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Hip Hop is flowing into 98.7 as Stingray will launch a yet to be determined format on 93.5
- Thread starter victorres43
- Start date
Thanks to VPN I've been listening from "Toronto" today. It's definitely a variety hits music mix, actually an impressively good sounding balancing act between rock & pop, old & new genres.
Kudos for some of the best "oh-wow" song picks I've heard in a while -- "Shoop" by Salt-n-Pepa, a great, fun sounding departure from their more common gold pick, "Push It." And "Driver's Seat, by Sniff 'n the Tears, wow.
The presentation is pretty much the opposite of the snarky liner-driven Jack-style variety hits template. Today has hosts (I heard the midday guy singing in time over the extro of one song which points to a live, not VT'ed break). Heavy on interaction with listeners, phone call clips on air, lunchtime requests, etc. Kind of an old-school radio station approach, not rocket science but it's getting rarer these days, and the connection with listeners sounds good.
Kudos for some of the best "oh-wow" song picks I've heard in a while -- "Shoop" by Salt-n-Pepa, a great, fun sounding departure from their more common gold pick, "Push It." And "Driver's Seat, by Sniff 'n the Tears, wow.
The presentation is pretty much the opposite of the snarky liner-driven Jack-style variety hits template. Today has hosts (I heard the midday guy singing in time over the extro of one song which points to a live, not VT'ed break). Heavy on interaction with listeners, phone call clips on air, lunchtime requests, etc. Kind of an old-school radio station approach, not rocket science but it's getting rarer these days, and the connection with listeners sounds good.
Ah, but then you have the evening shift, 7pm onward where you hear two people chatting in between tunes about stuff but nobody answers the phone and they do not put callers on the air. That's too bad too because I like to believe that any monkey can make up a text themselves and say it was from a listener. Hear the voice of a caller and everything sounds so much better and so much more real.
They literally play anything, including some Country music! I think as time goes on they will be forced to tighten the format, drop Country and go with 90's 2k and today as their new Game plan. I could be wrong though...
The overnight shift looks really stupid with nobody there...not even "best of" content, (at least) to listen to.
Instead, they tell people to "join the conversation" even though they took the phone off the hook and there is absolutely nobody in the studio and there is nothing but non stop music, station id and ads airing.
Instead, they tell people to "join the conversation" even though they took the phone off the hook and there is absolutely nobody in the studio and there is nothing but non stop music, station id and ads airing.
Just wanted to comment on Stingray as a company. They have put together and programmed some excellent radio stations. Boom 97.3 is one of the best radio stations that I’ve ever listened to, and I credit this to the impeccable presentation and willingness to be a little different. They don’t deviate too far from what the masses will accept, but they make their programming far more interesting than most radio stations.
It was too bad when they flipped their classic hits radio station in Vancouver to soft AC. I always thought this radio station sounded great, but there was too much saturation.
It was too bad when they flipped their classic hits radio station in Vancouver to soft AC. I always thought this radio station sounded great, but there was too much saturation.
Philys Og (the week end lady) filled in for Paul Harper in the morning this week.
The million dollar question is, where's Niki???
She was also deleted from the Paul and Niki morning show credits.
It's just Paul now.
They're letting people go already??? lol
The million dollar question is, where's Niki???
She was also deleted from the Paul and Niki morning show credits.
It's just Paul now.
They're letting people go already??? lol
Interesting move for the new FLOW 98.7.
They sponsored Food day @ THE CNE this year. (AUGUST 24, 2022)
That must have cost them a fortune! I wonder where they found the budget for it, lol
Source: https://www.theex.com/attractions/food-products-day/
They sponsored Food day @ THE CNE this year. (AUGUST 24, 2022)
That must have cost them a fortune! I wonder where they found the budget for it, lol
Source: https://www.theex.com/attractions/food-products-day/
The classic "not everyone knows us yet" excuse is only good for the first book... I hope they know what they're doing over there! lol
They've also done a fair amount of advertising, so if that doesn't terminate the "nobody knows about us" excuse, what will?
It will be interesting to see how ratings go for future books...
