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Hip Hop is flowing into 98.7 as Stingray will launch a yet to be determined format on 93.5

V

victorres43

You heard that right. The urban-formatted Flow 93.5 will move to 98.7, replacing the "grooving" Urban AC G98.7. However, the airstaff are not moving along with the new Flow, as they have announced their departures. The new Flow will also contain components of the soon-to-be-defunct G98.7, adding more R&B, Soca, and Reggae.

As for 93.5, the new format launching on Valentine's Day has yet to be announced. Will Stingray go head to head with a crowded field of CHUM, CHFI, CKFM, CKIS, and CIDC, along with rimshots CING, CHRE, and WTSS? Will Real Country tower over Toronto? Will there be a Breeze heading towards the aforementioned frequency?

Do note that 98.7 is a less powerful signal than 93.5. 93.5's signal is biased towards the East, whereas 98.7 is better West than East. But neither are very powerful.
 
only1moore said:
I doubt they’ll place a Top 40/CHR on 93.5. Possibly something else.
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My two cents (sort of):

Real Country? If country fails to resonate in NYC, I doubt it will have better results in Toronto.
The Breeze? Probably a softer alternative to CHFI. There's 88.5 Lite FM, but it doesn't reach downtown Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, or Oakville. So there may be a possibility.
Classic rock? Not sure how much of the Classic Rock demos live within the coverage area.

As far as I know, there are no multicultural stations under Stingray.
 
Usually I'm hugely excited about format changes in Canada (and I still am about this one) but ever since Stingray geoblocked their streaming (at least presumably outside North America as I'm not sure about US status) I'm less of an enthusiastic monitor as I won't be able to hear the switch and/or the new formats anyway. I can't even get IHeartRadio Canada here in Australia.
 
jjcarn88 said:
Usually I'm hugely excited about format changes in Canada (and I still am about this one) but ever since Stingray geoblocked their streaming (at least presumably outside North America as I'm not sure about US status) I'm less of an enthusiastic monitor as I won't be able to hear the switch and/or the new formats anyway. I can't even get IHeartRadio Canada here in Australia.
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Have no luck streaming Stingray radio stations here in the USA. The only iHeartRadio Canada station I was able to stream was 93.9 Virgin Radio from Windsor; presumably this is because the 93.9 signal may have a significant audience in nearby Detroit, if a small one.

With that said, you can get an idea of the imaging of many of the Stingray stations, since TM Studios provide the jingles. Check out 104.3 The Breeze Vancouver, Z95.3 Vancouver, XL103 Calgary, and Hot 89.9 Ottawa. And many Stingray stations are networked, so there may not be such a drastic change in imaging between stations of the same format. Speaking of the Breeze, the TM Next Soft AC jingle melody sounds like the one for ReelWorld's KOST.
 
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victorres43 said:
My two cents (sort of):

Real Country? If country fails to resonate in NYC, I doubt it will have better results in Toronto.
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Not a chance in freezing hell
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
Not a chance in freezing hell
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I'm in Toronto.
I'd like to say you're wrong & Country music is a good idea because it is one example of something that is NOT a direct threat to sister station BOOM 97.3.
However, a better guess might be a Breeze FM that is lighter than CHFI... OR
The third idea, which might also work, would be a younger Boom concept that consists of music that overlaps Boom's 90's music, but continues on into the 00's and maybe tens..."and more" (should they choose to also include some new music)

The funny thing about that third one is,
I've noticed Kiss 92five perhaps dipping into this idea...all while still being new music driven.
Kiss 92's slight tweak throws in some 2010's classics.
Traditionally a (true) top 40 formatted station does not go any further back than 5 years.
 
