Whatever they did, it isn't working. According to the latest ratings numbers, CHOM is losing listeners just about everywhere.
The ratings cover the period from Nov. 30 to Feb. 28, which means only about a third of the latest ratings period covers the "new CHOM", but it gives the first indications of how listeners reacted to the format change, and that reaction isn't good.
Astral Media, which compiles ratings information into boring webcasts, has created charts showing numbers for the Montreal region. They're not complete (and, for those interested, they don't give very useful information about non-commercial stations like CBC), but for the commercial market, it gives a good perspective of what's going on.
CHOM, like CJFM and CJAD, is an Astral Media radio station, though the numbers come from BBM.
The chart above shows adults 18-49, a key demographic for advertisers. You can see that CHOM has dropped from second to third, and now sits behind Corus's CFQR in the ratings (this will be a common theme in the numbers below). In the slightly older 25-54 bracket, it's the same story, although there CFQR, CHOM and CJAD are neck-and-neck-and-neck with 21% market share each. CJFM holds a commanding lead with 33%.
From left: Chantal Desjardins, Pete Marier and PJ Stock, the morning crew at CHOM
There are a lot of people on the Internet who don't like PJ Stock. The former NHL player (who had twice as many penalty minutes as games played) has jumped into media in his retirement, as an analyst with Hockey Night in Canada and until recently a show host at the Team 990. He has been criticized for everything from being clueless about hockey to having a tenuous grasp of the rules of English grammar (not that I agree with these criticisms).
It's odd that PJ is considered a full member of the team because he's only present half the time. The deal is he comes in from 7 to 9 Mondays to Thursdays (Desjardins and Marier do the full show from 5:30 to 9 Mondays to Fridays). And even when he's present, it's mostly Marier doing the talking. Desjardins reads the news and Stock reads sports (Abe Hefter is still reading sports news while Stock isn't present).
Aside from the peanut-gallery comments that are common throughout the show, Stock's actual talk time is about 10 minutes a day. This includes "Stock Options" (the latest bad pun on his name), a sports commentary segment at 7:20am. (Day 1, Stock criticized the Canadiens for being overhyped - hardly a unique idea. On Day 2, he criticized the media for not being more hostile to Tiger Woods's wife for allegedly attacking him with a golf club - something even Marier wasn't comfortable endorsing.)
Rather than try to summarize it all, I'll let you listen to compilations of his sports reports and banter from his first two days:
Day 2 includes his first major blooper, when he couldn't figure out how to turn on his microphone.
Stock the jock
It's clear from his first days on CHOM that Stock is the sports guy. If you don't like sports, and you don't like how much time is spent on the radio talking about sports and the Canadiens in particular (there are people who listen to CHOM who don't like sports, believe it or not), then you're not going to like PJ Stock.
Hell, even if you're a die-hard Canadiens fan, you might not like Stock. He calls it "Pete Marier's favourite team" and doesn't seem to share his city's blind support for the bleu-blanc-rouge.
Otherwise, Stock is comfortable on the radio. He's not awkward, he doesn't slur his speech or say "umm" a lot. He's not a radio professional by any means but he fits in well.
I don't know how long this weird schedule can last though. It's understandable that Stock wouldn't want to get up at 4am the morning after a Habs game, and that travel to and from Toronto might make him unavailable on Fridays, but this just highlights the fact that to Stock, Hockey Night in Canada comes first and his job at CHOM comes second.
I have a feeling that, eventually, he's going to have to choose between the two.
February 2, 2010 – 2:38 pm|Posted in Montreal, Radio
November 2007 newspaper ad
This is part of an ad that appeared in The Gazette in November 2007, reassuring listeners after Standard Radio was purchased by Astral Media that their radio stations wouldn't suddenly change.
Since then:
Two of these three stations have changed logos, making this ad all the more ironic
"Please be assured of our commitment to continue providing the same great listening pleasure you have come to enjoy," the ad said. "Respect for our broadcast audience and the public in general is a core value of Astral Media."
I'll leave it to you to judge, based on their subsequent actions, whether Astral Media stuck to their word.
