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 anch ...

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 C ...

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

9 Channel Nine Court 9 Channel Nine Court (alternatively known as the CTV Toronto Studios, CFTO-TV Studios, Glen Warren Studios or Bell Media Agincourt and temporarily known as 9 Dave Devall Way)Agincourt neighbourhood of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

(with auxiliary studios located at

250 Richmond Street West 250 Richmond Street West is a studio complex in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building now serves as the headquarters of iHeartRadio Canada's national radio operations of Bell Media, and as the studios of the company's Toronto radio stat ...

in the

Entertainment District An entertainment district is a type of arts district with a high concentration of movie theaters, theatres or other entertainment venues. Such areas may be officially designated by local governments with functional zoning regulations, as well as ...

of downtown Toronto), with its transmitter array located in the Clarkson neighbourhood of Mississauga (near

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a ...

's own transmitter array). TSN 1050 is simulcast on

Bell Satellite TV Bell Satellite TV (french: Bell Télé; formerly known as Bell ExpressVu, Dish Network Canada and ExpressVu Dish Network and not to be confused with Bell's IPTV Fibe TV service) is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite television ser ...

channel 989, and on

Shaw Direct Shaw Direct is a direct broadcast satellite television distributor in Canada and a subsidiary of the telecommunications company Shaw Communications. As of 2010, Shaw Direct had over 900,000 subscribers. It broadcasts on Ku band from two commu ...

channel 867. The station is also carried on the 3rd HD digital subchannel of CKFM-FM.

Station history

CHUM AM has been broadcasting continuously since 1945, through a variety of format changes. The station's history can be broken into eight distinct eras, as follows:

The "full service" era: 1945-1957

CHUM was founded by four Toronto businessmen, including Al Leary, a former sportscaster, who had been the station manager at CKCL for 14 years. CHUM received its licence in late November 1944 to operate a station with 1,000 watts. CHUM launched as a dawn-to-dusk radio station on October 28, 1945, with John H.Q. "Jack" Part, an entrepreneur in the business of

patent medicines A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...

, as its president. The station, operating from 1947 in studios at 225 Mutual St., broadcast a format typical of the late 1940s, with a combination of information, music, and sports. When CHUM was about to debut, Leary told the press that the new station would be known for community service and in-depth news, in addition to live talent and the most popular phonograph records. CHUM was taken over in December 1954 by Allan Waters, a salesman from Part's patent medicine business. Waters' first major move was to secure a licence for 24-hour-a-day broadcasting for CHUM, along with a power increase to 5,000 watts.

The Top 40 era: 1957-1986

Less than three years after Waters acquired the station, and soon after bringing the new full-time transmitter online, a major programming change was made. On May 27, 1957, at 6 AM, Waters switched the station to a "

Top 50 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

" format that had proven itself popular in some U.S. cities;

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's " All Shook Up" was the first song played. ''1050 CHUM'' pioneered

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

radio in Toronto, and was noteworthy for hosting many noteworthy

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

concerts including, among others, visits to

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

by Elvis Presley (1957) and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

(1964, 1965, and 1966). The station rose in popularity in Toronto in the late 1950s and early 1960s; though it never supplanted perennial Toronto ratings champ

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a ...

at the top of the ratings chart, it was still a major broadcasting powerhouse with a particular appeal to the teen market. As the station became more successful, it also built yet another new transmitter in Mississauga, Ontario (a few miles west of the current Toronto city line) along the Lake Ontario shoreline, and raised its power once again to its current 50,000 watts around the clock. In the late 1950s, CHUM was calling itself "Radio One", as its ratings continued to increase. An important part of CHUM's success was the station's unpredictable morning man Al Boliska, who joined CHUM in October 1957, after working at station CKLC in Kingston,

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 C ...

. By 1959, Boliska had made a name for himself as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

who got listeners talking. He also made them laugh, and became known for telling what he called the "World's Worst Jokes". Boliska also did a number of stunts, such as taking part in a professional wrestling match with Whipper Billy Watson. When he lost, that led to another stunt, where Boliska stayed away from his show for several days, saying he was now too discouraged by the loss to do his show. A hypnotist was called in, and Boliska's self-esteem was restored. Boliska left CHUM in late 1963 to go 'across the street' to CKEY. He was replaced by WKBW Buffalo radio and TV personality Jay Nelson, popularly known as "Jungle Jay" from his role as host of a children's show on Buffalo's Channel 7 which was also popular among Toronto youngsters. He would be followed by housewives' jock John Spragge; singer/DJ

Mike Darow Mike Darow (born Darow Myhowich; January 8, 1933 – December 7, 1996) was a Canadian-born television game show host. Darow is best known for hosting the 1968–1970 ABC run of '' Dream House'' in the United States, the 1985–1988 Canada-produc ...

