Ottawa's 106.9 The Bear shuts down

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/owners+take+radio+station+Bear+fresh+direction/9587148/story.html

Apparently to be replaced by 106.9 FreshFM.

How illogical. The radio dial in Ottawa sounds awful. No more classic rock or mainstream rock? No oldies or classic hits?

What's the format of Chez 106? I thought that was "Classic rock"? Live 88.5 looks after the newer side of rock. The only thing missing (I thought) with the bear gone is Variety rock, which most respectfully is a horrible shame! People shouldn't have to keep rotating between stations to get their fix of Rock Variety.

CHEZ is a classic rocker and has been adding a lot of 90's tracks lately, which makes sense..the 90's were 20 years ago. Live is not that heavy to be honest...it's more of an AAA station at times, and also is stuck in the 90's. Anything that might be on the heavy side is only played late nights or overnights, and they even play rap now. I stopped listening about 3 to 4 years ago as a daily listener, and lately if I do try and tune in, I tune right out or go to AM. The Bear played some classic rock in the day, but was a new rock station most of the time. They were playing acts no other station would.

YeziFarded said:

What's the format of Chez 106? I thought that was "Classic rock"? Live 88.5 looks after the newer side of rock. The only thing missing (I thought) with the bear gone is Variety rock, which most respectfully is a horrible shame! People shouldn't have to keep rotating between stations to get their fix of Rock Variety.

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CHEZ 106 has morphed into some sort of alternative rock format. The classic rock format is still existent, but the playlist not the same as many other classic rock stations. Perhaps someone who actually listens to CHEZ can tell us whether or not CHEZ has improved now that they have re-branded as "World Class Rock".

A couple more currents and recurrents under the "World Class Rock" banner.

Here's their most played list from last week and a couple of sample hours from 10am and 2pm today:

Current/Recurrent
1 PEARL JAM Sirens 2013 4 4 1
2 KENT BURNSIDE Country Boy 2014 3 3 1
3 SAM ROBERTS BAND We're All In This Together 2013 3 3 1
4 THE SHEEPDOGS Feeling Good 2012 3 3 1
5 THE SHEEPDOGS How Late, How Long 2011 3 3 1
6 THE SHEEPDOGS The Way It Is 2012 3 3 1
7 BIG WRECK Wolves 2012 2 2 1
8 BLACK KEYS Gold On The Ceiling 2011 2 2 1
9 HEADSTONES Far Away From Here 2013 2 2 1
10 HEADSTONES Longwaytoneverland 2013 2 2 1
11 JOE LOUIS WALKER All I Wanted To Do 2014 2 2 1
12 JOE LOUIS WALKER Don't Let Go 2014 2 2 1
13 JOE LOUIS WALKER Hornet's Nest 2014 2 2 1
14 JOE LOUIS WALKER Stick A Fork In Me 2014 2 2 1

Gold
1 COLLECTIVE SOUL The World I Know 1995 6 6 1
2 AC/DC For Those About To Rock... 1981 5 5 1
3 AEROSMITH Walk This Way 1975 5 5 1
4 BLACK SABBATH War Pigs 1970 5 5 1
5 DOORS Roadhouse Blues 1970 5 5 1
6 GUNS N' ROSES Sweet Child O' Mine 1988 5 5 1
7 NIRVANA Come As You Are 1991 5 5 1
8 NIRVANA Smells Like Teen Spirit 1991 5 5 1
9 OZZY OSBOURNE Crazy Train 1980 5 5 1
10 POLICE Roxanne 1978 5 5 1
11 SOUNDGARDEN Black Hole Sun 1994 5 5 1
12 STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Interstate Love Song 1994 5 5 1
13 SUPERTRAMP Breakfast In America 1980 5 5 1
14 VAN HALEN And The Cradle Will Rock 1980 5 5 1
15 VAN HALEN Hot For Teacher 1984 5 5 1
16 ZZ TOP Legs 1984 5 5 1


