Oldies 96.7 now in second place
Move by new owners My Broadcasting Corp. to give listeners what they wanted has paid off with a jump in ratings
The growth of 96.7 FM since switching to an oldies/classic hits format immediately after changing hands less than a year-anda-half ago was a surprise, but not entirely unexpected, if you ask My Broadcasting Corp. regional manager Rob Mise.
It was evidence that the hard work of its about 40 employees in Peterborough and Cobourg was starting to pay dividends.
“I’ve never seen anything take off so fast in my life,” he said from space in the lower level of Peterborough Square that is home to Oldies 96.7 FM and sister station Extra 90.5 FM, which combines news and sports talk radio, with a big focus on the Peterborough Petes.
The Renfrew-based company’s properties are rounded out locally by 93.3 my FM and Classic Rock 107.0 in Cobourg, which were, like 96.7 (formerly Magic), obtained from Pineridge Broadcasting Incorporated on Sept. 1, 2015.
Oldies 96.7 FM has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. It now promotes itself as being number two in overall market share, up from number six just last year.
“All we did was what the listeners asked for,” Mise said of the switch to a format that includes hits from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
Another key to the success has been maintaining a strong emphasis on local news. While other radio stations operated by larger corporations have reduced their payroll, My Broadcasting has maintained or even added to its staff.
“That’s a cornerstone of what we do and that’s not going to change,” he said.
The company, which promotes itself as independent, operates more efficiently because it has less bureaucracy, Mise explained. The owner, he said, is always a phone call away. “You don’t need three levels of approval here.”
Few cities the size of Peter borough have as much choice on the radio dial, largely because of its proximity to the Greater Toronto Area. With 14 licensed stations broadcasting, consumers have many great choices, Mise said.
That means consumers wanted something different, he explained. That’s one of the reasons the company came up with its popular contest that asks, “Are you the Oldies 96.7 $10,000 Fugitive?” and offers unique programming like the syndicated Bubba the Love Sponge show.
The Ottawa native also credits his passionate staff for the growth, explaining how he believes work should be both fun and rewarding.
Meg Murphy and Joel Scott, newly minted afternoon drive hosts who spent a decade of doing morning shows together on 93.3, hear first hand about how the stations are connecting with listeners.
Murphy noted how a woman told her she was reduced to tears in the aisle at a dollar store when she heard a promo aired that she submitted for a fundraiser to fight breast cancer. More than 700 people ended up showing up, she said. “The response is amazing.”
Murphy likes that listeners are taking ownership and that the stations are having a real impact on people’s lives.
The personalities’ on-air chemistry comes naturally for friends who’ve known each other since 2004, she explained. “People are just happy to hear the fun factor.”
Scott compared it to hanging out with friends. “It feels like we are in people’s cars ... we have this rapport with them.”
With so much choice on the dial, it’s a point of pride for the personalities to make that connection, evidenced by the amount of feedback they get, he said.
As for the future, the company is in for the long-term, Mise said. He apologized for using the old, but fitting cliche about making radio great again. “We’re waiting for the harvest .... At some point, these two stations are going to snap, and snap big.”
Mise goes as far as to boldly predict that Peterborough will see another format change at one of its radio stations in the next six months, because of the research he has seen.
My Broadcasting Corporation, which has 19 radio stations in small and medium-sized markets across Ontario, has grown from five employees when it was founded by Jon Pole and Andrew Dickson in 2004 to about 150 today.
On top of broadcasting Petes games, Extra 90.5 FM also carries Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Blue Jays games through an affiliation with Rogers Communications-owned Sportsnet Radio and CBS Sports Radio.
NOTES: Boosting the power of its transmitter – which cannot be heard from as far away as other stations – is a priority for Extra 90.5 FM, regional manager Rob Mise said .... The My Broadcasting Corp. website is at http://www.mybroadcastingcorp.com/.