

So far it's more music and less conversations. Maybe it's because people don't know about the station yet and aren't calling in. The music mix is eclectic but some songs do repeat themselves more than others.

Meanwhile, I'm already curious as to where McGuire from "Vanessa and McGuire" is. Vanessa is flying solo and no mention was made of McGuire, even though the host from the shift before (who was on from 10-3 and not 10-2 as the website says) had specified that Vanessa and McGuire will be coming on after him.

It's possible that the McGuire of Vanessa and McGuire hasn't come in as yet. Down here in Buffalo, Cassiday Proctor was aware that she'd be getting a partner for her morning show at WEDG(103.3 the Edge), but he didn't arrive for a few weeks(Cass started, if memory serves, last November...and Anthony Wise didn't come in until early to mid December).
 

Apparently McGuire is on a holiday this week and will be joining the show next week. This was something already planned from what I have heard. So we will hear the duo next week.

RadioActive wrote:

Well, I will say this - I can't recall a thread taking off like this one has in a very long time. More than 6,000 views and almost 100 replies in the space of just a few days.

If the interest in Today FM translates to ears and an early sample by average listeners, they should be very happy with the launch. 

I agree and so far Today is not bad in my opinion.  It is very much like some of the Pattison stations in the west, more chat than most stations. more listener interaction and wider variety of music and not always fixated on top 40 hits and overly familiar gold.  It is nice that  someone actually made a change in Toronto radio. Right now Today is playing a live version of The Man Who Sold the World which you don't hear on many stations. 

How is FLOW 98.7 doing?  Anyone listening?  I hope this works out for them and they keep their traditional audience but also able to attract a wider audience with hip hop in the mix.  I wonder if there is much that can be done to improve or strengthen their signal.  It is odd however, just outside of K/W 93.5 is no go (I get Six Nations radio) but at 98.7 I was able to pull in FLOW somewhat, noisy but it was there.  For both stations I will need to listen on line.  

Last edited by paterson1 (February 14, 2022 7:56 pm)

The station is a mess.  No one likes all of the songs played in a given 20 minute period.  I expect a flip within two years as this station will never get above a 3 share.

Listened to it today for a bit.  Maybe I got unlucky but I heard about 8 commercials and then Bohemian Rhapsody came on (like I haven’t heard this song enough times in my life) by then I was frustrated already. 

On a positive note it’s the same kind of format Moose FM 1033 up north has.  I love it but it’s also a station that plays two commercials, the announcers do news and weather and the rest is jammed with music so it’s great.

Today for me at least is refreshingly different for Toronto radio. I mean yesterday they played Hurt by Johnny Cash.  Not a song you hear much in the GTA.  They have even featured a few great Canadian indie bands. So far from being a mess, I find the music overall interesting.   As has already been mentioned this type of format has been successful in three or four markets in Western Canada.  Will it work in Toronto?  Let's see.

Has there been any local press on this yet?  There should be but Toronto media could be blissfully ignorant of the changes for both 93.5 and 98.7, or they don't care. GTA media is pathetic covering local radio and TV in the fourth biggest media market in North America.   

I do like Paul and Nikki in the morning. Nice that Paul Harper has found more stable employment in Toronto.  He is the radio personality originally from Scotland who moved to Toronto a few years back and has been on BOOM on weekends.  He also had been hosting on PURE radio in Scotland.  I went to their sight and didn't see him listed any longer as a host.

The commercials aren't a big turn off.  I am interested to see who is advertising and since they have few commercial breaks per hour it is fair game that they play a longer cluster.  Not necessarily great for the advertiser but this has been the norm on music stations for years. 

The mid morning host just had a brief clip of a caller asking if this was the CHIN station?  He said that he actually had two chins.   

geo wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

     Has there been any local press on this yet?  There should be but Toronto media could be blissfully ignorant of the changes for both 93.5 and 98.7, or they don't care 

How do you define Toronto media.   The NOW paper?   Or (what's left of) the Toronto Star?    Any others that "should" report this major broadcast media event? 


 

I am talking in general terms that Toronto media does a terrible job at covering itself as compared to other markets. I can't see how anyone could disagree with that since it is almost nonexistent.   No this is not a major broadcast event but it does warrant at least a mention or article in the Star and Sun, even local TV.  Format changes don't happen often in Toronto and so far other than industry publications nothing in local Toronto newspapers or television. And this concerns two local Toronto stations, that together have hundreds of thousands of listeners every week. 

Remember when CIMX 89X radio in Windsor went from alternative to country?  Newspaper and TV coverage in both Detroit and Windsor for days.  Their music change set off another format change in Detroit. But initially most of the coverage was 89X moving to country music.  Also interesting that it was Detroit media that broke the story ahead of Windsor. 

Toronto is a major media city but for some reason gets little local coverage of itself.  But hey let's cover what  Nicki Manaj wore getting into her limo last night. That's what Toronto readers and listeners really care about!

paterson1 wrote:

No this is not a major broadcast event but it does warrant at least a mention or article in the Star and Sun, even local TV.  Format changes don't happen often in Toronto and so far other than industry publications nothing in local Toronto newspapers or television. And this concerns two local Toronto stations, that together have hundreds of thousands of listeners every week...

Toronto is a major media city but for some reason gets little local coverage of itself.  But hey let's cover what  Nicki Manaj wore getting into her limo last night. That's what Toronto readers and listeners really care about!