; Pete Nordheimer, replaced in 1961 by

Bob McAdorey Robert Joseph McAdorey (July 24, 1935 – February 5, 2005) was a Canadian television and radio broadcaster. McAdorey was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario. During his high school years, Bob McAdorey was the President of Alpha Kappa Ch ...

, teen DJ Dave Johnson, and all night DJ Bob Laine. Later additions to the CHUM DJ lineup included Duff Roman and Brian Skinner, both of whom came from rival Toronto rocker CKEY (then owned by

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian-American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and news ...

). In the late 1960s and early 1970s, CHUM DJs included Duke Roberts (also known as Gary Duke for a time), Johnny Mitchell (better known today as Sonny Fox), J. Michael Wilson,

Tom Rivers Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Scott Carpenter,

Jim Van Horne David Melnyk (born December 15, 1950), known professionally as Jim Van Horne, is a Canadian former sports anchor. Broadcasting career Radio Melnyk began his broadcasting career on CKMP in Midland, Ontario, in 1971. From 1972 to 1980, Van Horne w ...

, John Rode, Don Reagan, John Majhor, Mike Cooper, Daryl B, Terry Steele, Mike Holland and morning man Roger Ashby. Among their later night-time hosts was

J. D. Roberts John David Roberts (October 24, 1932 – May 25, 2021) was an American college and professional football coach. He was the head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) from the middle of the 1970 season until his ...

, who joined CHUM for a time in 1977, eventually becoming known across North America as White House correspondent for CBS News, then was co-anchor of

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

's morning program '' American Morning'' and is currently a co-anchor again now with

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

.

Rick Moranis Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood films, inc ...

, later famous for his work on '' SCTV'' and ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...

'', was briefly a late-night CHUM DJ in the mid-seventies under the name "Rick Allan". CHUM began to have zany contests. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was contests such as 'The Walking Man', where listeners had to spot CHUM's mystery walking man using only clues given out on the air. The 1970s' "I Listen to CHUM" promotion had DJs dialing phone numbers at random and awarding $1,000 to anyone who answered the phone with that phrase. In 1976, there was the CHUM Starsign promotion. Listeners wore a button featuring their astrological sign. If CHUM's 'Starsign spotter' saw a person wearing his or her Starsign, that person won prizes such as money or concert tickets to major events. The

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart was a ranking of top 30 (and, until August 1968, the top 50) songs on Toronto, Ontario radio station CHUM AM, from 1957 to 1986, and was the longest-running Top 40 chart in the world produced by an individual radio station. On Janua ...

was, for many years, the most influential weekly Top 40 chart in Canada and has been hailed as the longest-running continuously published radio station record survey in North America. (This claim is disputed by Hamilton's CKOC, which published weekly charts from 1962-1992.) The first CHUM Chart was released on May 27, 1957, with Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" the first Number 1 song.

From top 40 to gold-based AC: 1986-1989

By the mid-1980s, CHUM had lost ground in the Toronto ratings to competing Top 40 station

CFTR Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a membrane protein and anion channel in vertebrates that is encoded by the ''CFTR'' gene. Geneticist Lap-Chee Tsui and his team identified the CFTR gene in 1989 as the gene linked wi ...

and FM-based music stations. On June 6, 1986, at 3 p.m., after playing Starship's "

We Built This City "We Built This City" is a 1985 song by American rock band Starship. It was released as their debut single on their album '' Knee Deep in the Hoopla''. It was written by English musicians Martin Page and Bernie Taupin, who were both living in Lo ...

", CHUM dropped its

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

format for a gold-based

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

format ("Favourites of Yesterday and Today"). The first song after the relaunch was "

Beginnings Beginnings may refer to: Literature * ''Beginnings'' (collection), a 1988 collection of short stories and poems by Gordon R. Dickson * ''Beginnings'' (Honorverse), a 2013 collection of short stories in the Worlds of Honor series * ''Beginnings ...