Yeziknoradio said:
I'm in Toronto.
I'd like to say you're wrong & Country music is a good idea because it is one example of something that is NOT a direct threat to sister station BOOM 97.3.
However, a better guess might be a Breeze FM that is lighter than CHFI... OR
The third idea, which might also work, would be a younger Boom concept that consists of music that overlaps Boom's 90's music, but continues on into the 00's and maybe tens..."and more" (should they choose to also include some new music)
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I'm not sure if a 90s-centric classic hits would work because it may all but detonate Boom in 5-10 years. And a rhythmic AC may enter an already crowded field; at least Soft AC is distinguishable enough.
 
victorres43 said:
I'm not sure if a 90s-centric classic hits would work because it may all but detonate Boom in 5-10 years. And a rhythmic AC may enter an already crowded field; at least Soft AC is distinguishable enough.
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93.5 as Move FM tried to be classic urban driven and it failed.
The difference this time could be with more variety, with little or no hip hop.
Your point is still very good though.
Also,
Lite 88.5 is not a Toronto radio station. It does not reach Toronto all that well.
93.5 has a good chance now to do a Breeze format to fill that void.
This steers me back to the fact that Country music has that same complaint, so who knows?

BTW, regardless of what Stingray does, I believe very strongly they'll do a cookie cutter of something they already own.
While we're speculating, here's a list of all the stations they own. Maybe it will indeed be one of these: Radio
 
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I vote for Soft AC, since CHFI is almost always the #1 station in Toronto with Mainstream AC. Someone should go softer to peel off some CHFI listeners.

I'm not sure about Country music in Canada's most multi-ethnic city. Country is missing in NYC and San Francisco for similar reasons. It does poorly in Los Angeles. Hamilton has Country CHKX 94.7. I don't think Hamilton is giving it much attention.

Of course, 93.5 is not a great signal. 1,000 watts average power, 4,000 watts peak, on a 299 meter/ 980 foot tower. Contrast that to CHFI on the CN Tower, 421 meters / 1380 feet and pumping out 44,000 watts.
 
Gregg. said:
I'm not sure about Country music in Canada's most multi-ethnic city. Country is missing in NYC and San Francisco for similar reasons. It does poorly in Los Angeles. Hamilton has Country CHKX 94.7. I don't think Hamilton is giving it much attention.
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And even though CING-FM (Energy 95.3) is trying to attract Toronto listeners, whatever efforts are taken have yet to pay off, as CING remains below a 1 share in the Toronto ratings. Still, 95.3 acknowledges listeners from the Greater Toronto Area.
 
They announced "Valentine's Day" as the flip date? Hmm, wonder if there's a "love songs" branding angle there. That might indeed favor the Soft AC camp.

Also, I think Stingray has just two stations in Toronto. The combo of classic hits Boom and a soft AC station could be a way for the company to grow its overall 25-54 audience while peeling away some females from top-rated CHUM FM .
 
Theater of My Mind said:
Looks like Toronto media podcaster Toronto Mike already let the cat out of the bag on Wednesday but it went virtually unnoticed until he posted it to the SOWNY board just now. He says 93.5 will be Today Radio, a "today's variety" mix.

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Today Radio? I thought that branding belonged to Jim Pattison Group and not Stingray (at least in Canada)? Jim Pattison-owned CKCE in Calgary is branded "Today Radio".

If 93.5 does flip to Today Radio, they will join an already crowded field of pop stations in Toronto (CHFI, CHUM, CKFM, CKIS, even CING from Hamilton and CHRE from Niagara/St Catharine's). They would have to distinguish themselves by then.
 
victorres43 said:
Today Radio? I thought that branding belonged to Jim Pattison Group and not Stingray (at least in Canada)? Jim Pattison-owned CKCE in Calgary is branded "Today Radio".

If 93.5 does flip to Today Radio, they will join an already crowded field of pop stations in Toronto (CHFI, CHUM, CKFM, CKIS, even CING from Hamilton and CHRE from Niagara/St Catharine's). They would have to distinguish themselves by then.
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I think the whole Today name is just a teaser.
Radio companies do this all the time when they are in the process of changing the format of a radio station.
When one thinks about it,
the Today format & name makes more sense under Stingray's Hot name...but that's just my opinion.
(why use another company's "Today" name when they can use their own "Hot"?)
I was reading something over on the Sowny board where they hinted that Sudbury's Hot 93five is no longer hit music, but instead a shift in direction there that might be something they could easily do as a Hot 93.5 Toronto.
What will they actually do with Toronto's 93.5 FM?
We will have to wait until Monday, I guess...
 
