Toronto Radio Stations

[SirRoxalot]

Kent, I was talking more about a change in methodology by Nielsen in there measurement of OTA radio, not their measurement of streaming content. As it sits, there's a push to combine the OTA listening with Internet streaming, regardless of the differences in the advertising in the stream. The idea is to come up with one number, independent of source. Fair? Arguably no, but when were the advertising wars fair?

 

[Unregistered]

Toronto and Buffalo Markets

For those who live in places like Lewiston, Ransomville, Wilson, and Youngstown they actually get better reception from Toronto stations than those in Buffalo. For the following reasons...
1.Communities along the Lake Ontario shore are 200-300 feet lower in elevation than the rest of the region.
2.Canadian stations are exempt from the FCC established "buffer zones" for co-channel, and adjoining channel stations...Here are two prime examples
A.Alternative Buffalo 107.7 which has a co-channel conflict with a classic hits station on 107.7 in Oshawa (almost directly across Lake Ontario from Youngstown) The interference can best be observed when driving along Route 104...Speaking of B.94.1 The Zone in Rochester has their signal shredded by Toronto-Based CBL (CBC Radio) which operates on 94.1....The interference is so severe, The Zone can barely be heard in Hilton, Brockport, Hamlin, and Clarkson, (all towns in Western Monroe County within 20 miles of WZNE's transmitter). When driving east on West Ridge Rd, the station only becomes clear around the Greece/Parma town line on Manitou Rd. (5 miles from downtown Rochester)

 

[Rusty Bridges]

The FM band is more cluttered than ever with flotsam and jetsam in the form of secondary service translators coveted and held by the pray for pay groups, the co-channels and first adjacencies of both nations and the US Docket 80-90s that get whipped and buffeted as noted above. The Buffalo-Niagara Falls-Toronto-Rochester RF corridor may be even more congested than the Detroit-Windsor corridor. Subject to debate.

 

[Unregistered]

A view from Rochester

For those who live in places like Lewiston, Ransomville, Wilson, and Youngstown they actually get better reception from Toronto stations than those in Buffalo. For the following reasons...
1.Communities along the Lake Ontario shore are 200-300 feet lower in elevation than the rest of the region.
2.Canadian stations are exempt from the FCC established "buffer zones" for co-channel, and adjoining channel stations...Here are two prime examples
A.Alternative Buffalo 107.7 which has a co-channel conflict with a classic hits station on 107.7 in Oshawa (almost directly across Lake Ontario from Youngstown) The interference can best be observed when driving along Route 104...Speaking of B.94.1 The Zone in Rochester has their signal shredded by Toronto-Based CBL (CBC Radio) which operates on 94.1....The interference is so severe, The Zone can barely be heard in Hilton, Brockport, Hamlin, and Clarkson, (all towns in Western Monroe County within 20 miles of WZNE's transmitter). When driving east on West Ridge Rd, the station only becomes clear around the Greece/Parma town line on Manitou Rd. (5 miles from downtown Rochester)

This is an interesting discussion; I don't know a lot about the technology of translators, etc. But as a Canadian living in Rochester (and there are more than me) reception of FM from across the lake is of interest. I am going to implement an FM antenna system this Spring specifically to DX Ontario stations. Yes, I can stream some of the target stations online (and I do,) but for CJRT, CBLT (and the CBC Kingston repeater) I'd like the option of OTA reception, especially to get signals that are not compressed by ISP or satellite.

Bottom line is that the number one reason for receiving Canadian stations along the US shore of Lake Ontario can be summed up in three letters: CBC. If I had half a hope of receiving CBC TV via OTA, I would make a big effort. Nothing like Hockey Night in Canada and the Leafs.

 

[Unregistered]

Haven't we done three or four of these threads by now?

Most of those stations you list aren't really listenable in Buffalo, thanks to incursions from translators and the "RF haze" that hangs over much of the city itself from the high-power, low-height transmitters on the Rand Building and the tower behind channel 4. The only ones that are still easily listenable downtown are 91.1 (which is CJRT, not "CJZZ"), 94.1 (which is CBL-FM, not CBU-FM), 97.3, 98.1, 99.9 and sometimes 102.1 and 107.1 (which is CILQ, not CINQ).

It's hard to say how much audience any of them have these days, since the Arbitron ratings now show only the stations that pay for the service, and obviously Canadian stations aren't included. Anecdotally, 91.1 still has a decent niche audience because it provides a format otherwise unavailable in town. I don't think most Buffalo listeners find a reason to listen to any of the others, since they don't offer much that isn't already available on Buffalo radio.