" by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The change also discontinued the CHUM Chart, which ended the week of June 14, 1986, with Madonna's "

Live to Tell "Live to Tell" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album '' True Blue'' (1986). The song was originally composed by Patrick Leonard as an instrumental for the score of Paramount's film '' Fire with Fire'', but Paramount re ...

" as the final Number 1 song. By 1988, the station had evolved into a brighter AC format ("Toronto's Soft Rock"), focusing on pop hits from the past decade and dropping much of the older music. While starting off with modest ratings, CHUM began to slip further over the next few years; in the last book as an AC, CHUM was ranked 11th and held a 2.9 share of the Toronto market as of September 1989.

The first "Oldies" era: 1989-2001

On September 1, 1989, CHUM adopted an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

format, drawing heavily on its previous

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

reputation to cater to the fans of that era's music. During the 1990s, the on-air lineup included Daryl B, Bob Magee, Kori Skinner, Andy K, Russ McLeod, Roger Kelly, Marc Chambers and Dan Michaels. In 1989, the station acquired the broadcast rights for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. Led by play-by-play man Marc Charbonneau and colour commentator Peter Martin, the CHUM broadcast team helped to celebrate the team's Grey Cup victory in 1991 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

. By 1997, much of the airstaff was replaced with

voicetracking Voice-tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations in radio broadcasting to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the radio stu ...

. Only the morning show was live. In 1998, CHUM obtained the radio broadcast rights to

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

baseball from CJCL, resulting in a shift towards sports programming on the station.

The Team 1050: 2001-2002

On January 23, 2001, CHUM's owners announced the launch of a national sports radio network, titled " The Team", with CHUM serving as the network's flagship (to be called "Team 1050"). As part of the synergy,

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

broadcasts were available nationwide on the Team Radio Network. This also meant the end of music on 1050 CHUM, which occurred on May 7, 2001. Duff Roman and Bob Laine hosted a farewell party, ending with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's " All Shook Up" (the station's first song as a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

station in 1957) and an audio montage of CHUM memories. Then, at 3 p.m., "The Team Radio Network" was launched on CHUM and CHUM-owned stations across Canada. Noted Canadian sportscaster

Jim Van Horne David Melnyk (born December 15, 1950), known professionally as Jim Van Horne, is a Canadian former sports anchor. Broadcasting career Radio Melnyk began his broadcasting career on CKMP in Midland, Ontario, in 1971. From 1972 to 1980, Van Horne w ...

, who had recently left TSN, was the network's marquee host. (In the 1970s, before he turned to sports broadcasting, Van Horne had been a rock jock on 1050 CHUM.) The Team 1050 morning show was made up of former TSN host

Paul Romanuk Paul Romanuk (born October 31, 1961) is a Toronto sportscaster and writer. He was born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Romanuk did television play-by-play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the ''NHL on Sportsnet''. Early life Raised in Oshawa, Roman ...

, longtime CHUM sportscaster Brian 'Henny' Henderson and Mike Richards. While the station retained the CHUM call letters, on air the station was not referred to as 1050 CHUM, but rather as Team 1050. Nevertheless, "1050 CHUM" wasn't entirely put to rest, as the oldies format continued on a 24-hour webcast at the 1050chum.com website. The Team network did not prove successful, especially in Toronto, where CHUM struggled against long-time sports station The Fan 590 (CJCL). On August 27, 2002, the network was closed down, and while a few affiliates nationwide retained the sports format, most reverted to their pre-Team formats — including CHUM, which reverted to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

.

The second "Oldies" era: 2002-2009

At 3 p.m. on August 27, 2002, the montage that closed down "1050 CHUM" reintroduced the

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

format, followed by the Elvis vs. JXL Remix of "

A Little Less Conversation "A Little Less Conversation" is a 1968 song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley, written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange and published by Gladys Music, Inc., originally performed in the film '' Live a Little, Love a Little''. The song becam ...

" and Presley's " All Shook Up". The station reverted to a playlist of music (along with occasional liners and identifications) that were popular in CHUM's 50s-to-80s Top 40 heyday. The station also featured ''The Morning Show with Gord James and the James Gang'', as well as call-in lifestyle programs during weekend mornings. Like the latter years of the first incarnation of the oldies format, the morning show was live while other air shifts were voicetracked. In addition, the station also lost rights to broadcast Blue Jays games after the 2002 season, where they moved back to The Fan 590, coinciding with that station's purchase by Rogers Communications, which by that time owned the Blue Jays. In 2007, CHUM and the rest of the

CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHU ...

stations (with the exception of Citytv) were sold to

CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

. That same year, CHUM commemorated the 50th anniversary of the launch of its

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

format, the highlights of which included vignettes and specials throughout the year, as well as anniversary celebrations on May 26, 2007 that included an open house at CHUM's studios at

1331 Yonge Street Deer Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centered on the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue and its boundaries are the Vale of Avoca section of Rosedale ravine in the east, Farnham Avenue and Jackes Avenue in ...