Regulars here know that paterson1 and I don't often agree on a lot. But on this, I'm 100% in his corner. Radio has long been a hidden medium as far as the newspapers are concerned. 

Only Gary Dunford, once the irascible occupant of Page Six of the Toronto Sun, gave huge coverage to everything on the local dial. The Toronto Star used to have a regular radio columnist, the late Greg Quill. He used to drive me crazy, because almost every column was about CBC Radio, as if no other stations existed. But at least they had a fulltime guy on the broadcast beat. I remember when there were actual radio listings in the Star, as you can see in the 1958 example displayed below.  That was eons ago. 

Since both of those guys disappeared, radio coverage in the local press has been almost nil. I think the last truly big stories in the papers came when CHUM announced it was abandoning rock and roll to become The Team 1050 and when Wally Crouter passed away. Since then, almost nothing. (Tuesday's story on the return of Vinyl Tap is an anomaly and even then has an old connection to - what else? - CBC Radio.)

Part of the problem is that the papers have fired most of their entertainment reporters and those sections that used to be devoted to "Entertainment," now boast catch-all names like "Culture." The other is that radio has become the Rodney Dangerfield of media - no respect, no respect at all. Yet, as p1 pointed out, other cities still manage to cover the medium quite well. Alan Pergament in the Buffalo News has written dozens and dozens of columns on local radio down there. Today FM may yet wind up in the news because the format change has angered many in the Black community and that's catnip to the Star. But otherwise, it's not a story for them.  

Sadly, with declining listenership and the explosion of video streaming, I'm pretty sure the era of radio coverage in this city - with the occasional exception of the CBC - is gone for good. And other than sites like this, you probably won't be reading much more about it. 

I actually listened to this on my walk today and it's actually not that bad. So I saved it on my player. It's too bad the signal is not stronger. 

So far, Global seems to be the only TV station that's taken notice of the change, with a website story and a video that ran on their 5:30 PM newscast Wednesday.

(Strange that a company that owns so many of its own radio properties would do a story on a competitor, but more power to them for not letting corporate interests get in the way.)

Flow 93.5 changes its tune after more than 20 years on Toronto airwaves

paterson1 wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

Well, I will say this - I can't recall a thread taking off like this one has in a very long time. More than 6,000 views and almost 100 replies in the space of just a few days.

If the interest in Today FM translates to ears and an early sample by average listeners, they should be very happy with the launch. 

I agree and so far Today is not bad in my opinion.  It is very much like some of the Pattison stations in the west, more chat than most stations. more listener interaction and wider variety of music and not always fixated on top 40 hits and overly familiar gold.  It is nice that  someone actually made a change in Toronto radio. Right now Today is playing a live version of The Man Who Sold the World which you don't hear on many stations. 

How is FLOW 98.7 doing?  Anyone listening?  I hope this works out for them and they keep their traditional audience but also able to attract a wider audience with hip hop in the mix.  I wonder if there is much that can be done to improve or strengthen their signal.  It is odd however, just outside of K/W 93.5 is no go (I get Six Nations radio) but at 98.7 I was able to pull in FLOW somewhat, noisy but it was there.  For both stations I will need to listen on line.  

Having only one station to serve previous audience of Flow and G is definitely not a very achievable target. The new Flow 98.7 won't be able to play only hip hop and R&B music, as they are required to play Caribbean music to satisfy their license requirement. Their playlist right now still significantly includes dancehall and soca music, with only a few more hip hop songs being added per hour. The signal deficiency is also another major problem attracting previous Flow 93.5 listeners on the east side of GTA, especially in Durham Region, where a huge percentage of Black population resides. The only station that plays similar music with Flow is Vibe 105, which is even more urban-centric in terms of music selection. However, their signal doesn't travel well beyond North York. Unless they apply for a power increase and relocate their transmitter to downtown, the only option for urban music would be 98.7 throughout GTA for a while.
 

The program Q with Tom Power on CBC Radio did a segment on the loss of Flow 93.5, and spoke with former host Mastermind regarding the state of hip hop radio in Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-50-q/clip/15895760-what-end-flow-93.5-means-commercial-radio-canada

eladb wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

For listening around the home, at least Vibe 105 is on the Rogers Digital Box @ 945. 
93.5 is also on the box @ channel 932.  (not sure if the new Ignite TV offers the same option)
Sadly, the new Flow 98.7 is NOT on the Rogers digital box. 

Unless it's the best kept secret, there aren't any radio stations available on Rogers Ignite (and I've looked more than once). There are some music stations programmed by, incidentally, Stingray.
 

Here's the Ignite guide, but I too do not see any radio stations to tune into:  https://issuu.com/gebz/docs/rogers_ignite_tv_channel_guide-toronto-complete

=12px"Unless it's the best kept secret, there aren't any radio stations available on Rogers Ignite (and I've looked more than once). There are some music stations programmed by, inciden. tally, Stingray."

We have a grandfathered Rogers cable plan which does have some radio stations in the "900" section. It would probably not be what would be available in Toronto. A lot of the stations are Rogers including Jack from Vancouver, but many others, including all of our local stations. I have looked at other plans to reduce the cost, because Rogers is very pricey and going up this month, but the radio stations are not available. I don't use it a lot, but there have been times when I have used it. In the "700" section are the Stingray stations. The one I select most is Juke Box Oldies (50s and 60s music)