Product Code Database
CHBM-FM (97.3 FM broadcasting) is a radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station currently broadcasts a classic hits format branded as Boom FM 97.3. CHBM's studios are located at Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue in Toronto's Deer Park neighbourhood, while their transmitter is located atop the CN Tower. The station is owned by the Stingray Group.
The station's playlist contains songs from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, with a core focus on music released in the 1980s, while also playing select songs from the 1960s and early 2000s.
In the early 1990s, it changed its moniker to Lite 97, but soon after, it changed its format to classic hits as Z97.3. In February 1995, Redmond sold the station to Telemedia and on June 30, at 5:30a.m., the station changed monikers to 97.3 EZ Rock. The slogan was The Heartbeat of Toronto, and aired an adult contemporary format. "EZ Rock" launched with the intent of having an audience of mainly women ages 25–44, and the Toronto station became the flagship when several other stations owned by Telemedia at the time broadcasting a similar format also gained the "EZ Rock" branding.Peter Goddard, "Keep it soft, but be smart and hold the Bolton," The Toronto Star, July 8, 1995.
In 2002, Standard Radio bought Telemedia and kept CJEZ under their ownership, while some of the other "EZ Rock" stations were sold to either Rogers Communications or Astral Media. In October 2007, Astral Media purchased much of Standard's assets, including CJEZ. In early 2009, the station became known as Today's New 97.3 EZ Rock, pivoting to a hot adult contemporary-leaning direction. During November 2009, certain personalities from the station left. Throughout much of that time until December, CJEZ played nonstop Christmas music, while at the same time, asking their listeners what radio station they want to hear going forward.
Finally, at 9a.m., the station ended its 14-year run with AC, and flipped back to classic hits with the branding Boom FM 97.3, Toronto's Greatest Hits, adopting the "Boom" branding used by some of Astral's small-market French language stations in Quebec. The first song played on "Boom" was "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. CJEZ's call letters were changed the following day to CHBM-FM. The station's airstaff remained intact for a time, but in May 2011, Humble Howard and Colleen Rusholme were let go by the station.
In March 2013, the Competition Bureau approved a proposal by Bell Media to acquire Astral Media, under the condition that it divest itself of several television services and radio stations. Following the closure of the merger, CHBM was placed in a blind trust pending its eventual sale. On August 26, Newcap Radio announced it would acquire CHBM, along with three other former Astral stations and Bell Media's CFXJ-FM, for $112 million. The deal was approved by the CRTC on March 19, and the sale closed on March 31.
|
|
