CFMZ-FM
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| City of license | Toronto, Ontario |
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| Branding | "Classical 96" |
| Slogan | Toronto's classical music station |
| Frequency | 96.3 MHz (FM) |
| First air date | 1988 |
| Format | Classical music |
| ERP | 24 kW |
| Callsign meaning | C F Moses Znaimer |
| Former callsigns | CFMX-FM-1 (1988-2008) |
| Owner | ZoomerMedia (MZ Media Inc.) |
| Sister stations | CFMX-FM, CFZM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | Classical 96.3 FM |
CFMZ-FM is a Canadian radio station, that broadcasts classical music at 96.3 FM in Toronto. The station is branded as The New Classical 96.3 FM.
CFMZ first aired in 1988 as a rebroadcaster of Cobourg's CFMX, with the call sign CFMX-FM-1. The station was originally licensed to Mississauga, the transmitter location. The transmitter was moved to Toronto in 1993. CFMX's operations were gradually centralized in Toronto by 1997, such that the Toronto transmitter was effectively acting as the station's primary signal.
In September 2006, Canadian broadcaster Moses Znaimer purchased the station.[1] The CFMZ call sign was originally assigned to the Cobourg transmitter. However, according to Industry Canada databases, the Toronto rebroadcaster kept its original CFMX-FM-1 call sign.[2]
In September 2007, Znaimer also announced a deal to acquire CHWO, a pop standards station in Oakville.
In 2008, the CRTC approved a change that relicensed the Cobourg and Toronto transmitters as separate stations. The Toronto station continues to provide all the Cobourg station's music programming, although the Cobourg station now originates 24 hours per week of locally-oriented talk and spoken word programming.[3] The Cobourg station retains the original CFMX call sign, and the Toronto station uses CFMZ.[4]
Along with CJPX-FM in Montreal and CJSQ-FM in Quebec City, CFMZ is one of the only commercial broadcasters in Canada that plays a purely classical music format, and the only one of those that broadcasts in English. Five years after Znaimer's purchase, in December 2011, it continues to style itself as "New Classical."
The station was originally owned by Znaimer's privately held MZ Media Inc. As part of a reorganization of Znaimer's media assets, the station was transferred to the publicly-traded ZoomerMedia in 2010.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Znaimer ready to reinvent classical radio", Toronto Star, September 18, 2007.
- ^ Call sign search and Broadcasting database (ZIP file) (using the file fmstatio.dbf) from Industry Canada. Retrieved on November 14, 2007.
- ^ CRTC Decision 2008-31.
- ^ NorthEast Radio Watch, June 23, 2008.
- ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-193
[edit] External links
- Classical 96.3 FM
- CFMZ history at Canadian Communications Foundation
- Query the REC's Canadian station database for CFMZ-FM
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Coordinates: 43°39′27″N 79°21′25″W / 43.65747°N 79.35692°W