Yeziknoradio said:
I think the whole Today name is just a teaser.
Radio companies do this all the time when they are in the process of changing the format of a radio station.
When one thinks about it,
the Today format & name makes more sense under Stingray's Hot name...but that's just my opinion.
(why use another company's "Today" name when they can use their own "Hot"?)
I was reading something over on the Sowny board where they hinted that Sudbury's Hot 93five is no longer hit music, but instead a shift in direction there that might be something they could easily do as a Hot 93.5 Toronto.
What will they actually do with Toronto's 93.5 FM?
We will have to wait until Monday, I guess...
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Looks like Today Arrives Tomorrow as 93.5 will be Today Radio. The "Today Radio" trademark is actually owned by Momentum Media Marketing in Vancouver.

Some sweepers:
“If there’s one thing you’re looking for to tomorrow, it’s today. While that makes no sense today it’ll make a lot more sense tomorrow. Here’s a random selection of songs today."
“You’ve been waiting your whole life for today, and it arrives tomorrow. Ponder that while listening to this random selection of songs.”

If the song selection is an indication, the station will be a Gold-leaning Hot AC, like CKCE and CKNO, and likely will be personality-driven. The station will help Boom 97.3 lead the market.
 
victorres43 said:
Looks like Today Arrives Tomorrow as 93.5 will be Today Radio. The "Today Radio" trademark is actually owned by Momentum Media Marketing in Vancouver.

Some sweepers:
“If there’s one thing you’re looking for to tomorrow, it’s today. While that makes no sense today it’ll make a lot more sense tomorrow. Here’s a random selection of songs today."
“You’ve been waiting your whole life for today, and it arrives tomorrow. Ponder that while listening to this random selection of songs.”

If the song selection is an indication, the station will be a Gold-leaning Hot AC, like CKCE and CKNO, and likely will be personality-driven. The station will help Boom 97.3 lead the market.
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@victorres43 You seem to have a habit of simply lifting content from our site without crediting. If you're going to keep copy/pasting, all you need to then do is copy a link too. Thank you for being a dedicated reader...

 
FWIW I saw news of the Today liners posted to the SOWNY board late last night before I went to bed, and there was a link to audio clips at SOWNY first thing this morning. Not taking sides -- and Lance I know we all really appreciate the work you do and the thoroughness of your reporting -- but in this case Toronto Mike was first to call it on Wednesday and SOWNY was second, which I think is fair to mention if we're asking people to give credit.
 
lanceventa said:
@victorres43 You seem to have a habit of simply lifting content from our site without crediting. If you're going to keep copy/pasting, all you need to then do is copy a link too. Thank you for being a dedicated reader...

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Stop charging $5. Smother me with ads on your "we have the domain info" pages instead. Believe it or not I actually WANT to be informed of burger deals at A&W or some other burger place instead of having to pay $5. If you can't get the ads revenue, something must be wrong. Then you can post an ad yourself that reads "Tired of ads? $5 a month gets rid of all that..." Maybe eventually I'll give in to get rid of the ads, but not currently...ADS PLEASE!!!!!!! No more $5 charge please!!
 
Yeziknoradio said:
Stop charging $5. Smother me with ads on your "we have the domain info" pages instead. Believe it or not I actually WANT to be informed of burger deals at A&W or some other burger place instead of having to pay $5. If you can't get the ads revenue, something must be wrong. Then you can post an ad yourself that reads "Tired of ads? $5 a month gets rid of all that..." Maybe eventually I'll give in to get rid of the ads, but not currently...ADS PLEASE!!!!!!! No more $5 charge please!!
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The problem with specialized websites is that they can not generate sufficient revenue from advertising. A fee for site usage is the only option.
 
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