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It's as if Talk 820 never existed.

M

mimo

The experiment with talk on CHAM 820 came to an end Thursday at no0n. They went back to country, but new country with a few classics of the last 20 years thrown in. This makes 2 stations to flip to country on AM in southern Ontario in the past few months. Brantford and Hamilton aren't that far apart, and here in Ottawa I can easily hear both at night, with a very weak CHAM during the day.

The press release on Milkman Unlimited says that listeners were a bit miffed to hear country disappear off of 820 and wanted it back. Time will tell if it will take CHAM back to the ratings they once enjoyed long ago.
 
mimo said:
The press release on Milkman Unlimited says that listeners were a bit miffed to hear country disappear off of 820 and wanted it back. Time will tell if it will take CHAM back to the ratings they once enjoyed long ago.
Click to expand...

Well, with 95.3 not doing Country, there IS a hole in the market to fill.
Wave 94.7 had the chance to do just that (leaving 820 with the classics, in that case)
But they chose to continue on with Smooth Jazz.

Talk 820 had ratings so poor that they may have even tied with 1050's Team 1050 days!
Didn't a few of us here on this very board already say "it won't work" when they went all talk?
"they should have stayed Country..."

Yup! We were right!
 
Maybe the "zoomer" management will take notice and realize that talk on a frequency that's known for something else (and fills a hole) perhaps isn't such a great idea.
 
cyberdad said:
Maybe the "zoomer" management will take notice and realize that talk on a frequency that's known for something else (and fills a hole) perhaps isn't such a great idea.
Click to expand...

What's the something else? In MOST markets (usually cities) AM IS known for talk. However, with established competition from 610/1010, 740 (part of the day) 900, 930 etc... you can see when the market is pretty saturated. Then again....re; the country switchback... isn't 107.7 still doing the hayseed stuff? I should think the CHAM listeners would've just deflected.
 
RBW said:
cyberdad said:
Maybe the "zoomer" management will take notice and realize that talk on a frequency that's known for something else (and fills a hole) perhaps isn't such a great idea.
Click to expand...

What's the something else? In MOST markets (usually cities) AM IS known for talk. However, with established competition from 610/1010, 740 (part of the day) 900, 930 etc... you can see when the market is pretty saturated. Then again....re; the country switchback... isn't 107.7 still doing the hayseed stuff? I should think the CHAM listeners would've just deflected.
Click to expand...

107.7? WNUC has been gone for YEARS!
There's a 107.7 out Oshawa way, but that's a repeater of an AM Oldies station.
I must be missing a station somewhere...?
 
Yeziknoradio said:
107.7? WNUC has been gone for YEARS!
There's a 107.7 out Oshawa way, but that's a repeater of an AM Oldies station.
I must be missing a station somewhere...?
Click to expand...

My bad! ;D I guess I meant 106.5 WYRK.
 
N1WVQ said:
From Souf uh de border, does that mean Blue Jays fly again on Stereo 900 CHML?

Thanks & 73,
N1WVQ
Click to expand...

The Blue Jays and other Fan sports coverage are going to be staying on CHAM. Most likely Astral has a contract with Rogers to broadcast Fan content on CHAM. Astral has made the right move - in Southern Ontario, there will always be a market for country, and CHAM has a strong enough signal to reach a large segment of the province. I know their signal comes in clear along Highway 89 near Mount Forest.

If there's room for an FM frequency in Hamilton, I wouldn't be surprised to see CHAM apply to flip to FM at some point. Astral only owns one FM outlet in the market at this point, K-Lite 102.9.
 
Whenever a station changes its format and then returns to its previous format, it has a very difficult, if not impossible, time trying to gain the respect it once had. If the station was on AM, it's likely worse. I can only wish the powers-that-be success, but after the stunt they pulled recently, I don't know.
 
Maybe that's why CFCO was so quick to drop their popular 'Classic Gold' format and go country was to snag the Hamilton listeners when their station went talk. Now there's an overabundance of country stations in SW Ontario.
As far as AM's, they'll simulcast it with a low-powered FM, and give it the FM moniker. That's what CFCO did, take their 10KW stereo 630 AM station and 250W flea-powered station on 92.9 FM and change the whole imaging from "Classic Gold CFCO" to "Country 92.9FM, also heard on AM 630 instead.
 
