In this week’s issue… CHUM shakes up schedule, goes HD – Radio silence at iHeart NYC – Rock 107 adds signal – Doyle out at NJ 101.5 – Remembering Markert, Strater
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*The radio dial in CANADA‘s biggest market is changing, on both sides of the studio.
As broadcasters gathered in Toronto last week for Canadian Music Week and RadioDays Canada, engineers were hard at work high above on the CN Tower, finishing the installation of a new FM master antenna that will, at long last, replace the original antenna that’s now almost 50 years old.
Back in 1976, that antenna was designed for only a limited number of signals, with no idea that someday those stations would want to transmit digital signals alongside analog FM. Ironically, it was the shift to digital broadcasting that opened up room for a new antenna – when the CBC’s CBLT moved from analog channel 5 to UHF digital, it allowed for the old low-band VHF antenna to be dismantled, very carefully, within the radome that covers the top of the CN Tower mast, and for a new FM antenna to be just as carefully assembled in the same space.
Testing of the new antenna began last weekend, bringing HD Radio signals on the air for two stations that have been analog-only until now, Rogers’ CHFI (98.1) and Bell’s CHUM-FM (104.5). When it’s all finished, the new antenna will carry jazz station CJRT (91.1), CBC’s CBL-FM (94.1), Stingray’s CHBM (97.3), CHFI, Bell’s CKFM (99.9) and CHUM-FM, multilingual CHIN-FM (100.7), and Corus’ CFNY (102.1) and CILQ (107.1). Until now, only CKFM has been in HD, using a backup antenna for its digital signal. We’ll be listening to see what happens as more of the huge Toronto signals add HD – and especially if they add more multicasting, which has been slow to develop north of the border except for AM simulcasts.
*At the studio end a few blocks north, CHUM-FM has been shaking things up as well. Jamar McNeil, who paired up with veteran morning host Marilyn Denis back in 2018, has been moved to afternoons on the hot AC station, now paired with former Indie 88 morning host Josie Dye on that shift. Is CHUM assembling the new pair as an eventual succession plan for Denis’ retirement? No permanent replacement host has been announced yet for McNeil on the morning show.
The landmark 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar is in production, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition (including a cover reveal, coming later this week!), we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!
In this week’s issue… iHeart axes Boston, NYC morning shows and more - Cumulus cuts in central PA - Southern Tier combo saved from silence - Ottawa FM relaunches - K-Love buys in the Burgh - Scranton gets "Loud" -...
In this week’s issue… "Hot" cools down in Providence, CT studios closed - GBH to sell Cape studios - A HEBA in Hamden? - New HDs in New York - Another Canadian AM to close
In this week’s issue… GBH shuffles mornings, prepares new show launches - NYSBA inducts Hall of Famers - More news-talk in the Hudson Valley - Remembering Dan Sys
In this week’s issue… Beasley cuts claim veteran jock - FCC releases LPFM decisions - AM towers coming down - New voices at Indie 88
