CKIS-FM
| File:Kiss925Logo.jpg | |
| Frequency | 92.5 MHz FM |
|---|---|
| Branding | KISS 92.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | contemporary hit radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Rogers Communications |
| History | |
First air date | 1993 |
Former call signs | CISS (1993-2003) CJAQ-FM (2003-2009) |
Call sign meaning | C KISs |
| Technical information | |
| Power | 4.7 kW |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | Kiss 92.5 |
CKIS-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 92.5 FM in Toronto, Ontario. The station broadcasts a contemporary hit radio format branded as KISS 92.5. It is also the only CHR-pop station owned by Rogers Media, and the first CHR-pop station owned by the company since CHTT-FM in Victoria, British Columbia shifted from top 40 to hot AC in July 2003.
History
Country music (1993-1999)
The station was launched by Rawlco Communications in 1993 as a country music station, with the CISS-FM call letters and branding.[1] The station's licensing by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission had been controversial, because the CRTC had passed over an application by Milestone Radio for an urban music station, which would have been a new format in the Toronto market, in favour of Rawlco's application to serve a niche which was already served by existing stations. (Milestone's second attempt at an urban station was also passed over in favour of CBLA; the company finally won a license on its third attempt, and launched CFXJ-FM in 2001.)
First "Kiss" era (1999-2003)
Rogers Communications announced a deal to buy the station in February 1999. The deal would not be finalized until August, but immediately after the deal was announced, Rogers took LMA control of the station[2] (at the time, LMAs were not actively regulated by the CRTC) and flipped CISS to a contemporary hit radio format.
The way the transition was announced to most of the station's staff – they were taken out for a party to celebrate the success of the country station, then returned to the station, unaware, to find their access passes no longer worked and they were out of work – became legendary in Canadian radio circles. The station brand briefly became Power 92 FM, which attracted adverse attention from the operators of CKDX, then a dance music station branded Power 88.5 in Newmarket, north of Toronto, and from Corus Entertainment, which owned several "Power" stations in western Canada at the time, and who had taken steps towards potentially turning their Toronto rock music station Q107 in a new direction as Power 107. The station soon took on the identity Kiss 92 FM.
In its early days, the station also aired imaging material in which an announcer pronounced the name of the city "Toe-ron-toe", widely considered a mispronunciation of Toronto. New material was soon substituted.
Thanks to former CRTC content regulations on FM radio, Power and then Kiss 92 FM was the first, and remained the only, contemporary hit radio or top 40 format on FM licensed to the City of Toronto. The station rode a wave of popularity for pop music acts like Backstreet Boys and N'SYNC, and often seemed to supertarget a primary market of young teenage or preteen girls. Station personalities included Jay Michaels, first paired with Daryn Jones as Mad Dog and Daryn and then with Billie Holiday in mornings as Mad Dog and Billie, frequently accompanied by voice actress Stephanie Beard as "Suga BayBee", Kris James (a re-hired veteran of the country format, and temporarily the CHR format's first morning host) middays, Tarzan Dan afternoons, Cory Kimm and Taylor Kaye evenings with Slim hosting Slim Jams slow jams overnights.
In the early 2000s, somewhat ironically, the station moved to take CFXJ's turf with a shift to an urban contemporary format billed as "Toronto's hip hop and R&B." Hiring local urban flavoured talent DJX and Haddy, Axel, Kwame, DJ Baby Yu and RG.
Jack FM (2003-2009)
On June 4, 2003 much to the disappointment of the listeners and fans of the "Kiss" format, the station moved to the Jack FM branding, which had proved quite successful on Rogers' owned stations in Calgary and Vancouver, and adopted the CJAQ-FM calls a few months later. The CISS calls were moved to a station in Ottawa, also owned by Rogers.
In late September 2005, CJAQ announced that it would become the first jock-free station in Canada. Pat Cardinal, general manager and program director, announced that "The move came as a result of listener feedback. The audience has been telling us that they want no DJs on Jack. They want more music." In November 2005, Cardinal defended his decision in an interview with Michael Hainsworth of Report on Business Television and stated why he doesn't see commercial-free iPods and satellite radio as a threat to a non-DJ format.