, in conjunction with

Doors Open Toronto Doors Open Toronto is an annual event when approximately 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural, and social significance to the city of Toronto open their doors to the public for this free citywide event. Doors Open Toronto was devel ...

, and a concert at

Nathan Phillips Square Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or ''New City Hall'', at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and is named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Tor ...

.

Move from the CHUM Radio building

In 2008, CTVglobemedia announced they had sold

1331 Yonge Street Deer Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centered on the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue and its boundaries are the Vale of Avoca section of Rosedale ravine in the east, Farnham Avenue and Jackes Avenue in ...

to a condominium developer and had acquired a new property,

250 Richmond Street West 250 Richmond Street West is a studio complex in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building now serves as the headquarters of iHeartRadio Canada's national radio operations of Bell Media, and as the studios of the company's Toronto radio stat ...

, to serve as the new home of CHUM and CHUM-FM. On August 18, 2009, CHUM left 1331 Yonge Street, ending 50 years at its historic home. 1331 Yonge was demolished in September 2016, in order for a condominium complex to be built on the site. The new building is adjacent (and connected) to Bell Media's Headquarters at

299 Queen Street West 299 Queen Street West, also known as Bell Media Queen Street or Bell Media Studios, is the headquarters of the television/radio broadcast hub of Bell Canada's media unit, Bell Media located at the intersection of Queen Street West and John Str ...

. A similar move was made in May 2014, when

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a ...

left their longtime location at Yonge and St. Clair for 250 Richmond Street West after Bell's acquisition of Astral Media, which brought CFRB and CHUM under the same ownership.

CP24 Radio 1050: 2009-2011

Almost seven years after the demise of The Team, and amidst other cost-cutting measures at CTVglobemedia and other Canadian broadcasters due to the global economic crisis and the

2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment In 2007, significant ownership changes occurred in Canada's broadcast television industry, involving nearly every network and television system. In addition to the shuffling of network affiliations and mergers involving various networks, several n ...

, CTV announced on March 25, 2009 that CHUM would again drop its oldies format. The station was converted to an all-news radio format as "CP24 Radio 1050" effective at 5:00 a.m. the following day, after playing " Release Me" by Engelbert Humperdinck and "

Black Magic Woman "Black Magic Woman" is a song written by British musician Peter Green, which first appeared as a single for his band Fleetwood Mac in 1968. Subsequently, the song appeared on the 1969 Fleetwood Mac compilation albums '' English Rose'' (US) and ...

" by

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

. Unlike other CHUM Radio news talk radio stations in Canada such as

CFRA CFRA is a news/ talk formatted radio station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. The station broadcasts on the assigned frequency of 580 kHz. CFRA's studios are located in the Bell Media Building on George Street in Downtown Ott ...

Ottawa and

CFAX CFAX (1070 AM) is a news/ talk radio station in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was independently run until September 30, 2004, when it was taken over by Canadian media company CHUM Limited. Its sister station is CHBE-FM, which began bro ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, 1050 AM was the only radio station in Toronto and in the CTVglobemedia family which acted as an audio simulcast of its co-owned 24-hour television all-news channel, CP24. The move coincided with the launch of CP24's new morning program, ''

CP24 Breakfast ''CP24 Breakfast'' is a Canadian morning television news show that airs on CP24 (Toronto's 24-hour local television news service) weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., and weekends from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. The weekday edit ...

'' (which was launching due to the realignment, as CP24 was no longer simulcasting Citytv's ''

Breakfast Television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...