10:01 AM JIMI HENDRIX Purple Haze 1967 G
10:04 AM APRIL WINE Oowatanite 1975 G
10:08 AM GENESIS Land Of Confusion 1986 G
10:13 AM FOO FIGHTERS Learn To Fly 1999 G
10:16 AM KIM MITCHELL I Am A Wild Party (live) 1990 G
10:22 AM PAUL MCCARTNEY Maybe I'm Amazed (Live) 1976 G
10:27 AM VAN HALEN Finish What Ya Started 1988 G
10:31 AM JEFF HEALEY BAND Stuck In The Middle With You 1995 G
10:35 AM EAGLES Hotel California 1976 G
10:42 AM RATT Round And Round 1984 G
10:46 AM NEIL YOUNG Southern Man 1970 G
10:52 AM JOURNEY Wheel In The Sky 1978 G
10:57 AM BIG WRECK That Song f/Thornley 1998 G

2:00 PM WHO Won't Get Fooled Again 1971 G
2:08 PM PEARL JAM Even Flow 1992 G
2:14 PM TOM PETTY/HEARTBREAKERS Don't Come Around Here No More 1985 G
2:19 PM JEFF HEALEY BAND Cruel Little Number 1992 G
2:29 PM SCORPIONS Rock You Like A Hurricane 1984 G
2:34 PM BIG SUGAR If I Had My Way 1996 G
2:39 PM STEVE MILLER Take The Money And Run 1976 G
2:42 PM FINGER ELEVEN Paralyzer 2006 G
2:46 PM PRETENDERS Back On The Chain Gang 1984 G
2:57 PM PROCOL HARUM Conquistador (Live) 1972 G

If I lived in Ottawa, I would probably end up listening to this station. However, I don't like what I see. CHEZ had a perfectly fine format before they went "World Class Rock".

I live in Ottawa and I DON'T listen to CHEZ voluntarily. The coffee shop I go to next door to my house plays it and it's playlist is very repetitive. You're guaranteed to hear many of the same songs every day. People like me who actually like true alternative rock will not put up with the hair metal that they play and sure as hell won't put up with the overplayed classic rock. People who like Classic rock won't put up with the new rock that the bear was playing nor will they put up with the 90's rock. 88.5 doesn't cut it for me any more either.

I would have liked listening to Oldies 1310, but its long gone. I personally make up the 18-20 age demographic, but even I can tell that the older population in the National Capital Region has ZERO choice for older music on the radio. Is the "Jack FM" station in Smithe Falls a decent station?

Jack FM is the only choice for anything close to oldies, but they're more of a classic hits station "Solid gold Saturday night" and all.
(vs an actual Saturday night oldies show)
Their web page doesn't even promote a format.
It amazes me that Rogers abandoned the "we play what we want" slogan in favour of "Your radio station, your community".
I guess they're taking requests now eh? lol

Back to the bear, I think Corus made a huge mistake. People in Ottawa DO want a variety of rock without having to touch the dial back and forth to get it.
Maybe if Fresh takes a big enough bite out of 105.3, they'll go rock and put Chez 106 rock and a 105.3 rock in the same ad pocket. (who knows? Just guessing)

***"ad pocket", meaning, the same way Corus owns both Edge and Q in Toronto, even though, in Ottawa's case, Rogers would still have Live 885 to compete with.

Yeziknoradio said:

Jack FM is the only choice for anything close to oldies, but they're more of a classic hits station "Solid gold Saturday night" and all.
(vs an actual Saturday night oldies show)
Their web page doesn't even promote a format.
It amazes me that Rogers abandoned the "we play what we want" slogan in favour of "Your radio station, your community".
I guess they're taking requests now eh? lol

Back to the bear, I think Corus made a huge mistake. People in Ottawa DO want a variety of rock without having to touch the dial back and forth to get it.
Maybe if Fresh takes a big enough bite out of 105.3, they'll go rock and put Chez 106 rock and a 105.3 rock in the same ad pocket. (who knows? Just guessing)

***"ad pocket", meaning, the same way Corus owns both Edge and Q in Toronto, even though, in Ottawa's case, Rogers would still have Live 885 to compete with.

