CFMZ-FM (''The New Classical 96.3 FM'') is an
FM 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 radi ...
licensed
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
,
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 ...
, Canada. Broadcasting on 96.3
MHz
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 one h ...
, the station is owned by
ZoomerMedia
ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company controlled by Moses Znaimer, the founder of the Citytv network. Originally focusing on properties targeting what the company calls "zoomers", or the 45+ demographic, in 2022, the company began expand ...
and airs a
classical music 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 was compelle ...
. CFMZ's studios are located on Jefferson Avenue in
Liberty Village
Liberty Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered to the north by King Street West, to the west by Dufferin Street, to the south by the Gardiner Expressway, to the east by Strachan Avenue, and to the northeast by th ...
, while its
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...
is located atop
First Canadian Place
First Canadian Place (originally First Bank Building) is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario, at the northwest corner of King and Bay streets, and serves as the global operational headquarters of the Bank of Montreal. At , ...
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 St ...
.
CFMZ-FM, along with its
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
s,
CFMX-FM in
Cobourg
Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...
and
CFMO-FM in
Collingwood Collingwood, meaning "wood of disputed ownership", may refer to:
Educational institutions
* Collingwood College, Victoria, an Australian state Prep to Year 12 school
* Collingwood College, Durham, college of Durham University, England
* Collingw ...
, are among only five commercial broadcasters in Canada with a purely classical music format. CFMZ-FM and its sister stations are the only one that broadcasts in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
.
CJPX-FM
CJPX-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec. Owned and operated by Leclerc Communication, it broadcasts on 99.5 MHz using an omnidirectional antenna on Mount Royal with an effective radiated power of 8,700 watts ...
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
and
CJSQ-FM
CJSQ-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Quebec City, Quebec, broadcasting on 92.7 MHz using an omnidirectional antenna with an effective radiated power of 2,840 watts ( class B). The station broadcasts a French language cl ...
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
broadcast in
French.
As of 2018, CFMZ-FM was the third most listened-to private station in Toronto, behind
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, quiet ...
CHFI-FM
CHFI-FM (98.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts an adult contemporary format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. The studi ...
and
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 198 ...
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 ...
.
History
Cobourg radio station CFMX-FM has been broadcasting since 1982, although it had gone on the air and off again, several times, between 1976 and 1982. CFMZ first
signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature, placing one's name on a document
* Signature (disambiguation)
* Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice
* Digital signature
A dig ...
in 1988 as a rebroadcaster of CFMX, with the
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assig ...
CFMX-FM-1. The station was, at first, licensed to
Mississauga, the original transmitter location. The transmitter was moved to Toronto in 1993. CFMX's operations were gradually centralized in Toronto by 1997, and for all intents and purposes the Toronto rebroadcaster was now the primary signal.
In September 2006, Canadian broadcaster
Moses Znaimer
Moses Znaimer (; born 1942) is a Tajik-born Canadian media executive of jewish descent. He is the co-founder and former head of Citytv, the first independent television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the current head of ZoomerMedia ...
purchased the station. The CFMZ call sign was originally assigned to the Cobourg transmitter. However, according to
Industry Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal ...
databases, the Toronto rebroadcaster kept its original CFMX-FM-1 call sign.
[Call sign search](_blank)
an
Broadcasting database (ZIP file)
(using the file ''fmstatio.dbf'') from Industry Canada. Retrieved on November 14, 2007.
In September 2007, Znaimer also announced a deal to acquire
CHWO, a
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 standa ...
station in
Oakville.
In 2008, the CRTC approved a change that upgraded the Toronto rebroadcaster to a full-fledged station under the call sign CFMZ, while the Cobourg station reclaimed the original CFMX calls. All music programming originates from Toronto, although the Cobourg station has some local programming.
CFMZ was originally owned by Znaimer's privately held MZ Media Inc. As part of a reorganization of Znaimer's media assets, the station was transferred to the publicly traded
ZoomerMedia
ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company controlled by Moses Znaimer, the founder of the Citytv network. Originally focusing on properties targeting what the company calls "zoomers", or the 45+ demographic, in 2022, the company began expand ...
in 2010.
Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-193
/ref>
References
External links
Classical 96.3 FM
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cfmz-Fm
Fmz
Fmz
Fmz
Radio stations established in 1988
1988 establishments in Ontario