900 CHML Hamilton closes down

[drchuck]

I've heard of AMs closing down, but this is a rather big one.

Corus Shuts Down CHML Hamilton ON – RadioInsight

The ongoing cutbacks at Corus have led to the demise of News/Talk 900 CHML Hamilton ON.

radioinsight.com

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Canada took its cue from America's Telecommunications Act of 1996 and sadly followed in its footsteps with the same kind of destructive media consolidation...on steroids.

In the U.S., Audacy is now bankrupt and just killed off one of the best radio stations in the country, WCBS. Corus is similarly sinking under a mountain of debt, cutting costs, slashing jobs and shutting down parts of its business just to try to stay afloat.

These mega corporations on both sides of the border can't stop playing their disgraceful big money games so that the one percenters at the top can amass their obscene wealth. I never would have believed it years ago but the concentration of power in the media and telecommunication industry in Canada became even worse than the in U.S. Either way, we can see the inevitable results. The public and the workforce end up paying the price.

 

[MarcB]

They came in strong at night in Connecticut. Many nights when I couldn't sleep I'd listen to Dr. Joy on CHML. 7 nights a week 2AM-5AM until i-Heart shut down the WOR Radio Network and she changed syndicators and CHML dropped the show. CHML came in better at night than the local stations that carried her show at the time.

 

[Easily Amused]

Fondly remembered as being one of my father's favourite stations for Sunday listening back in the 1960s. In later years, I was very appreciative of the block of old time radio programs that they would schedule 22:00 to 01:00.

 

[TheBigA]

CHML was suffering from the same problem all AM stations have: No listeners under 55.

The station had a 1.2 share in 25-54. But a 4 share in 6+. That means most of its audience is over 55.

I know a lot of posters are sad to see a heritage station go, but the fact is to the vast majority of people, this station didn't exist at all.

This has nothing to do with ownership, and everything to do with listeners. They stopped listening a long time ago.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Living in an era where the land on which lovely directional arrays occupy is more valuable as a site for 7-11's, housing and arenas, I sure think eight towers had a bit to do with ownership. If Corus owns the land, it might even consider selling it to people looking to build a private airport. Sheesh -- the space of eight sticks should make for a couple of good runways. With a stick left over for an ATC tower.
And consider that, several years back, no station in the Los Angeles market cracked a 5.0 share. FAR too many stations and far too few formats. The days of that morning guy (Steele, was it?) on WTIC 1080 Hartford regularly getting 40-plus shares before many of his listeners had even brushed their teeth are gone.
Stations everywhere getting 10 shares 12+ anymore are rare, and they too have the boundless bulk of people not listening to them.
Anyway, demos or no demos: Corus Delicti reacted late to the game.
I see no mention of an FM. Anyone know?

 

[kevtronics]

On a wideband receiver, CHML had nearly FM-quality audio. They definitely were not restricting their audio bandwidth to the 10 kHz NRSC limit:

 

[davideduardo]

Canada took its cue from America's Telecommunications Act of 1996 and sadly followed in its footsteps with the same kind of destructive media consolidation...on steroids.

They did it because nearly no radio station was making money. Canada had always limited the number of stations, unlike the US. In the US, AM and FM was overpopulated and many stations not viable... not the same situation as Canada.

What the Canadian authorities did not take into account is that part of the issue there was the general format restriction attitude and the prejudicial CanCon requirements.

In the U.S., Audacy is now bankrupt and just killed off one of the best radio stations in the country, WCBS.

WCBS was making money only on live PbP sports, The ratings the rest of the hours of the week were dreadful.

Corus is similarly sinking under a mountain of debt, cutting costs, slashing jobs and shutting down parts of its business just to try to stay afloat.

And much of that has to do with regulation. All Canadian radio is suffering.

These mega corporations on both sides of the border can't stop playing their disgraceful big money games so that the one percenters at the top can amass their obscene wealth.

Actually, not is getting anyone wealthy. Consolidation, as I told you before, came about due to the fact that half of all stations were not profitable following Docket 80-90s infusion of new stations, move-ins and power increases. Only by consolidation could anyone make money.

I never would have believed it years ago but the concentration of power in the media and telecommunication industry in Canada became even worse than the in U.S. Either way, we can see the inevitable results. The public and the workforce end up paying the price.

Yet in some other nations, consolidation has provided good programming and format variety. Mexico had consolidation dating back to the 1930s', and radio is much better off there. Where I had stations in the 60's, I built a cluster of 5 FM and 4 AM stations and was able to offer niche formats that could not have stood alone but which worked due to the sharing of facilities, administrative, legal, accounting and engineering costs.

 

[davideduardo]

The days of that morning guy (Steele, was it?) on WTIC 1080 Hartford regularly getting 40-plus shares before many of his listeners had even brushed their teeth are gone.
Stations everywhere getting 10 shares 12+ anymore are rare, and they too have the boundless bulk of people not listening to them.

And those double digit shares came in the era when major markets only had AM listening, and most markets had fewer than 6 to 8 really competitive signals.

When FM "took over" it was because, in part, because there were more signals and better ones. Example: Cleveland had 6 good to fair signals on AM and two bad signals. FM tripled the number of stations serving the area, with better signals than nearly all the AMs.

 

[davideduardo]

I've heard of AMs closing down, but this is a rather big one.

Hey, look at Mexico where nearly 80% of all AMs are gone with most moved to FM by relaxing the second adjacent spacing requirements everywhere except along the U.S. border.