JohnnyElectron said:
Maybe that's why CFCO was so quick to drop their popular 'Classic Gold' format and go country was to snag the Hamilton listeners when their station went talk.
Click to expand...

Except CFMJ's (640) stick is in Beamsville, which is arguably suburban Hamilton. Even if you don't buy the argument, 640 splatter pretty much destroys CFCO (630) in and around Hamilton.
 
klutch00 said:
Whenever a station changes its format and then returns to its previous format, it has a very difficult, if not impossible, time trying to gain the respect it once had. If the station was on AM, it's likely worse. I can only wish the powers-that-be success, but after the stunt they pulled recently, I don't know.
Click to expand...

The biggest example of that was WCBS-FM in New York. Anybody know how that station is doing these days?
 
M.J. said:
klutch00 said:
Whenever a station changes its format and then returns to its previous format, it has a very difficult, if not impossible, time trying to gain the respect it once had.
Click to expand...

The biggest example of that was WCBS-FM in New York. Anybody know how that station is doing these days?
Click to expand...

Last I heard, it was back at the top of the ratings. Though if course, thhat station is on the FM dial and is owned by CBS. As AM is more and more becoming the nether regions of radio, CHAM would have to work extra hard to woo its former listeners back.
 
I think CHAM could win it's listeners back, they may have to shell out for some promotion to do it. CHAM does have a great signal. It does make it all the way to Ottawa during the day (very weak) and is strong at night. When I lived in Toronto, I considered it to be a local station as there is no signal loss between Hamilton and Toronto.
 
klutch00 said:
Whenever a station changes its format and then returns to its previous format, it has a very difficult, if not impossible, time trying to gain the respect it once had. If the station was on AM, it's likely worse. I can only wish the powers-that-be success, but after the stunt they pulled recently, I don't know.
Click to expand...

That's a highly respected point, however...they didn't just flick a switch and leave the "Legend" Country running. (the previous CHAM Country format)

It's a different format (Today's Country) that is most likely going after the former Country 95.3 audience now that 95.3 is doing classic hits.
 
mimo said:
I think CHAM could win it's listeners back, they may have to shell out for some promotion to do it. CHAM does have a great signal. It does make it all the way to Ottawa during the day (very weak) and is strong at night. When I lived in Toronto, I considered it to be a local station as there is no signal loss between Hamilton and Toronto.
Click to expand...
How is CHAM doing these days? What about CKOC and CFZM for that matter? I'm assuming that CKOC, like CHAM delivers a decent signal into Toronto as well. Where can ratings for Canada be found?
 
CKOC doesn't seem to pick up well in Toronto, unfortunately.
There's too much static and too much crackle.
As for CFZM, keep on mind that the BBM is no more.
It has recently been replaced with the new PPM system, so that may change the outcome for many radio stations.
 
On my business trips to Toronto, CKOC is just fine most of the time in the city and all around the metro on a good car radio. Most recently, when I've stayed in the GTA metro, it's been somewhere close to the airport, which means I have a lot of juice from CKOC aimed right at me. On my last trip in October, I was in Whitby, about 30-45 minutes northeast of downtown. CKOC signal was pretty decent out there day/night, but still noticeably weaker than the Toronto-based stations. It's been a few years since I've stayed downtown. There, CKOC does have problems in the "canyons" between the downtown buildings as well as in the hotels.
 
In the Whitby area you might get better signal quality out of CKDO, since there's both an AM and FM up and running at 1580 AM and 107.7 FM.
 
Yeziknoradio said:
In the Whitby area you might get better signal quality out of CKDO, since there's both an AM and FM up and running at 1580 AM and 107.7 FM.
Click to expand...

Indeed that's true....and it's good to hear the oldies on FM. But we were talking about CKOC.

CKDO also comes in better than CKOC at night here northwest of Chicago. But both are regulars. 1580 is more open around here than 1150. CKOC also has been getting trashed recently by WHBY, which seems be doing a lousy job maintaining their 25kw night pattern.
 
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