Sorry folks, this blog isn't about oddly dressed performers...
Rather, this is a short article I wrote in my spare time. It was never intended to get published in a newspaper, I swear it... In any case, I hope you enjoy this story about a new radio station in Winnipeg.
For the second time in less than three years, CHUM Radio Winnipeg changed the format of one of its radio stations. On December 26, 2010 Curve 94.3, which played an eclectic range of pop alternative music, ceased to exist. Curve was rebranded as a 60s and 70s radio station called FAB 94•3. The question remains, will a radio station with a narrower focus in its format attract a large enough demographic to compete against other local radio stations?
Photo from ctvmedia.ca
Curve, branded as “Winnipeg’s Pop Alternative,” took to the airwaves on August 29, 2008 replacing the former Q94 FM. The radio station’s eclectic range of music was intended to appeal to a target audience aged 25 to 40.
BBM Canada, a not for profit organization which gathers information on audience behaviours, released statistics at the beginning of December, 2010 which ranked Curve in tenth position with a 2.9 per cent share of radio listenership in Manitoba. Curve’s ranking dropped from the previous year, when it came in ninth position with 4 per cent of listeners. In 2010, Hot 103 was the music station with the highest share of listenership in 2010 with 11.8 per cent.
According to a media release issued on December 26, 2010, CHUM Radio Winnipeg vice-president and general manager Chris Stevens stated that the change in format was due to listeners’ input. Stevens stated that “Winnipeggers spoke, and we listened. We're thrilled to bring a brand new radio station to (Winnipeg). FAB 94•3 will feed the musical appetite of a large and passionate demographic.”
The change in format has already led to mixed reviews from younger radio listeners.
Keith Burke, an 18-year-old University of Manitoba student, preferred Curve’s eclectic format to the new 60s and 70s format on FAB. “I listened to Curve and other stations like Hot 103. I liked that they would play older songs, especially songs from the 1990s, and newer songs too,” he said adding “I liked the mix of old and new.”
For some radio listeners, FAB’s format is an improvement from Curve’s. According to Samantha Schimnowski, a 22-year-old dietetic aide, Curve’s eclectic radio format did not appeal to her. “I never really listened to Curve much, it wasn’t really my kind of music,” she said, adding “I’m not a fan of pop music.”
Schimnowski said that she feels that the new format on FAB is “definitely a step up from the music they were playing on Curve,” but conceded that she “would rather still just pop a cd when I’m in the car.”
For years it's been like Q94 and Curve was a lonely kid trying to fit in- and I'm pretty sure that was what was so detrimental to its listenership.
ReplyDeleteIn the 90s it may have well been the Shania Twain power station but along with her popularity went their sense of identity.
I too often write timely articles in my spare time.:P