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Country in Toronto

J

John1

New York City has been without a country station for several years, but country does well in nearby markets -Philadelphia, Poughkeepsie, Hartford, etc. The pundits here always say "NYC's just a whole different market".
Is that true of Toronto - not far from Buffalo & Rochester where country does very well? I remember traveling to Toronto in the mid-1960's and being impressed with CFGM 1310, when most NE US cities didn't have a full time country station. I used to pick up CFGM, CHOO, CHOW & CHAM in the Philadelphia area at night, all good stations. Is Toronto, like New York, considered too international for country to work?

Also, I remember reading that CJKX in Ajax had a booster signal on the 95.9 frequency in downtown Toronto.
Does that still exist, and what type of signal does it put outside the city if any?

I would think that the area West of Toronto could still support a country station, they had CHOW and CHAM on AM for many years. Any possibility of someone else flipping to country to service that area, or does WYRK put in a good signal?

Thanks for any input!
 
To do well, a Country station must be in a metro area that has enough people with some connection or heritage to a rural American/Canadian background. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule. But if your marrket has most people of either immigrant heritage or have to go back several generations to be from a rural community, Country as a format willl struggle.

So currently Toronto has no Country station, having lost 95.3 this week to Classic Hits. And NYC has not had a Country station for about a decade. Los Angeles and San Francisco for a while this decade had no Country stations either but recently the format returned, and with decent ratings. Those two cities do have very cosmopolitan listeners and plenty of immigrants. But at least Mexican-Americans seem to have an easier time enjoying Country because it has roots in common with rural Mexican music.

Honolulu is another market where Country does poorly, since it has little in common with traditional Hawaiian music. Honolulu does have an FM Country station although it has little success. And Montreal has only an AM Country station, in French, from the suburbs. Some people in Toronto with a good radio can pick up WYRK Buffalo. There are also Country stations in Peterborough and Welland thatToronto listeners might pick up.

However, NYC is so anti-Country that there aren't even Country stations in New York's suburbs. Even with a good radio, Country fans in NYC can't pick up any nearby Country stations.



Gregg
[email protected]
 
I wonder if one of the CKPC stations in Brantford might attempt country, especially with the new ownership. Their FM station on 92.1 has a pretty big signal, extending from just east of London into the west GTA. It is entirely possible they could apply to flip the AM signal (1380) to FM since they don't own a second FM station in Brantford, so I wonder if 92.1 might go to country and what becomes of 1380 becomes soft AC? Their coverage area already has a number of AC stations, and classic hits is now available from both 95.3 and Woodstock's 103.9.

Toronto itself wouldn't benefit, but the western GTA, Hamilton, Brantford, and Simcoe would. Toronto at least gets the KX96 booster. I would say though that a country format would be worth attempting in York Region/Dufferin County, basically any rural area that can't get CICX from Orillia.
 
M.J. said:
I wonder if one of the CKPC stations in Brantford might attempt country, especially with the new ownership. Their FM station on 92.1 has a pretty big signal
Click to expand...

I'm honestly not sure.
I do know this though...
When 88five FM was sold to the same people that own Z103 (Evanov group) the last thing on their mind was to compete with themselves.

Country was done on 88five and it did not last.
Therefore, for that, and many other reasons, I do not believe Evanov group has any desire to be in the country music business.
( I could be wrong though.)

There already is Country on Durham radio inc's FM 96 (KX96) Ajax/Oshawa, which pours heavily into Scarborough area, and also has a repeater to serve downtown Toronto.

"GTA's ONLY Country"

Website: http://www.kx96.fm/

I do suspect that with the low ratings over at Wave 94.7, Country could surface there to serve Hamilton and area...but that's strictly a guess.
(Wave 94.7 and KX 96 are BOTH owned by Durham radio inc, so there is the advantage of already having experience with the Country format)
 
yossefgershon said:
I am happy for Hamiltonians/Torontonians today ----if Country is back on AM by you,why can't it work for us in the NY market????????
Click to expand...

You know what? That's a very good question! Most Validly said, since American radio is allowed to own upto 60% of a market, while here in Canada, a company is only allowed to own two AM and Two FM in most markets.

Country comes across as a format that's not a direct threat to most sister stations in an American Cluster.
NY therefore, SHOULD have at least one Country station just to justify that there's something there that is NOT a threat to it's sister stations.

If it can't make money, it could still be a great tax write off.
 
Dan said:
It almost sounds to me like the CRTC was pressured into rejecting the KX96 application by Astral, CTV, and Rogers who were concerned about the financial impact an improved KX96 signal would have on their bottom lines. See "Interventions" in the decision:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-597.htm
Click to expand...

