Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Richard Cuff and Markku Koskinen who share the following (sad) news:
900 CHML closes, ending nearly a century of local radio in Hamilton (Toronto Star)
Station pointed to financial losses as major reason behind closure
A mainstay of Hamilton’s airwaves for almost a century has gone off the air.
900 CHML announced on social media on Wednesday that the radio station would be closing after many years of providing the city and surrounding area with local talk-radio programming.
“This decision, though incredibly difficult, has been made after careful consideration and is necessary following years of financial loss,” read the post.
“The shift of advertising revenues to unregulated foreign platforms, combined with the difficult regulatory and competitive landscape, has forced us to make the difficult decision to close,” added the post. [Continue read at the Star…]
Sorry to hear that, listened in many times on Winter nights.
Also wanted to say when visiting relatives (past few years), in NJ would fall asleep listening to Old Time Radio shows! Kind of fun DX! Sorry to hear of their demise!
Drew
A much deeper dive into CHML’s closure, including other AM stations Corus has closed. It is undecided whether CHML will be sold or the license will be returned to the CRTC. https://broadcastdialogue.com/corus-shutters-900-chml-hamilton/
Mega station WCBS 880 AM is going off the air to be replaced by an ESPN sports station of unknown power.Here are the details for the final broadcast this month
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/wcbs-880-radio-ending-whsq-starting/
Mike, its the same station and transmitter…… just different programming and call letters
You can follow this link to hear their final 55 seconds on the air.
https://bayobserver.ca/after-95-years-of-serving-hamilton-am900-chml-is-off-the-air/#google_vignette
I fell asleep many a night listening to ‘Those Old Time Radio Shows’ on this station…
What a shame. I grew up in the area in the 50’s and 60’s and my parents used to listen to them for news and information. Very sad.
The larger issue is that the station owner, Corus, is in deep financial difficulty. They are a large media corporation in Canada.
I feel terrible about this.
In the 1940s and 1950s my father “Doghouse” Charlie Waterer played on CHML’s “Main Street Jamboree” as the bass player with Abbie Andrews and His Canadian Ranch Boys. The Main Street Jamboree, an “old-tyme Country “show was hosted by “Gaylord”. You may know Gaylord as Hee Haw’s Gordie Tapp.
For many years its been home to late night broadcasts of Old Time Radio Shows, put together by my friend Mark Panopoulos.
Shiona Thompson has been morning host for many years. I first met Shiona in Grade 9 and she was Student Council President my graduating year. Even then she was one of the smartest people in my classes and you knew she was destined for good things.
I feel bad for all involved.
As for losing money, that’s on the bean counters. They stopped being a voice of the community once the morning show was over, and instead carried syndicated programming one can hear already in the market. This is more about terrible management and media consolidation. Blaming the internet is a cop out.
“They stopped being a voice of the community once the morning show was over, and instead carried syndicated programming one can hear already in the market. This is more about terrible management and media consolidation. Blaming the internet is a cop out.”
This disease happens in many markets. This is why younger generations have walked away from all broadcast media and chosen to listen to podcasts and music on their phones. A lot of the discoveries in the history of popular music happened because of the lack of syndication. Marketing and program director consulting firms study statistics endlessly to follow instead of lead. I’m not sure why they think this serves them or anyone else. In the long run, they’re losing the ears and minds of the listening public.
The vast majority of people don’t understand the crucial role that AM radio plays. They say “I’ll just get my info online”. That’s fine until there’s a major power outage. If I want to check the status of a major weather event, I’ll go on AM and find a station several hundred miles away that is experiencing the storm. Even with a catastrophic major outage affecting a number of states, AM stations will still be on the air. I hope that a media group finds a way to keep CHML on the air.