''). Unlike the sendoff the station received upon its switch to The Team, the switch occurred without ceremony and with minimal publicity. Moreover, no webcast of the former oldies format was offered on this occasion, as 1050chum.com redirected to the CP24 website. Although CP24 television's operations remained housed at

299 Queen Street West 299 Queen Street West, also known as Bell Media Queen Street or Bell Media Studios, is the headquarters of the television/radio broadcast hub of Bell Canada's media unit, Bell Media located at the intersection of Queen Street West and John Str ...

where many of CTVglobemedia's other speciality television channels such as MuchMusic are located, technical operations and studios for the minimally unique radio-only weekend talk shows on ''CP24 Radio 1050'' continued, first at 1331 Yonge Street, and then at 250 Richmond Street West. The change came a few weeks after the CRTC revised its formatting regulations to permit

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

music on FM radio for the first time, although at the time of the change no Toronto-area FM station had performed such a flip (

CHBM-FM CHBM-FM is a radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada broadcasting at 97.3 FM. The station currently broadcasts a classic hits format branded as '' Boom 97.3''. CHBM's studios are located at Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue in Toronto's Deer ...

and Hamilton's

CING-FM CING-FM (''Energy 95.3'') is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 95.3 FM in Hamilton, Ontario. The station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CING's studios are located on Main Street West in Hamilton, while its transmitter is loc ...

both adopted a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...

format later in the year).

CKOC CKOC (1150 AM) is a radio station in Hamilton, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts a business news format. CKOC is a 50,000-watt, Class B station operating on a Regional (not clear-channel) broadcast frequency, with transmitters locate ...

in Hamilton retained a more traditional AM oldies format, while

pop standards Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standard ...

station

CFZM CFZM is a Class A clear-channel radio station, licensed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting on the assigned frequency of 740 kHz, and with a low power repeater in downtown Toronto at 96.7 FM. The station airs an oldies format br ...

marketed itself as an alternative as well.Rob Roberts and Adam McDowell
CHUM AM dies again, is reborn as CP24 Radio 1050
''Posted Toronto'' (''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' blog), March 25, 2009

Criticism

A number of media critics, including ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'' columnist and former radio personality

Ted Woloshyn Ted Woloshyn (born December 1953) is a Toronto broadcaster. He hosted ''The Ted Woloshyn Show'', mornings from 5:30 to 8:30 on CFRB-AM in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 3 November 1996 until 15 December 2006. He hosted ''Saturdays with Ted'' from ...

, criticized ''CP24 Radio 1050'' as a poor substitute for a true news radio format. In his column on the format change, Woloshyn noted a number of instances where he could tell he was listening to content that had been prepared for television, not radio, presentation:

Ratings

According to quarterly BBM surveys of Toronto radio, in 2010 the station's audience share never rose above 0.1% of radio listeners, and CP24 Radio 1050 consistently placed dead last in the ratings in the Toronto radio market.

TSN Radio 1050: 2011-present

Shortly after the re-acquisition of CTVglobemedia by Bell Canada was announced in the fall of 2010, and with ''CP24 Radio 1050'' not proving to be successful, media analysts began to speculate that CTV would be converting many of its existing AM radio stations including ''CP24 Radio 1050'' into a national sports radio network co-branded with its sports television channel TSN sometime in 2011, which would compete against rival

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

-owned Toronto radio station, The Fan 590, as the two stations previously did from 2001 to 2002. The plans were unveiled on February 17, 2011, when CTV announced that CHUM would drop its CP24 simulcast and flip to sports radio as ''

TSN Radio TSN Radio is a semi-national sports radio brand and part-time network in Canada carried on AM radio stations owned by Bell Media."Ground shifting as broadcasters brace for sports war"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', January 21, 2011."TSN Radio a reality"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 21, 2011. This change came just days after Bell Canada completed its acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares in CTVglobemedia it didn't already own, on which it renamed the company

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

and likewise renamed the radio division CHUM Radio to Bell Media Radio.

Live sports programming

''TSN Radio 1050'' shares the official broadcasting rights of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. It is the official radio broadcaster for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

as well as

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

, the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, Men's World Hockey Championship (

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

), NFL, NBA, Summer and Winter Olympics, 2022 FIFA World Cup, and

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

.

Studios

Studios for ''TSN Radio 1050'' are located at

9 Channel Nine Court 9 Channel Nine Court (alternatively known as the CTV Toronto Studios, CFTO-TV Studios, Glen Warren Studios or Bell Media Agincourt and temporarily known as 9 Dave Devall Way)Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

,

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 C ...

where TSN's television operations are based. This allows for programs broadcast on TSN Radio 1050 to simultaneously air on TSN or

TSN2 TSN2 is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel that acts as the secondary feed of sports-centred channel The Sports Network (TSN) and owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. It was launched in its current form on August 29, 2008. F ...