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It seems like that Jack FM signal is pretty worthless once you get into Ottawa anyway. I don't know what is up with the Ottawa radio dial, but there doesn't seem to be any real choice for what you hear on the radio anymore. Wayyy too much of the same format around town. I'd probably end up listening to CFTX (Captiale Rock). At-least their playlist looks remotely better than what CHEZ is doing.

While I'm burnt out on oldies, I did keep a preset for oldies 1310 on all radios. They'd surprise me every once in a while. JACK is a classic hits station that does play a fair amount of oldies but a 10,000 watt FM signal from 50 miles away is worthless in the city. It does hit the south side and west side of the city, but downtown/little Italy area I can hear an ok signal on the G8. Not in stereo though, and the CC Plus just barely gets a trace of the signal...but only with the antenna down. As soon as I raise it, it gets wiped off the dial. All other radios I have you try and tune in 92.3 and you'll hear 4 stations simultaneously. Capitale Rock is not bad, they also throw in some new music and a lot of really good French rock you won't hear on any other station. I was a huge fan of their previous hard rock incarnation, and it became my favourite station. I removed it from the presets when they went classic rock but I'm considering putting it into the G8 again.

I did keep 1310 as a preset when they went all news, and despite dropping that for a mostly sports format, I still listen to the PM news every day, along with the morning talk show.

mimo said:

While I'm burnt out on oldies, I did keep a preset for oldies 1310 on all radios. They'd surprise me every once in a while. JACK is a classic hits station that does play a fair amount of oldies but a 10,000 watt FM signal from 50 miles away is worthless in the city. It does hit the south side and west side of the city, but downtown/little Italy area I can hear an ok signal on the G8. Not in stereo though, and the CC Plus just barely gets a trace of the signal...but only with the antenna down. As soon as I raise it, it gets wiped off the dial. All other radios I have you try and tune in 92.3 and you'll hear 4 stations simultaneously. Capitale Rock is not bad, they also throw in some new music and a lot of really good French rock you won't hear on any other station. I was a huge fan of their previous hard rock incarnation, and it became my favourite station. I removed it from the presets when they went classic rock but I'm considering putting it into the G8 again.

I did keep 1310 as a preset when they went all news, and despite dropping that for a mostly sports format, I still listen to the PM news every day, along with the morning talk show.

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I really think its a shame that Oldies 1310 is no more. CFRA already is the news leader in Ottawa, I don't really think that News 1310 will ever be able to match what they do in the city. It seems like Ottawa has some very "unique" radio stations, but nothing that many people would really want to listen to (example; CIDG).

The problem with CFRA is their lack of balance. The station is really nothing more than a mouth piece for the Conservative party of Canada and the financial markets. The bottom of the hour newscasts during the day aren't really news casts at all, a few seconds for 3 headlines and the remaining 3 to 4 minutes are nothing more than market reports and "news" stories about obscure companies. Their news casts show a decidedly right wing bias. 1310 doesn't have that bias. There are some very unique stations in the city, and I agree with you 100%. I think a lot of that has to do with the French Language stations. While I don't speak or understand French, I listen to at least one French station a day due to content I can't get elsewhere or at that time on English radio. The university/community stations are excellent for diversity, The French language Children's station at 1670 (CJEU) can also offer some very interesting programming and music...even to a 38 year old anglo. A couple of years ago they ran some of the best underground metal music you've never heard. CIDG is a welcome addition to the dial. My dad used to be a CHEZ listener, today he mixes his time with CIDG, CIWW and CFRA. He only listens to CHEZ now on Sunday mornings and only if he's in a car at that time for Psychadelic Psunday. My girlfriend who is not a radio listener at all does enjoy the shows on CJAD 800 from Montreal on the weekends and the Classical, Opera and Organ music on CIRA 1350 (Radio Ville Marie).

mimo said:

The problem with CFRA is their lack of balance. The station is really nothing more than a mouth piece for the Conservative party of Canada and the financial markets. The bottom of the hour newscasts during the day aren't really news casts at all, a few seconds for 3 headlines and the remaining 3 to 4 minutes are nothing more than market reports and "news" stories about obscure companies. Their news casts show a decidedly right wing bias. 1310 doesn't have that bias. There are some very unique stations in the city, and I agree with you 100%. I think a lot of that has to do with the French Language stations. While I don't speak or understand French, I listen to at least one French station a day due to content I can't get elsewhere or at that time on English radio. The university/community stations are excellent for diversity, The French language Children's station at 1670 (CJEU) can also offer some very interesting programming and music...even to a 38 year old anglo. A couple of years ago they ran some of the best underground metal music you've never heard. CIDG is a welcome addition to the dial. My dad used to be a CHEZ listener, today he mixes his time with CIDG, CIWW and CFRA. He only listens to CHEZ now on Sunday mornings and only if he's in a car at that time for Psychadelic Psunday. My girlfriend who is not a radio listener at all does enjoy the shows on CJAD 800 from Montreal on the weekends and the Classical, Opera and Organ music on CIRA 1350 (Radio Ville Marie).

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Interesting! I would probably end up tuning in CFRA or the Gatineau Classic Rock station in that case. I wish the old Oldies 940 from Montreal was still around that was a cool station! I was only able to listen online for a short period of time before they shut down, though.

fordranger797 said:

I would have liked listening to Oldies 1310, but its long gone. I personally make up the 18-20 age demographic, but even I can tell that the older population in the National Capital Region has ZERO choice for older music on the radio. Is the "Jack FM" station in Smithe Falls a decent station?

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I wouldn't say they have zero chance. Jewel 98.5 plays a lot of older hits. You'll usually hear one 60's tune and 3 from the 70's each hour. If you can put up with the insufferable Frank D'Angelo in heavy rotation that is. They also air the 70's Casey Kasem hosted AT40 on Saturday mornings. Boom has recently added 60's hits to the playlist as well, though the signal isn't that great.

I was hoping 1310 News would stick it out at least until Ottawa/Gatineau was a PPM market and we'd get an accurate picture of how everyone was doing.

Heh, here's an interesting opinion going back to October of last year, third paragraph hints clearly that Corus should have left the Bear alone. (or tweaked a bit, respectfully)
http://www.frontsidegroup.com/think...olving-landscape-of-canadian-radio-ownership/

Once again, no shortage of support for the Bear, and no one really stepping up to the plate to say "Fresh FM on 106.9...good plan!" lol

CT40 said:

I wouldn't say they have zero chance. Jewel 98.5 plays a lot of older hits. You'll usually hear one 60's tune and 3 from the 70's each hour. If you can put up with the insufferable Frank D'Angelo in heavy rotation that is. They also air the 70's Casey Kasem hosted AT40 on Saturday mornings. Boom has recently added 60's hits to the playlist as well, though the signal isn't that great.

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This is true about Boom adding 60's tunes. I noticed it last night, and you're absolutely right about the signal (at least in the downtown area). Get away from centretown and it's actually quite good. The Jewel targets older listeners, they even have former oldies 1310 morning host Brother Bob doing mornings there now. There's even Planete 97.1, although in French, which also plays light and older music. If you want straight oldies though, you'll have to wait until evening to hear CKDO 1580 or AM 740.

As for 940's oldies format..it wasn't bad musically, but it wasn't live at all outside of AM drive, and I could tell.

Yeziknoradio said:

Heh, here's an interesting opinion going back to October of last year, third paragraph hints clearly that Corus should have left the Bear alone. (or tweaked a bit, respectfully)
http://www.frontsidegroup.com/think...olving-landscape-of-canadian-radio-ownership/

Once again, no shortage of support for the Bear, and no one really stepping up to the plate to say "Fresh FM on 106.9...good plan!" lol

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Just not enough male support in the BBM diaries.

But if you're new in town with only 2 sticks, I guess you gotta go with doing a Female 25-54 format for the advertisers on the big signal. Even Evanov knows they have to skew younger with their lone property at 98.5. What Corus is going to do with 99.7 and that less than stellar signal will be interesting. But knowing Corus, probably not. I have a feeling 99.7 will be like Rogers' 104.9 in Vancouver - nothing will work.