I would like to agree, but it still sounds more like a case of "Nobody's gonna go all the way to Toronto from Ajax or Oshawa to do their shopping...".

Now, if they were to try and obtain a NEW broadcast licence for the Toronto market, that would make for a better case.
(as a separate station, serving Toronto properly, as a Country music station)

Radio should serve the place it's licenced to, not places farther away.
 
Yeziknoradio said:
Dan said:
It almost sounds to me like the CRTC was pressured into rejecting the KX96 application by Astral, CTV, and Rogers who were concerned about the financial impact an improved KX96 signal would have on their bottom lines. See "Interventions" in the decision:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-597.htm
Click to expand...

I would like to agree, but it still sounds more like a case of "Nobody's gonna go all the way to Toronto from Ajax or Oshawa to do their shopping...".

Now, if they were to try and obtain a NEW broadcast licence for the Toronto market, that would make for a better case.
(as a separate station, serving Toronto properly, as a Country music station)

Radio should serve the place it's licenced to, not places farther away.
Click to expand...
I agree with you that radio stations should serve the community they're licensed to; but if such a station has a major signal, they should take advantage of that as well! I say for AM powerhouses, let them offer programming that will appeal to the greater audience outside their normal service area; particularly at night. During that time I also suggest relying on national advertisers for revenue.
 
Gregg, from what I remember from the last time I was in Honolulu (February 2008), Honolulu's Country station is off the bird. The same is the case for the Country station that is (was?) on the Big Island. Hence the poor ratings.

Gregg said:
To do well, a Country station must be in a metro area that has enough people with some connection or heritage to a rural American/Canadian background. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule. But if your marrket has most people of either immigrant heritage or have to go back several generations to be from a rural community, Country as a format willl struggle.

So currently Toronto has no Country station, having lost 95.3 this week to Classic Hits. And NYC has not had a Country station for about a decade. Los Angeles and San Francisco for a while this decade had no Country stations either but recently the format returned, and with decent ratings. Those two cities do have very cosmopolitan listeners and plenty of immigrants. But at least Mexican-Americans seem to have an easier time enjoying Country because it has roots in common with rural Mexican music.

Honolulu is another market where Country does poorly, since it has little in common with traditional Hawaiian music. Honolulu does have an FM Country station although it has little success. And Montreal has only an AM Country station, in French, from the suburbs. Some people in Toronto with a good radio can pick up WYRK Buffalo. There are also Country stations in Peterborough and Welland thatToronto listeners might pick up.

However, NYC is so anti-Country that there aren't even Country stations in New York's suburbs. Even with a good radio, Country fans in NYC can't pick up any nearby Country stations.



Gregg
[email protected]
Click to expand...
 
klutch00 said:
Yeziknoradio said:
Dan said:
It almost sounds to me like the CRTC was pressured into rejecting the KX96 application by Astral, CTV, and Rogers who were concerned about the financial impact an improved KX96 signal would have on their bottom lines. See "Interventions" in the decision:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-597.htm
Click to expand...

I would like to agree, but it still sounds more like a case of "Nobody's gonna go all the way to Toronto from Ajax or Oshawa to do their shopping...".

Now, if they were to try and obtain a NEW broadcast licence for the Toronto market, that would make for a better case.
(as a separate station, serving Toronto properly, as a Country music station)

Radio should serve the place it's licenced to, not places farther away.
Click to expand...
I agree with you that radio stations should serve the community they're licensed to; but if such a station has a major signal, they should take advantage of that as well! I say for AM powerhouses, let them offer programming that will appeal to the greater audience outside their normal service area; particularly at night. During that time I also suggest relying on national advertisers for revenue.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a lead in to the current problem in Ottawa...where to relocate the baseball games to, now that there's an all news format where oldies used to be.
 
I wish 91.7 CIXL was back in Country music. I can pick up 91.7 when I used to live in the Annex area of Toronto. Look at their ratings right now vs. when they had a country music format.
 
e-dawg said:
I wish 91.7 CIXL was back in Country music. I can pick up 91.7 when I used to live in the Annex area of Toronto. Look at their ratings right now vs. when they had a country music format.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm...there's some heavy duty garbage going on here because there's a facebook page thanking people for better ratings than what they've ever had in years!

Most respectfully, if Country music had better ratings, wouldn't another company want to pick up the format?
Z101 could go Country, for example.
How do the ratings compare? Old Spirit 91.7 ratings vs current Z101 ratings?
 
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