Fight Back with Libby Znaimer (am740) does the same bit as well, with the suitable tired guests you would expect in Toronto. Smitherman, DiNovo, Stintz, etc.

There are not listeners tuned in for the entire day. I would think the number of ears who hear all of the above mentioned panel shows, are very limited. Also there is the fact that news is ever evolving. What is discussed in the morning is not always necessarily the same as the late afternoon slot. 

The other day I woke up about 3 am and could not get back to sleep, so I flipped on my bedside radio where Jim Richards was doing his all night show (geez didn't he start out with that shift?)
Anyway he was speaking to an expert on homelessness and safe fentanyl injection sites.
Just exactly what I want to hear with insomnia at 3 am.
Where's Coast To Coast when you need it?
Give me sasquatches and UFOS when I can't sleep.



 

newsguy1 wrote:

The other day I woke up about 3 am and could not get back to sleep, so I flipped on my bedside radio where Jim Richards was doing his all night show (geez didn't he start out with that shift?)
Anyway he was speaking to an expert on homelessness and safe fentanyl injection sites.
Just exactly what I want to hear with insomnia at 3 am.
Where's Coast To Coast when you need it?
Give me sasquatches and UFOS when I can't sleep.

Try Coast to Coast on WBEN 930 AM in Buffalo if you can get it. The signal into Toronto isn't great, even worse at night. But it might be listenable. 

Yes, they replay Jim Richards' last few hours overnight from 3-5 AM. It's barely listenable once, let alone twice. 

I like radio, but I also like my sleep. So...
If I wake up at night and want to go back to sleep, I don't turn the radio on.
If I absolutely must turn the radio on, talk about taxes and city council budgets is guaranteed to very quickly put me back to sleep. I like my accountant, but I don't call him at 3am.
If I do wake up at night and am compelled to actually listen to the radio, it's only to see if any stations are running dead air, or to see if Argentinians and Colombians are overpowering the US clear channels, or to see if Mexican stations on channels where I've never heard Mexico before are running their 1:00 am (Eastern time) anthems.
One other thought: I don't listen to talk radio to change my mind. If the information is good, it might provoke me to think. But usually it isn't. So I listen to hear what I agree with (and sometimes I want to hear what I don't agree with so I can have my moment of hate). Sometimes this keeps me awake.

Last edited by Saul (January 17, 2024 5:50 pm)

Walter wrote:

Try Advil Nighttime.

I actually can't take Advil. Tylenol works when I absolutely need to be awake later on...
 

RadioActive wrote:

Talk radio has a lot of sameness in it, and nowhere is that more apparent than the so-called “panel segments.”
 

I don't mind the panel segments themselves but must the topic be political or about societal problems most of the time (and that goes for the talk segments too)?   And maybe they should be in touch with what other shifts are talking about because on some days, hour after hour everybody seems to be harping about the same boring topic ad nauseam.   Maybe collectively they can try working a little harder, lean into it and find something else to cover instead of proffering the  low hanging fruit topics that are often the result of some crap sputtered by a politician with a mic in his face.   

I also would welcome more information / coverage other than politics of events with some real experts being interviewed and to see them reduce their reliance on opinions from the same tiresome group.

Last edited by SpinningWheel (January 18, 2024 9:50 am)

paterson1 wrote:

Well put SpinningWheel.  Toronto talk radio (1010 and 640) have way too much politics and opinion.  Both stations need to lighten up and have more fun and more interaction with listeners.  Smaller stations like CKTB, CHML, Zoomer of this do a better job IMHO. 

Speaking of Zoomer.  Did you know that they were reasonably popular in Buffalo back around 2005/06 and they had a Adult Standards format under the calls of CHWO at 740?

They actually got up to a 3.1 share in Buffalo and were just outside of the top ten. Wonder if they still have much listenership 55+ in Buffalo and WNY. 

They would probably have to subscribe to Neilsen to find out.

I’ve been listening occasionally to 740 in the past few months and really enjoy “Midnight Blue” with Ziggy.  She typically plays great old “naughty” blues music (1930s and 40s) along with more recent songs that fit the format.  Her low key commentary has just the right amount of snark!  Now there’s a show that I wish what a podcast - I’m not always listening to radio between midnight and 1:00 AM.  

mace wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

Well put SpinningWheel.  Toronto talk radio (1010 and 640) have way too much politics and opinion.  Both stations need to lighten up and have more fun and more interaction with listeners.  Smaller stations like CKTB, CHML, Zoomer of this do a better job IMHO. 

Speaking of Zoomer.  Did you know that they were reasonably popular in Buffalo back around 2005/06 and they had a Adult Standards format under the calls of CHWO at 740?

They actually got up to a 3.1 share in Buffalo and were just outside of the top ten. Wonder if they still have much listenership 55+ in Buffalo and WNY. 

They would probably have to subscribe to Neilsen to find out.

55+ is a little generous. In Toronto 55-64 they are #16.
 

paterson1 wrote:

What is the sample size for 55+ or 55-64?

The older you go, the better the relative sample size.

A 60 year old started high school in 1979. Their music isn't on 740.

Last edited by RadioAaron (January 20, 2024 9:23 pm)

paterson1 wrote:

What is the sample size?  How many?  

What number isn't going to make you say "Aha! There's the problem!"?

It's not sample size. If it were sample size, we'd see wild swings from book-to-book. We don't.

There is little to no appeal to this radio station for much of anyone under 70.
 

AM 740 reminds me, in a way, of the old CFRB - announcers who don't rush, a full newsroom, talk shows as well as music. What they used to refer to as a Variety format. 

I'm not a frequent listener, but my older sister often tunes it in over the air. That may not seem like anything, until you realize she lives in Staten Island, N.Y.!

All those incredible New York City radio stations and she often listens to AM 740 at night. Not sure what that means but it says something about who they're reaching.

Well, perhaps I used the wrong word. What I was thinking is exactly what you expressed - they have pros in the newsroom, people with experience who don't mispronounce names and streets in the city. I'm not sure they could afford real reporters, but at least their on-air news people seem to know what they're talking about.

I think we can all name a few local Toronto radios stations where that isn't the case.

paterson1 wrote:

I wasn't trying to set anyone up.  Just curious what the sample size would be.  I know it isn't high for 55+ and especially those 65+. 
 

It's not particularly high in any demographic. However, Numeris still largely builds their panels by cold-calling landlines. You couldn't design a better system to over-sample AM radio if you tried.

I'll be joining the "55+" cohort in 7 years, and my oldies are centred around 90s Alternative. Time flies; 740 has mostly stood still.

2024 is going to be very interesting; it will likely be the year companies stop lugging around money-losing properties under the questionable theory that they contribute to the parent companies' overall strategies.