In many of the more outlying areas of WNY you can pick up stations from multiple markets...In Albion listerners can get Rochester and most of Buffalo's FM outlets....Similar for towns on the fringes of WNY like Sodus, Geneva, Seneca Falls, even as east as Red Creek and Auburn, you can still pull in Rochester FMs in addition to Syracuse. Likewise a listener of 98.9 the Buzz or 94.1 The Zone in Port Byron or Auburn is unlikely to go to Patrick Buick and more likely to go to Burdick Chevy/Buick in Cicero simply due to distance factor...

 

[bmcglynn2]

This is an interesting discussion; I don't know a lot about the technology of translators, etc. But as a Canadian living in Rochester (and there are more than me) reception of FM from across the lake is of interest. I am going to implement an FM antenna system this Spring specifically to DX Ontario stations. Yes, I can stream some of the target stations online (and I do,) but for CJRT, CBLT (and the CBC Kingston repeater) I'd like the option of OTA reception, especially to get signals that are not compressed by ISP or satellite.

Bottom line is that the number one reason for receiving Canadian stations along the US shore of Lake Ontario can be summed up in three letters: CBC. If I had half a hope of receiving CBC TV via OTA, I would make a big effort. Nothing like Hockey Night in Canada and the Leafs.

You might need to get that Bell-TV or Shaw subscription soon since the NHL is going over to Rogers. On the radio front, I do find that the radio audio is actually quite good on Bell-TV. For their owned and operated stations, I would imagine that it is a high bitrate, pure digital backhaul to their uplink plant. Based on codec speeds to the FM transmitters, it is quite likely that the radio audio on the Bell-TV service is superior in sound quality.

Sirus/XM is another story. I find the audio unfortunately unlistenable due to the blatantly audible artifacts.

 

[Unregistered]

This is an interesting discussion; I don't know a lot about the technology of translators, etc. But as a Canadian living in Rochester (and there are more than me) reception of FM from across the lake is of interest. I am going to implement an FM antenna system this Spring specifically to DX Ontario stations. Yes, I can stream some of the target stations online (and I do,) but for CJRT, CBLT (and the CBC Kingston repeater) I'd like the option of OTA reception, especially to get signals that are not compressed by ISP or satellite.

Bottom line is that the number one reason for receiving Canadian stations along the US shore of Lake Ontario can be summed up in three letters: CBC. If I had half a hope of receiving CBC TV via OTA, I would make a big effort. Nothing like Hockey Night in Canada and the Leafs.

as far as receiving cbc over the air....you may be able to get CHEX out of peterborough, depending on where in rochester you live...not sure if CBLT (toronto) reaches that far...though it wouldn't surprise me if they did. when i lived near rochester, i could get most of the FMs out of toronto....used to listen to q 107, 102.1 the edge, and chum fm quite a bit back then...

 

[Unregistered]

Canadian stations get considerable TSL from this poster. Approximately 30% of my listening is given to Classic Rock Giant FM @ 91.7, Welland and Jazz FM @ 91.1. Most of the other Canadian FMs noted in the original and corrected posts get swamped by co-channels, although the pre-sets on my second FM tier do include 107.1, 98.1 and 99.9. The greatest TSL remains with Buffalo stations... and then there's my favorite, K-JPB... "playing what I want,", which offers an extraordinary selection of music, commercial free.

i always wondered how many more US based stations the far western portion (716) of wny if the FCC found a way to block canadian stations from interfering with our media....i've noticed the rochester stations carry much further to the east than the west....back in the early 2000s heydey of 95.1/95.5 WNVE, i remember hearing the nerve out on the thruway out past syracuse sometimes as far east as verona and canastota...blocking the canadian FM and AM signals from across the lake would likely put buffalo well within range of rochester powerhouses like 92.5 WBEE....(seeing as the two cities are only 70 miles apart)....could also expand erie pennsylvania's market further into WNY...definitely remember catching star 104 on 103.7 while driving along the niagara gorge around 2005-2006....though since that time a college station from st catharines has taken up residence on that frequency....makes you wonder.....

 

[Yeziknoradio]

You might need to get that Bell-TV or Shaw subscription soon since the NHL is going over to Rogers.

