‘Lite’ Extinguished in GTA As Evanov Goes Country

TORONTO — It is a 30kw Class B FM licensed to Newmarket, to the north of Canada’s biggest city, and has a signal largely audible across greater Toronto. Recently, it has aired an Adult Contemporary format offering a softer take, musically, competing against Rogers Sports + Media’s biggest station in the nation — CHFI.

As of today at 9am, the Newmarket FM is now serving the Greater Toronto Area with a format heard only on suburban FMs to the east and west.

Introducing Hot Country 88.5, featuring a contemporary Country format that will abide by CanCon regulations, mixing Canadian artists with top international artists.

Tracy Lynn will host “Hot Country Mornings” for the Evanov Communications-owned CKDX-FM while “Katie & Company” will host the midday shift and Casey Clarke will helm a weekend countdown show.

“After assessing the market and its various needs we determined that there was a large unfulfilled demand for a local country music station in this part of the GTA,” said Paul Evanov, President and CEO of Evanov Communications that operates three other country music stations in Ontario, similarly branded CFWC-FM 93.9 in Brantford and CKHK-FM 107.7 in tiny Hawkesbury, Ont. “We believe the time is right to provide GTA country music listeners and advertisers with a much-needed country station and Hot Country 88.5 will do just that.”

The addition of Country to CKDX pits the station against twin “KX”-branded Country stations that have targeted Toronto for years: 100kw CHKX at 94.9 in the Hamilton and Burlington markets, and CJKX at 95.9, an Ajax, Ont.-station with a booster at Bay and King in downtown Toronto.

IN OTHER CANADIAN NEWS:

• Neeti Ray, the CEO of multicultural radio operator CINA Radio Group, is reportedly the buyer of CHAM-AM 820 & CKOC-AM 1150 in Hamilton and CKWW-AM 580 in Windsor, Ont., which can be heard in parts of Detroit. An unconfirmed sale price of $455,000 is in place, following Bell Media‘s June announcement that it would sell the AMs. No format change is immediately anticipated following the closing of the deal, CRTC documents indicate.