. ''TSN Radio 1050s secondary studios are located at Bell Media Radio Toronto's studios located at

250 Richmond Street West 250 Richmond Street West is a studio complex in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building now serves as the headquarters of iHeartRadio Canada's national radio operations of Bell Media, and as the studios of the company's Toronto radio stat ...

in

Downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Str ...

(which also houses sister radio stations,

CHUM-FM CHUM-FM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 104.5 MHz. Owned by Bell Media, the station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CHUM-FM's studios are located at 250 Richmond Street West in the Entertainment District ...

, CKFM-FM and

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a ...

) which is adjacent to

299 Queen Street West 299 Queen Street West, also known as Bell Media Queen Street or Bell Media Studios, is the headquarters of the television/radio broadcast hub of Bell Canada's media unit, Bell Media located at the intersection of Queen Street West and John Str ...

(where Bell Media's specialty channels such as MuchMusic and

CP24 CP24 is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by Bell Media, a subsidiary of BCE Inc. and operated alongside the Bell-owned CTV Television Network's owned-and-operated television stations CFTO-DT (CTV Toronto) and CKVR-DT ( ...

are based, as well as CTV's ''

The Marilyn Denis Show ''The Marilyn Denis Show'' is a Canadian daytime television talk show which debuted on January 10, 2011, on CTV and CTV 2 (formerly A-Channel). Hosted by Marilyn Denis, the show airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on CTV and 11 a.m. ET on CTV 2 (timeslots v ...

'', '' etalk'' and '' The Social'').

Notable staff

*

Carlo Colaiacovo Carlo Colaiacovo ( ; born January 27, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently co-hosting a show on Canada’s TSN 1050 radio station, ''First Up with Korolnek and Colaiacovo''. He most recently played for ...

(First Up with Korolnek & Colaiacovo) *

Jamie McLennan Jamie McLennan (born June 30, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who is now an analyst for TSN, TSN Radio 1050, NBC Sports and NHL Network. He spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League with the New York Isl ...

( Overdrive) *

Jeff O'Neill Jeffrey O'Neill (born February 23, 1976) is a Canadian broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played 12 seasons with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs. P ...

( Overdrive) *

Joe Bowen Joe Bowen (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian sportscaster. He is known as "The Voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs", having broadcast over 3,000 Leaf games. Early life, career, and family Bowen was born and raised in Sudbury. His father died in 19 ...

(

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

play-by-play commentator) *

Jim Ralph Jim Ralph (born May 13, 1962) is a media personality and retired professional hockey player from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. From 1978 to 1989, he played for numerous Ontario Hockey League and American Hockey League teams, including the O ...

(

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

colour commentator) * Paul Jones (

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

analyst) * Jack Armstrong (

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

analyst)

Home of CHUM AM

CHUM has had several homes since 1945: *21 Dundas Square (1945-1947) - top floor of Hermant Building c. 1914 and now part of HNR Tower *225 Mutual Street (1947-1954) - later RCA-Victor Records recording studio and demolished 2010 *250 Adelaide Street West (1954-1959) - now occupied by Adelaide Hall, Rock'n'Horse Saloon, and The Porch. *1331 Yonge Street (1959-2009) - sold to Aspen Ridge to develop site as The Jack condo development *250 Richmond Street West (2009–present) - home to Bell Media Radio and

CHUM-FM CHUM-FM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 104.5 MHz. Owned by Bell Media, the station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CHUM-FM's studios are located at 250 Richmond Street West in the Entertainment District ...

. Built in 1924 as addition to 260 Richmond Street West *9 Channel Nine Court (2010–present) - longtime home of

CFTO-DT CFTO-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 outlet CKVR-DT, channel ...

and TSN. Equipped for simultaneous television broadcasts of radio programs.

References

External links

*
CHUM history
-

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) is a Canadian nonprofit organization which documents the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television. Since 1995, the organization has distributed its collection via an inter ...

* {{Toronto Maple Leafs

HUM Hum may refer to: Science * Hum (sound), a sound produced with closed lips, or by insects, or other periodic motion * Mains hum, an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon * The Hum, an acoustic phenomenon * Venous hum, a physiological sensation ...

Radio stations established in 1944

HUM Hum may refer to: Science * Hum (sound), a sound produced with closed lips, or by insects, or other periodic motion * Mains hum, an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon * The Hum, an acoustic phenomenon * Venous hum, a physiological sensation ...

Sport in Toronto 1944 establishments in Ontario