rje1 wrote:

All due respect to the great Mr Charles....Elmnt FM is a train wreck of a station. Terrible signal and a format that's way too all over the place. 
 

The signal issues in Toronto are largely caused by nearby Buffalo's WYRK also transmitting on 106.5 FM at 50,000 watts which causes both contours to overlap as per the image below.  This causes issues, especially in areas near Lake Ontario due to enhanced signal propagation causing CFPT's lower wattage signal being overpowered by WYRK.

The impact of this interference on newer radios has been somewhat mitigated when CFPT also started broadcasting in HD Radio, at least now CFPT's signal is no longer totally being taken over by WYRK's HD signal in certain parts of Burlington and Oakville near the lake.

I do agree that Elmnt FM's format is too overly broad which makes it too hard to compete given its signal deficiencies.  I would strongly suggest focusing on a more niche format.  Electronic Dance Music (EDM) would be perfect given the fact that no other Toronto based station currently focuses on this format.  The Elmnt FM name would also already be suitable and could be maintained.


 

Last edited by PwrSurge (October 23, 2022 1:44 pm)

RadioActive wrote:

But the entire licence of the station is based on serving the Indigenous communities of Toronto. I'm not sure if an EDM format would pass muster with the CRTC or if that would meet the criteria of their Promise of Performance. I could be wrong, of course, but I fear they may be locked in to a shaky playlist that's almost doomed to have a low listener level. 

Obviously Indigenous elements (no pun intended) would still be maintained and there could still be specialty block programming during evenings and weekends but the weekday format needs to be more focused.

There is actually a growing indigenous EDM music movement as it has close ties to electronic Pow Wow music.  One notable example is A Tribe Called Red who recently performed in Toronto. 

 

I think Elmnt has been correct to try and attract a broader audience in Toronto and subtly and tactfully introduce Indigenous music and artists to the mainstream.  The real issue for them to me is not so much the format which in my opinion isn't bad but rather as mentioned the signal and the fact they are a very new FM station.

Any new station  in the market doesn't have the same interest or curiosity as 30 years ago.  There are more stations available now fighting for audience, and big chunks of certain demographics just don't listen to the radio as much. 

So for any of the new stations like Sauga 960, Elmnt, CFAJ in St. Catherines it is a real problem to even get noticed especially in a large market like Toronto or Southern Ontario. Even harder to grow your audience since most people seem to be loyal to their radio of choice.  I think it would be surprising to see that many people don't really listen to more than a few radio stations regularly, even though many more are available. 

Now this is not the case for many on SOWNY since we are people of the industry, or have a keen interest in broadcasting. We still bounce around the dial and some enjoy listening to radio off air from far away.

 However the average listener is not usually posting on radio forums or always aware of any new stations in town or format changes.  Lack of local media coverage is also a factor and people simply do not hear or read anything about changes in the radio landscape. 

PwrSurge wrote:

You would be surprised how much potential listenership that EDM could have, especially in a major city such as Toronto.

No I wouldn't.

Bottom line is a genre has to have a least a dozen artists who could sell out major local concert venues to attract the critical mass needed for the current ratings system to even notice them. EDM doesn't have that.

Additionally, the audience for EDM has never had a radio home, so they were one of the first to embrace alternate platforms. Why would they go to FM?

WZFL isn't even in the ratings.
 

Last edited by RadioAaron (October 24, 2022 8:25 pm)