While looking at the current radio ratings book, I realized one thing. The Contemporary Hit Radio format is overdone in this market. That's no secret. And I think the people are getting tired of it, too. The new book revealed that all the TOP40 players were down. Kiss fell to a 3.8. Flow flowed downstream to 2.5. Z dove to 2.2. Even Virgin felt a hit with a lower than usual book at 5.2. I personally haven't listened to Top40 radio since the early 90s. I try, but I can't even tune in. The announcers are annoying. The format is just way too loud. Maybe I'm old. Maybe the format just got way too immature and complacent. I say complacent because unlike Toronto's Top 40 radio forefathers, the format isn't going anywhere. In the heyday, with stations like CFTR, CHUM, and CKEY, CHR was a format where they dabbled in all types of genres. For me, CFTR was powerful because in a day I was able to hear anything from MC Hammer and Janet Jackson to Annie Lennox to Parachute Club. Duran Duran to Run DMC. See? It was true variety with that electric Top40-esque energy behind it. Furthermore, I don't know when the big suits consulted the stations saying that the format was for females. Backintheday, TOP 40 was for both male and females. Why? Because everyone loved fun.
Kiss, Virgin, Flow and Z should take a note from our cornerstones on how to improve ratings and make TOP40 radio interesting again. Tap into the heritage. Stop dumbing the format down. Make yourselves relevant. Expand the playlist. Make us want to listen. Follow that recipe, I'm sure ratings will rise. And maybe, if one of these stations flip to a new format, that wouldn't hurt, either. The city needs something fresh. We're tired of the same old thing every hour of the day with the obligatory 45 minute music sweep.
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