The state of Canadian CHR - an update
Oct 8, 2003 3:48:11 GMT -5
Post by william on Oct 8, 2003 3:48:11 GMT -5
While CHR is not as dirty a word to programmers as it has been the past 6 months, much still has to be done to restore the format to it's former glory. Many major markets including Ottawa and Calgary are without a Mainstream Top 40 station to call their own. Let's though concentrate on some positives that occured over the summer, and look at some ratings numbers for key CHR/Pop stations in Canada.
Standard Radio has decided to keep the format alive and well in Vancouver with Z95.3 . Although they are nowhere near their glory days before Urban 94.5 The Beat debuted in the market, Z95 still managed a respectable 6.1 share to finish in 6th place. The Beat came in 11th with a 3.3 . Z briefly toyed with a HotAC lean for the Spring book, but decided to go back to their roots with a refocussed commitment to being a market leading CHR/Pop.
NewCap should be applauded for bringing the format back to the Edmonton market by flipping it's ModernAC 96X to CHR. Many were surprised when Corus flipped their heritage TOP40 Power92 to HotAC this past spring.
The see-saw battle between CHR/Pop HOT 103 and HotAC rival Q94 saw Winnipeg's Hit Music Station the victor with a 9.2 4th place finish. The Q came in 6th.
Over in Montreal, Corus owned CHR Powerhouse CKOI rebounded from a couple dissapointing books to place 3rd with an 8.3 . Playing the hottest summer hits proved too tempting for CHR listeners as they abandoned hotAC/Rock leaning CKMF and pushed it down from 2nd to 5th.
In Canada's largest market of Toronto, the indepently owned Dance leaning CHR Z103.5 had it's best book ever. The station placed 12th with 3.6 share, slightly ahead of Urban Flow 93.5's 3.3 14th place finish. Both stations benefited from Kiss 92.5's flip from CHR/Rhythmic to Classic Hits in late spring. What makes Z103's numbers so impressive is that their signal in parts of the Greater Toronto Area including the central core is weak. Over the past 24 months, Z has been adding more mainstream CHR titles to their playlist, and last week their Top 40 Countdown boasted both Simple Plan and Good Charlotte in the Top 5.
Heading towards the east coast, many format enthusiasts were happy to hear that long time hotAC C100 morphed into an adult leaning CHR. Nelly and Eminem can now finally be found on commercial radio airwaves in regular rotation in Halifax. 95.7 The Beat in Fredericton has also commited more mainstream titles to it's very Rhythmic/CHR playlists by adding new hits from the likes of Michelle Branch, Evanescence and Sugar Ray to their playlist.
Summer has always been a traditionally strong season for CHR stations. The fall is proving to be more balanced than this past spring with no format abandonment - yet. If the numbers don't hold for the fall book, I'm afraid broadcasters will focus more on the 25-54 demo and the format flips will be once again en vogue as we head into winter.
Standard Radio has decided to keep the format alive and well in Vancouver with Z95.3 . Although they are nowhere near their glory days before Urban 94.5 The Beat debuted in the market, Z95 still managed a respectable 6.1 share to finish in 6th place. The Beat came in 11th with a 3.3 . Z briefly toyed with a HotAC lean for the Spring book, but decided to go back to their roots with a refocussed commitment to being a market leading CHR/Pop.
NewCap should be applauded for bringing the format back to the Edmonton market by flipping it's ModernAC 96X to CHR. Many were surprised when Corus flipped their heritage TOP40 Power92 to HotAC this past spring.
The see-saw battle between CHR/Pop HOT 103 and HotAC rival Q94 saw Winnipeg's Hit Music Station the victor with a 9.2 4th place finish. The Q came in 6th.
Over in Montreal, Corus owned CHR Powerhouse CKOI rebounded from a couple dissapointing books to place 3rd with an 8.3 . Playing the hottest summer hits proved too tempting for CHR listeners as they abandoned hotAC/Rock leaning CKMF and pushed it down from 2nd to 5th.
In Canada's largest market of Toronto, the indepently owned Dance leaning CHR Z103.5 had it's best book ever. The station placed 12th with 3.6 share, slightly ahead of Urban Flow 93.5's 3.3 14th place finish. Both stations benefited from Kiss 92.5's flip from CHR/Rhythmic to Classic Hits in late spring. What makes Z103's numbers so impressive is that their signal in parts of the Greater Toronto Area including the central core is weak. Over the past 24 months, Z has been adding more mainstream CHR titles to their playlist, and last week their Top 40 Countdown boasted both Simple Plan and Good Charlotte in the Top 5.
Heading towards the east coast, many format enthusiasts were happy to hear that long time hotAC C100 morphed into an adult leaning CHR. Nelly and Eminem can now finally be found on commercial radio airwaves in regular rotation in Halifax. 95.7 The Beat in Fredericton has also commited more mainstream titles to it's very Rhythmic/CHR playlists by adding new hits from the likes of Michelle Branch, Evanescence and Sugar Ray to their playlist.
Summer has always been a traditionally strong season for CHR stations. The fall is proving to be more balanced than this past spring with no format abandonment - yet. If the numbers don't hold for the fall book, I'm afraid broadcasters will focus more on the 25-54 demo and the format flips will be once again en vogue as we head into winter.