To strengthen your point...
http://www.radiodiscussions.com/showthread.php?658563-Rogers-NHL-complete-deal-for-TV-exclusivity

 

[Unregistered]

I know Toronto radio stations can be pick up in Buffalo, but do people in Buffalo listens to Toronto radio stations?
I know you can pick up these FM station easily in Buffalo.
91.1 CJZZ - 91.1 Jazz FM
92.5 CKIS - 92.5 KISS FM
94.1 CBU-FM CBC Radio 2
95.3 CING Fresh FM (Hamilton)
97.3 CHBM BOOM-FM
98.1 CHFI Today's Lite Rock
99.1 CBLA - CBC Radio 1
99.9 CKFM Virgin Radio 99.9
100.7 CHIN-FM CHIN International Radio
102.1 CFNY - 102.1 THE EDGE
102.9 CKLH 102.9 K-Lite (Hamilton)
104.5 CHUM-FM Today's Best Music
107.1 CINQ - Q107.1
107.9 CJXY - Y108 (Hamilton)

here's a few more from canada that can be heard in parts of wny
92.1 CKPC: jewel 92 (Brantford) AC
93.3 CKSG: star 93.3 (Cobourg) CHR
93.5 CFXJ: flow 93.5 (Toronto) Rap/Hip Hop/R&B
94.9 CKGE: 94.9 The Rock (Oshawa) Active Rock
95.9 CJKX: KX 96 (Ajax) Country..(this one destroys 96.1 Joy Fm's listening quality in niagara county)
97.7 CHTZ: 977 hitz FM Active Rock
101.5 CKWF: 101.5 The Wolf (Lindsay/Peterborough) Rock
103.5 CIDC: Z103.5 (Toronto) Dance Hits/CHR

 

[Unregistered]

I know when I visit my aunt in Amherst, I can pick up 99.9 and 104.5 out of Toronto pretty clearly. Even when I'm leaving the Buffalo area, I can get 99.9 in a car as far south as Ellicottville. I use to listen to 94.7 in Hamilton when it was the "Wave", but it was on a much smaller signal and I could hear it only up until Niagara Falls.

I like listening to the Canadian stations when I'm there because you hear a lot of artist you normally wouldn't hear on US stations.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

here's a few more from canada that can be heard in parts of wny
92.1 CKPC: jewel 92 (Brantford) AC
93.3 CKSG: star 93.3 (Cobourg) CHR
93.5 CFXJ: flow 93.5 (Toronto) Rap/Hip Hop/R&B
94.9 CKGE: 94.9 The Rock (Oshawa) Active Rock
95.9 CJKX: KX 96 (Ajax) Country..(this one destroys 96.1 Joy Fm's listening quality in niagara county)
97.7 CHTZ: 977 hitz FM Active Rock
101.5 CKWF: 101.5 The Wolf (Lindsay/Peterborough) Rock
103.5 CIDC: Z103.5 (Toronto) Dance Hits/CHR

I thought there was a clause in place that made it illegal to cause any interference on American soil.
Therefore meaning that KX 96 is not allowed to have a signal strong enough to reach into the States...? (thus making interference with WJYE Illegal)

Also, how is it possible that CFXJ can reach Buffalo, but WBLK can not reach Toronto?
(Note: New owner, Newcap for CFXJ 93.5, and no credit to hip hop here: http://www.ncc.ca/stations.asp?mn=2 It's just "Top 40/pop")

 

[Unregistered]

I thought there was a clause in place that made it illegal to cause any interference on American soil.
Therefore meaning that KX 96 is not allowed to have a signal strong enough to reach into the States...? (thus making interference with WJYE Illegal)

Also, how is it possible that CFXJ can reach Buffalo, but WBLK can not reach Toronto?
(Note: New owner, Newcap for CFXJ 93.5, and no credit to hip hop here: http://www.ncc.ca/stations.asp?mn=2 It's just "Top 40/pop")

last i knew there were laws to protect radio stations from interference from neighboring or same-frequency interference..but i don't believe FCC rulings can be enforced in canada....

KX 96 on 95.9 renders WJYE unlistenable in parts of northern niagara county....especially in lewiston and points below the ridge...

CKDO: based in the toronto exurb of oshawa at 107.7, destroys WLKK's signal anywhere north of route 31....

CFXJ "flow 93.5" doesn't reach buffalo, but can be heard along the gorge in niagara falls and further north...its signal isn't strong enough to interfere with WBLK.

further east CBL 94.1 eats up the western half of WZNE (94.1 the zone)'s coverage area...as evidenced by the fact that the zone's sound quality drops off considerably west of the "S" curves on route 31 by northampton park...a mere 11 miles west of rochester...

 

[warsaw35]

Even though all the stations listed here are FM, I listen to AM 740, CFZM.