When it first launched, the station operated without disc jockeys in an effort to establish the "Playing What We Want" concept which was new to Toronto. DJs were introduced within weeks. However, ongoing research has confirmed that listeners would rather hear Jack's huge range of music without the stereotypical announcer banter.
Despite the constant efforts by Rogers to boost ratings of 92.5, their efforts have yet to pay off. In fact, ratings have tumbled on the 92.5 FM station to the lowest numbers seen in years. As of the latest book, Jack FM came in at a 2.3 share, sliding from 2.7 in the previous book and plunging from a 2005 book-high of a 4.1 share.
On June 1, 2006, Pat Cardinal was replaced as General Manager and Program Director by Steve Kennedy, formerly PD of CKIS, the Jack FM station in Calgary. On July 4, 2007 Steve Kennedy was replaced as PD by Jeff Brown, formerly PD of CHEZ 106 in Ottawa with GM duties being handled by Sandy Sanderson, the Toronto market manager.
In mid-May 2006, the play list of CJAQ evolved into a mainstream rock format going up against Corus classic rocker Q107 and alt-rocker The Edge, which had come under common ownership in 2000. 1980s acts were dropped in favor of an all-rock format. Station IDs such as "Playing what we want" remained, but oddly the variety which once was the Jack FM claim to fame was gone. Since this change, the overall share of the radio station has declined 17% and the circulation has dropped by over 27%. Even in males, the share is down 14%.
On December 11, 2006 CJAQ abandoned its DJ free format when they launched a new morning show featuring Ben McVie and Kerry Gray (formerly the morning team at Dave FM in Cambridge). The station was still DJ free for the remainder of the day, but on December 12, 2006 other DJs were heard on the station including Jeff Chalmers and Samantha Stevens. Ben and Kerry were eventually fired on August 16, 2007. The Morning duo was replaced with Jeff Chalmers and Larissa Primeau who were also eventually fired in September 2008. They were replaced with the PD, Jeff Brown along with co-host Carly Klassen. This duo had been doing the afternoon drive show and as of May 2009 were doing both morning drive and afternoon drive.
In early March 2008 CJAQ-FM began using the slogan "Toronto's Best Rock Variety", further adding to the radio station's focus on rock music. Despite the change in slogan, music focus and personalities the station has only been able to achieve a 2.0 share according to the BBM results for the Toronto market released on April 2, 2009.
Second "Kiss" era (2009-present)
At 3pm on June 5, 2009 Rogers Communications announced that effective immediately Jack FM would be rebranded back to Kiss 92.5. This change came just one day past the sixth anniversary of its 2003 flip from "Kiss" to "Jack".[3] The new format is Top 40, and as a promotion the station will play 10,000 songs (around a month of uninterrupted, commercial free and DJ free music) to pique interest and build listenership. This promotion is similar to ones used by WXRK (from New York City) and KAMP (from Los Angeles) when they switched to the Top 40/CHR format, both CBS Radio stations began by playing 10,000 songs commercial free. The format change can be attributed to the low ratings JACK-FM was getting in the Greater Toronto Area market.
Kiss will compete head-on with suburban Z103.5 and Toronto rhythmic top 40 station Flow 93.5 and smaller competition with hot AC stations CHUM-FM and CKFM-FM, as well as Buffalo, New York top 40 station Kiss 98.5. KISS is currently the only Top 40 station licensed in the city of Toronto. The final song aired before the flip on Jack FM was "Boy Inside the Man" by Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, and the first song after the flip to Kiss FM was "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas.[4]
The station subsequently swapped call signs with the Rogers-owned Jack FM station CKIS-FM in Calgary, Alberta.
Broadcast Signal
A few months after the program change on June, 5, 2009, the station owner: Rogers Media subsequently lowered the transmitter power from 9,100 watts to just 4,700 watts, causing a dramatic decrease in signal strength in the Hamilton/ Burlington areas and east towards Oshawa area.
References
- ^ Decision CRTC 92-543
- ^ Broadcast Dialogue, February 25, 1999
- ^ Friday afternoon brought a high-profile format change in Canada's biggest market, Scott Fybush/North East Radio Watch, June 5, 2009
- ^ KISS 92.5 is back The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV board, June 5, 2009.
External links
- Kiss 92.5 FM
- CJAQ history at Canadian Commuications Foundation
- CJAQ-FM in the REC Canadian station database
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