In much of the world, AM is totally gone or barely alive.

 

[kevtronics]

Last night I picked up WURD quite well here in central NJ... which makes me wonder if they truly are powering down to 124 watts at night.

And also some other station fading in and out, playing music I didn't recognize. Not sure which one that would be, out of all the flea-power nighttime signals on 900 kHz.

 

[boombox4]

CHML was suffering from the same problem all AM stations have: No listeners under 55.

The station had a 1.2 share in 25-54. But a 4 share in 6+. That means most of its audience is over 55.

I know a lot of posters are sad to see a heritage station go, but the fact is to the vast majority of people, this station didn't exist at all.

This has nothing to do with ownership, and everything to do with listeners. They stopped listening a long time ago.

Dumb question time: would FM translators have 'saved' stations like CHML? Some AM's in the US seem to have been given second lives because of FM translators. Of course, some others still failed....

But CHML seemed to have been a new-talker. There are a few news-talkers in Canada that are still on the air.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Dumb question time: would FM translators have 'saved' stations like CHML? Some AM's in the US seem to have been given second lives because of FM translators. Of course, some others still failed....

But CHML seemed to have been a new-talker. There are a few news-talkers in Canada that are still on the air.

Not a dumb question at all.
In fact, let's not forget that in Calgary QR 77 is still alive and well (it seems) even though they tried to go FM illegally.
They have since switched the FM back to music, but QR is still alive and well regardless.
As for CHML, the big question is, what are ratings like for Energy 95.3? (the classic "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!")

It is still illegal to just up and go CHML 95.3, but that might have helped...at that rate, IF they could have gotten away with it, they could have closed down both CHML and AM 640, leaving 95.3 to be a "GTA TALKER" serving both Toronto and Hamilton...even though their broadcast licence for 95.3 FM is supposed to be a Hamilton broadcast licence.

 

[kevtronics]

Moving an AM talk station with good ratings but old demos to FM does not suddenly give it younger demos. Nor would it make the bankrupt company that owns it any less bankrupt.

 

[CTListener]

Last night I picked up WURD quite well here in central NJ... which makes me wonder if they truly are powering down to 124 watts at night.

It seems easy enough to get away with, judging by the number of stations that the FCC merely winks at when they stay at full power for high school football.

 

[kevtronics]

It seems easy enough to get away with, judging by the number of stations that the FCC merely winks at when they stay at full power for high school football.

I ID'ed the music station I'm now hearing regularly at night on 900 kHz as WJWL from Georgetown, Del., which again makes me suspicious of whether or not they're really dropping down to 145 watts at night.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Back in the more harried days of DX near JFK Airport, 1000-watt omni daytimer WJWL was a quite frequent catch toward the twilight. On the water path they'd just swamp the closer but directional Classical Music WFLN (now WURD) from Philly. Odd that WFLN was daytime directional to protect WJWL!
There seemed to be some Chesapeake-region speech impediment afoot, though. Some guy would say the calls something like 'Double you jay dubottlell' every time. Or it just could've been the same guy who anchored news years later on 1500 in D.C. and go 'Dobble-you-turp news time 3:15'. People in Georgetown and in the Capitol district, when asked what stations they listened to probably went, 'Well, Double-you-dee-oh-vee, or Double you eye ell em. And sometimes Double you jay dubobble'. And dobble you turp for news.'.
Thanx for the memories, Kevin!

 

[Rusty Bridges]

There's something about living in Buffalo and Rochester, New York. We get a taste of internationalism that many in other parts of the US do not. One of those treats is Canada media: TV, AM and FM radio, newspapers. Whether it's Hockey Night in Canada, or watching OHA games back in the day on Hamilton Channel 11, listening to 1050 CHUM or Album Rock CHUM-FM in the 60s and early 70s, we know some really good things about Canada. That's to say nothing of Canadian beer (manly beer), going for "Chinese" and cheaper gas (in the 70s) because of the exchange rate ... and to some, the "Canadian ballet." Chortle. For those who don't live in these parts ... well, you might wanna Google that.

Just about every US hockey fan in these parts can hum or even sing the Canadian National Anthem, which is played (along with the US national anthem) before every hockey game. "O Canada ... our home and native land / True patriot love thou dost in us command..."

To those who don't live here or DX the signals, you can't imagine how good Canadian radio and media was ... and for the most part, is. I sometimes have driven visitors along the Niagara River on the US side and said, "take a look over there ... that's one of America's greatest allies ... an entirely different country."

CHML was a class operation all around, programming, news, technically, content, community serving. Its sudden shutdown by Corus Entertainment (quite the name, eh) is unsettling, as if to say, "We're done here. Bye! Click. Plate volts off." No long goodbyes, no tributes, no fade outs, no wake ... just an ice cold ending like the way the Beatles chose on The End, from Abbey Road. The Hamilton Spectator offered this touching story which contains some classic pictures. The way it was ... and is no more.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

On a happy note,
Hamilton's 1150 CKOC is back up and running as an oldies (classic hits) station. "70's and 80's super hits". 1150 CKOC
(Bell sold the station and the new owner decided not to stick with Business news radio)

 

[kevtronics]

Also 740 CFZM from Toronto was booming in like a local signal last night here in NJ, unlike recent weeks in which their skywave signal was typically weak-to-non-existent. I don't know if they had transmitter problems and were using a low-power backup, or the atmospheric conditions just weren't favorable.