CHTO (1690
kHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
) is a
commercial AM radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The station airs an ethnic
radio format
A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
. It is owned by Canadian Hellenic Toronto Radio Inc., which is run by John Maniatakos and son of Peter Maniatakos who owns the
Odyssey Television Network
Odyssey Television Network, Inc. is a Canadian licensed Greek language television broadcaster who owns and operates three national ethnic channels, available via cable and satellite. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company has been in ope ...
. CHTO's programming is predominantly
Greek, although it is mandated to air programming in other languages as well. CHTO's
radio studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
s are on
Danforth Avenue
Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) and Danforth Road are two historically-related arterial streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Danforth ''Avenue'' is an east-west street that begins in Old Toronto at the Prince Edward ...
in the
Riverdale neighbourhood.
By day, CHTO is powered at 6,000
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s. But to avoid interference to other radio stations, at night it reduces power to 1,000 watts. It uses a
non-directional antenna
In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining ...
. The
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is on Waterman Avenue at Hollinger Road in the
O'Connor-Parkview neighbourhood near the
Don River. It also is heard on a
repeater station, CHTO-1 at 1490 kHz in
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
.
History
Mrs. Maniatakos operated a closed circuit specialty audio service in Toronto since 1966 under the name CHCR-FM. This service aired Greek language programming 24 hours a day. It was initially available as an
SCMO service (via
CKFM-FM
CKFM-FM (''99.9 Virgin Radio'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting on 99.9 MHz in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned by Bell Media. The station airs a Top 40/CHR format, and is the flagship of Canada's "Virgin Radio" stations. CKFM's ...
) but subsequently switched to cable and was available on
Rogers Digital Cable channel 959, as part of their digital radio offerings, in Toronto and area.
In 2007 when CHTO launched, CHCR-FM was discontinued and CHTO now airs in its place on Rogers Cable.
The station was initially going to launch by the end of 2006, but this was pushed back due to technical problems. It has been on the air since .
On June 10, 2009, CHTO applied to the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
(CRTC) to increase the daytime transmitting power to 3,000 watts, in an effort to serve communities in Mississauga and Brampton. The request received approval on November 5, 2009. CHTO began broadcasting at its new power as of March 2010.
On December 4, 2012, the CRTC approved a change in ownership of the station to John Maniatakos due to the 2009 death of his mother, original owner Mrs. Maniatakos.
On October 14, 2015, Canadian Hellenic Toronto Radio Inc. submitted an application to add an AM transmitter at
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
. The new transmitter operates at 1490 kHz with a daytime power of 23 watts and a night time power of 770 watts. The call sign for 1490 AM is CHTO-1. This application was approved on September 1, 2016.
References
External links
CHTO AM1690*
*
{{coord, 43.6776, N, 79.35075, W, display=title
Greek-Canadian culture
HTO
HTO
Radio stations established in 2007
2007 establishments in Ontario