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With a new style of talk, it may take 6 to 12 months for people to try it, come back a few times and then start making a habit. There is no harder format to make "happen" than a new talk format. I hope the owners know it will take a year or more for this to generate momentum... and a lot of research in the meantime.
P.S. I had to check my garage right now. I thought someone had stolen my identical white car and was driving it in Toronto.
Good post; thanks for sharing that pic, Yezniknoradio. 
Hard to believe, at least based on the initial ratings, that this format choice makes more sense than Variety Hits, for example.
The "Today Radio" branded station in Calgary generates very healthy ratings but has different ownership than the Toronto station, I believe.
Is anyone familiar with the differences & similarities between the two stations with regard to programming?
Hard to believe, at least based on the initial ratings, that this format choice makes more sense than Variety Hits, for example.
The "Today Radio" branded station in Calgary generates very healthy ratings but has different ownership than the Toronto station, I believe.
Is anyone familiar with the differences & similarities between the two stations with regard to programming?
Good post; thanks for sharing that pic, Yezniknoradio.
Hard to believe, at least based on the initial ratings, that this format choice makes more sense than Variety Hits, for example.
The "Today Radio" branded station in Calgary generates very healthy ratings but has different ownership than the Toronto station, I believe.
Is anyone familiar with the differences & similarities between the two stations with regard to programming?
Thanks!
I wonder if not having a format ("We play it all") is going to hurt 93.5 any in the ratings.
Any other station in Canada that maintains the "conversation" format with music has a format of some sort.
Pattison group's Winnipeg station is a great example:
HOT AC: https://www.pattisonmedia.com/radio-stations/94-3-now
I’m not seeing how this station is going to be successful if they can’t focus the format a bit more. I’ve seen this style of format being executed in Vancouver as well, and again, the playlist is just too broad. As someone who prefers older music, I might like a few of these songs, but then immediately tune out when a newer song is played (unless the newer song is selected very carefully). I believe that stingray is doing their best to try to find songs that bridge decades of music, but it’s difficult to do here.
Since Boom and Today radio are the same company, I hope they did a music test with a younger audience to see what older classics can fit in with the new music & recent classics they might like to hear.
If they did something right, they should now have a Boom FM for the older listeners and a Younger Boom FM (Today FM) @ 93.5
However, I notice sometimes that callers are older, not younger.
I'm just not sure what's going on... (ie callers that should be listening to Boom)
Even the late great Mix 999 had a format of some sort. Jack FM also.
If they don't end up going with a format change in the near future, I don't doubt that Today 93.5 will most likely tweak things (ie drop Country music or something...)
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Heck, I’m 27 and Boom is my favourite station. I think that that the biggest problem facing 93.5 is that it’s harder to find listeners who want to listen to classic hits AND modern pop at the same time. Modern pop doesn’t do anything for me so listen to 97.3 exclusively (its a great station), while someone may also prefer CHR and dislike hearing older songs on 93.5. While I really don’t care for the Jack FM approach to classic hits (at all), the format does seem to bridge this gap with more grace. I’d say a typical Jack listener is looking for music that is primarily 90’s, with a little 80’s thrown in, and of course, some 2000’s and modern songs as well. They could even keep the conversational approach if they just tweaked the music a bit more.
When I was 27, I used to love the late great Mix 999. They did it right.
A perfect mix of yesterday (70's 80's 90's) and today. (back then, the 00's) They gradually shifted toward newer and newer music to the point where they are now Virgin Radio. (all hit music)
It will be interesting to see what 93.5 ends up doing in the near future. A tweaking/tightening of the music playlist (ie drop Country) or a fresh new format.
A Country format would draw fresh new attention. Hopefully a variety hits Country station, just to be slightly different from KX 96 and 94.7 FM.
Maybe, but I'm not certain that there will be a lot of country fans in Mississauga or the city of Toronto itself. And 93.5 covers little area outside of the immediate GTA.
Can be traced to the comment of shedding country on Today Radio, though.
The summer book is in now and still nothing great to report. Rock bottom in the book.
Let me guess...now they're probably saying "Our listeners often go away on vacation for the summer..."?
Sure...right.
Good one! Too funny! On a more serious note, theft is on the rise, but your car would most likely be in Nigeria some place if it were actually stolen. lol- Status