 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 740kHz |
| Branding | Zoomer Radio |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English |
| Format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | November 17, 1956 (68 years ago) (1956-11-17) |
Former call signs | CHWO (1956–2008) |
Former frequencies | 1250 kHz (1956–2001) |
Call sign meaning | Zoomer Media (owner) orZnaimer, Moses (owner) |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | CRTC |
| Class | A |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°34′30″N79°49′2″W / 43.57500°N 79.81722°W /43.57500; -79.81722 |
| Repeater(s) |
|
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | zoomerradio.ca |
CFZM (740kHz) is an commercial CanadianAM radio station inToronto, Ontario. It is owned byZoomerMedia, headed by Canadian broadcasterMoses Znaimer. It airs anadult standards andoldiesformat, branded asZoomer Radio, with the slogan "The Original Greatest Hits". The studios and offices are on Jefferson Avenue in theLiberty Village neighbourhood.
CFZM is aClass A,clear channel station. It is powered around the clock at 50,000 watts, the maximum for Canadian AM stations. It uses anon-directional antenna, with itstransmitter on Auburn Road inMilton, near the401 Freeway.[1] Programming is also heard on a low powerFM repeater indowntown Toronto at 96.7MHz.[2]
Due to its transmitter power andsouthern Ontario's flat land, CFZM has an unusually large daytime coverage area, equivalent to that of a full-power FM station. Its city-grade signal covers all ofSouthern Ontario, much of upstate New York (includingBuffalo,Rochester andWatertown), northwesternPennsylvania (includingErie), and slivers ofMichigan andOhio. Its grade B signal reaches as far east asUtica, New York, as far south asPittsburgh and as far west asLansing, Michigan. At night, with a good radio, it can be heard around most of the eastern half of North America, including three-fourths of Canada.
The station was originally launched in 1956 on 1250 AM inOakville, with thecall sign CHWO. Its license was held by what is now known asWhiteoaks Communications Group, a company owned by broadcaster Howard Caine and a number of minority investors. In 1967, shortly before Caine's death, his wife Jean was appointed to the board of directors and took over the station's management. In 1974, CHWO added asister station,CJMR inMississauga which was not included in the 2008 sale of CHWO.
In 2000, theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation'sCBL gave up its longtime home on 740 and moved to FM. CBL had been plagued byradio frequency interference that made it hard to listen in downtown Toronto. Despite this shortfall, the prizedclear channel frequency became hotly contested by new and existing stations in the area. CHWO applied for the frequency, citing that it could provide a stronger service to the region's older adult population. Concurrently, the Caine family also applied for a new station on the old 1250 frequency, to air aChristian music format.
The applications were granted, and CHWO moved to the 740 frequency on 8 January 2001, leasing CBL's former transmitter in Hornby from the CBC. CHWO originally applied for the newcall signCFPT, but when this was denied byIndustry Canada because the call sign was already in use, the station chose to retain its heritage "CHWO" calls. CHWO's replacement at 1250,CJYE, launched on 5 February.[3]
On 18 September 2007, Prime Time Radio announced a deal to sell the station toMoses Znaimer. AM 740 would become a sister station to Toronto's classical music station,CFMZ. The deal was approved by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on 31 March 2008.[4] Znaimer moved the station's studios andcity of licence to Toronto, and changed the station's call sign to CFZM on 22 July 2008.[5] The station began a format ofAdult Standards andOldies, although over time, the number of standards played on the station was reduced.
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 tradedZoomerMedia in 2010.[6]
In 2012, Zoomer Media was one of 27 applicants for an FM station at 88.1 MHz, for the purpose of simulcasting CFZM in the city of Toronto, where the AM signal is often difficult to hear. The bid was unsuccessful and the CRTC awarded the frequency toCIND-FM.[7][8]
On 27 April 2015, MZ Media received CRTC approval to operate a nestedFM transmitter in downtown Toronto to rebroadcast CFZM at 96.7MHz with an averageeffective radiated power (ERP) of 22.4 watts (maximum 82 watts) with aheight above average terrain (HAAT) of 280.1 metres (919'). The transmitter is atopFirst Canadian Place. The repeater, CFZM-1-FM, enables CFZM 740 to overcome the deficiencies of the AM signal in the downtown core. That was the same problems that led CBL to leave the AM band 15 years earlier. The repeater, however, is a first-adjacent signal toCKHC-FM 96.9, acollege radio station atHumber College that serves an area in the northwestern part of the city. CFZM-1-FM also facesco-channel interference withCHYM inKitchener andCJWV inPeterborough.[9] The repeater went on the air that July.[10]
Radio stations in theGreater Toronto Area,Ontario | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | |||
| Peel Region |
| ||
| Durham Region | |||
| York Region | |||
| Halton Region | |||
| Dufferin County | |||
| Specialty | |||
| DigitalHD Radio | |||
| Internet radio | |||
| |||
