Canada’s Oldest Radio Station Has Gone off the Air: Is New Technology Taking Over Commercial Radio as We Know it?

Indeed, another hit to commercial radio happened in Montreal today. Canada’s oldest radio station (arguably perhaps even the world’s oldest), originally sporting the call letters XWA in 1919, changing to CFCF (“Canada’s First: Canada’s Finest”) in 1920, and subsequent other call letters, frequencies and format changes for 91 years, ending up as CINW 940AM’s Greatest Hits,  is now no more. 940 AM, owned by Corus Entertainment ceased programming at 10AM this morning along with French station, CINF Info 690Am and faded off the air at 7pm tonight. For more background on these two radio stations, go over to Fagstein’s; his radio blog is always an interesting read.

From 10Am, when programming ceased on both stations until they faded off the air 19;00 this evening, both stations simply looped a piece of rather ominous music with their respective general managers in French & English announcing their signing off the air due to financial reasons and basically thanking staff, listeners and advertisers.  You can also catch the loops here.

Eight jobs are lost from the closure of  Info 690, but five of them will move to 98.5FM, another news station belonging to Corus Entertainment and two jobs would be lost from the closure of 940AM.

Mario Cecchini, vice-president of subsidiary Corus Québec, said in a prepared statement:

“We put tremendous effort into trying to find the right format and content to grow our audience base and operate profitably, but after years of effort it is clear these AM stations are not viable,”

Only two positions (1 announcer; 1 technician)??  When  it changed from New Talk to Greatest Hits Radio in 2008, I noticed there wasn’t an announcer on all the shifts. However, I wonder how a station running 24/7 could run with only one tech? I’m sure it can be done with all the modern equipment surely at their disposal, particularly if everything is pre-recorded, with the commercials in their appropriate time slots. Who knows? I’m guessing here.

My point is, between that, and all the reruns playing at CJAD 800Am as well as Astral Media simulcasting week-day evenings with CJAD, Toronto’s Newstalk 1010 CFRB and some other station in Niagara; the new way of broadcasting commercial radio (in Canada anyway); all in the name of finances; wouldn’t not only listeners, but also sponsors take their business elsewhere? This way of broadcasting with a skeletal staff, while operating on the cheap, would surely be costly in the end.

Since the  mass layoffs over at CJAD last summer and  subsequent layoffs over at Corus’ Q92.5′s morning show as well as the mass layoffs over at TO’s Newstalk 1010 CFRB (including Michael Coren, now if only his tv show can go off the air), I have been wondering if perhaps Commercial radio is slowly becoming obsolete, like the turn table and the VHS? Is that Astral Media’s goal in the case of their News/talk radio stations? I mean, while certainly cost effective, I just simply can’t understand the rationale of letting a 20 year veteran of the night and class act, Peter Anthony Holder of both CJAD and CFRB in favor of reruns of the arrogant, aging, has-been, Tommy Schnurmacher with his Friday Teenie-boppers & valley girl sound-a-likes, The sometimes on; sometimes way-off Kim Fraser and Dan Laxer (I actually like Dan’s show; he’s one of the minority who isn’t a right wingnut or Stevie and Harpercon cheerleader; still, would prefer PAH over reruns of any kind). Cutting off the Saturday Solid Gold show with another veteran, Al Gravelle, thus closing live shows at 17;00 on Saturdays rendering it to once again, reruns until 6AM Sunday morning would surely eliminate sponsors in the long run. Everyone knows, without advertising, there would be no radio station (or media conglomerate for that matter).

The other thing I don’t understand is CHOM FM playing less & less classic rock and more 90s music crap?

I simply don’t understand these stations insisting on trying to attract a younger audience, who have grown up in the technological age of Satellite Radio, catching American shock jocks on the internet and of course, the podcast and music downloading? They’re not going to tune into FM or AM radio when all of those more modern high tech options are readily available to them. Trying to pander to younger audiences makes no sense, especially if it alienates the Baby Boomers or even the Gen-X ers; after all, who spends the most money on products and services advertised on these stations anyway?  Certainly not those youngsters who are ignoring commercial radio.

Speaking of adapting with technology & the times, four Montreal former and current radio hosts have podcasts of their own, now.  One of them being, Peter Anthony Holder, himself. It’s called the Stuph file which is now syndicated over at Cyber Station USA and at World FM in New Zealand in less than 4 months since he started podcasting. I highly recommend you listen to his podcast. It is a shorter version of what he did on CJAD; great interviews with authors, former Hollywood stars and some pretty quirky people, as well as reviewing the most bizarre news around the world, Idiot of the Day and Email reading from listeners and a lot more. No, it’s not political.

Three other former and current radio hosts have podcasts out there as well. A sign that some radio personalities are adapting to the changes in technology.

So, is commercial radio on the way out? Will modern techologies like Satellite radio & podcasts replace it very quickly?  Given a local French language radio station just left airwaves, thus, no longer able to blame a limited English language market, I would think so. Beginning with the departure of Terry Dimonte, who is now the morning man for Corus’ Q107 in Calgary, in November, 2008 to the mass layoffs to the recent departure of Ted Bird, the other half of the formerly successful morning show of Ted and Terry on CHOM; most of the greats are gone.

While I never really was a listener of 940AM or INFO 690, I can’t help but feel sad and somewhat nostalgic as radio as I knew it growing up is no longer, nor will it ever be the same. I’m all for progress,  but what’s happening on Montreal commercial radio today hardly qualifies. All the changes in the name of cost-cutting will surely be their demise.   I just hope that most of them will have been retired or young enough to train for new vocations by the time that happens.   That would be the worst: mass layoffs. These mass media conglomerates will have only themselves to blame.