That is the day the music dies, along with a piece of Canadian heritage.
Canada's oldest radio station, CKOC, will be changing from a music format (A format it has had for over 60 years), to all sports.
CKOC began in 1922, broadcasting what most radio stations did at the time, radio programs.
However, in the 1950's , as television began to take over the former job of radio, CKOC had to find something different to play.
It started to play rock 'n' roll.
It remained a rock station, and eventually a top-40 station, through to 1992.
Up to that time, AM radio was slightly more popular than FM. This was due to regulations that restricted how many hits an FM station could play. That meant, that prior to this time, top-40 FM stations were not allowed in Canada.
For many Canadians, those living close enough to the U.S. border, could receive their hits via a U.S. FM station, such as MAJIC 102.5, WMJQ Buffalo (Now Star 102).
Even with that option, Hamilton's CKOC was still on top.
CKOC was one of the first stations in Canada to adopt Motorola C-QUAM Stereo. With the wider bandwidth of AM Stereo, the sound quality rivalled that of its FM counterparts,
In 1992, with hit music FM stations now becoming widely available, CKOC's share began to drop. Despite, the quality of AM Stereo, few people wanted to invest in a new radio, and instead chose to change their listening habits to FM.
CKOC had to make a format change.
In February of 1992, it changed from contemporary hits to an oldies format, and it stayed that way until 2013.
It was at that time, another Hamilton station, Vinyl 95.3 switched from 70's and 80's music to adult contemporary.
CKOC took advantage of the situation, and in an attempt to capture the old Vinyl 95.3 audience, added 70's and 80's hits to its playlists.
Ever since, CKOC has been Hamilton's choice for hit music.
Sadly, early in 2015, Bell Media, owner of CKOC, announced that it would be switching the station's format once again, but this time there will be no music.
On September 7, 2015, CKOC will join the TSN Radio network. A radio network dedicated to sports, whose flagship station is 1050 CHUM, another former hit music station, now located in the formar CITY-TV building on Queen Street West in downtown Toronto.So now, who will fill the gap?
It has already been filled.
Enter Zoomer Radio.
Moses Znimer bought the licence of CHWO in 2008, and changed the call to CFZM.Zoomer Radio AM740 "The Best Of the Best", broadcasts all the best of what CKOC has done from the beginning. Music from many decades, and great spoken-word programs.
Even with AM740 replacing CKOC, there is still something disheartening about it.
CKOC is not just a radio station that you can just kick to the curb. It is Canada's first radio station. It is part of Canadian heritage. Show it some respect.
The author of this article has worked in broadcasting, and has been a broadcasting enthusiast for over 20 years.
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