MONTREAL – When Cogeco Diffusion purchased three regional music radio stations from Corus Quebec in 2011, they were "moribund," vice-president Richard Lachance told journalists on Wednesday.
In one case, with a two per cent market share, "the photocopier reached more people," he joked.
So the broadcaster is reinventing those three stations (which were part of a larger, $80 million 10-station purchase announced in spring 2010), changing their format from music/talk to news/talk and hoping to replicate the huge ratings success the company has seen with talk radio in Montreal.
The three stations – CKOY-FM 107.7 in Sherbrooke, CKOF-FM 104.7 in Gatineau and CKOB-FM 106.9 in Trois-Rivières – were all AM talk radio stations that were converted to FM in 2006-07, then switched to a hybrid talk/music format in 2009 under the "Souvenirs Garantis" brand. It’s fair to say the owner at the time, Corus, struggled mightily to make the stations work.
Shortly after their purchase by Cogeco, they switched to the CKOI brand, named after the company's flagship station in Montreal.
But even as CKOI, the stations have struggled to build an audience. The Sherbrooke and Gatineau stations have half the market share of their competitors owned by Astral Media, according to numbers from BBM Canada. (Data for the small Trois-Rivières market isn't made public.)
Meanwhile, talk station CHMP-FM 98.5 in Montreal has seen its market share soar, from 14.3% to 23.5% in only a year, becoming the top-rated radio station in Quebec's largest market. Cogeco's other talk station, CJMF-FM in Quebec City, also has a strong market share.
The change in formats for the three FM stations will mean that rather than compete with music stations from Astral's NRJ and Rouge FM networks, as well as Cogeco's own Rythme FM, the trio will become the only private French-language news-talk stations in their markets.
Lachance and other Cogeco managers said the change would not affect many jobs at the stations, though a handful of people will see their duties change or be moved to sister stations. "It's not an economic move," Lachance said. "It's a strategic move."
Lachance also said there are no immediate plans for new jobs, though he was "not closing the door" to jobs being created as new programming is added.
Morning shows at the regional stations will stay local and be extended so they end at 10:00 am instead of 9:00. Afternoon and weekend shows will remain local as well, Lachance said, as will newscasts from 5:30 am to 6:00 pm on weekdays. Among network programming being brought to the stations is a Montreal-based show hosted by Isbelle Maréchal from 10:00 am to noon, whose programming will be more provincial. Overnight host Jacques Fabi will also be carried on all three stations.
Sports programming at the stations will remain unchanged. All three carry Montreal-based evening sports shows, and will continue to carry NHL games (Canadiens in Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières, Senators in Gatineau).
CKOI's flagship station in Montreal will remain a music station, as will a CKOI-branded station in Quebec City that was sold to Leclerc Communication Inc. last January.
The changes take effect August 20.