With PJ Stock joining the morning show this week (it will be "Chantal, PJ and Bad Pete"), it made sense to do it now. CHOM had risked being the only Montreal music station not undergoing a bullshit renaissance over the past year (see Mix 96, Q92, Énergie).
They made a big deal of it on the morning show, though I can't figure out what other than the logo is changing. The tagline is still "The Spirit of Rock", and it sounds like the music is still going to be the same (Pete Marier made a vague reference to "nicely tempoed rock and roll"). The press release makes mention of "more music" (sound familiar?), but gives little details. It lists three bands: 30 Seconds to Mars, Cavo and Shinedown (three bands I've never heard of) as examples of music that will "now strengthen the core of music that CHOM listeners love", whatever that means. Listening to their music just now, I can't say that makes me terribly optimistic.
But, it also reassures loyal CHOM listeners that Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Pink Floyd and Metallica aren't going anywhere.
CHOM's old logos are everywhere, they're familiar, and they feel like the kinds of logos you'd find on a classic rock station:
CHOM's old bumper-sticker logo
With a 2002 redesign, it kept the red and black motif, even if it lost some of its charm. Still, it was clean and simple. Professional, even if a bit too corporate:
CHOM's most recent logo
This new monstrosity of a logo looks like it was cooked up by a 14-year-old in his basement using Adobe Illustrator. The black and orange seem to evoke a Harley Davidson-esque feel* (without being so similar that they'd get sued over it), but other than that there doesn't seem to be any reason behind it. Why orange? Why something that looks like an American highway sign? (Is it because Tom Cochrane's Life Is A Highway is going to be even more overplayed?) Why go overboard on the simulated gradients?
*UPDATE (Feb. 2): Apparently it's no coincidence. Their contest of the week involves giving out a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Why is there nothing about this logo that makes me think of Montreal or rock music?
January 21, 2010 – 1:36 am|Posted in Montreal, Radio
PJ Stock
James Mennie has the story for The Gazette that P.J. Stock, formerly of the Team 990 and best known as a Hockey Night in Canada analyst, is going to be a morning man at CHOM.
Kind of.
The first news about Stock going to CHOM came from Pat Hickey back in December, when Stock left The Team 990 because of what was apparently more work and travel than he could handle (he left his regular TV segment on the CBMT newscast for the same reason). Back then, the idea was to do a five-minute phone-in once a day.
But the departure of Ted Bird changed that. So instead, Stock tells Mennie, he'll be on for two hours a day (7am to 9am) Monday to Thursday.
The irony is that Bird was instrumental in getting Stock onto CHOM in the first place, convincing both sides that it was a good idea. Obviously, it wasn't supposed to be as a replacement.
Still, Bird was gracious in an email to me about Stock joining his former morning team:
To his credit, PJ called me this past weekend to make sure that I was through at CHOM and that he wasn't undermining me in any way. He's a class act and a decent and funny guy, and he'll do well as long as they let him be himself and don't try to recreate him as something he's not, which is what programmers who've never sat in the chair and don't understand or appreciate the craft have a habit of doing.
The big question is what CHOM is going to do with Stock. Is he going to talk about hockey or music? I've heard a couple of people complain that CHOM already talks too much about the game, and this certainly won't change that. Will he join in the usual cliché morning show banter? Will it be "Chantal, Bad Pete and PJ"? Or will he be more of a supporting cast member and less of a star?
What is clear is that if Stock has two hours four mornings a week to sit in a studio on Fort St. while rock music is playing, then he would have had more than enough time for hockey analysis at CKGM 990 on Greene Ave. So it's not just a question of having too much work.
I couldn't reach Stock for comment, so you'll just have to fill in the blanks there with your imagination.
Mennie says Stock's first shift will be Feb. 1. Stock repeated that on the CHOM morning show the next day, but Pete Marier kept saying Feb. 2. Feb. 1, notably, is the day after Stock's contract at CKGM expires. UPDATE: Astral's press release, which I assume to be a definitive word on the subject, says Stock begins Feb. 3.
UPDATE: Listen to Stock's phone-in on Thursday's CHOM morning show (MP3). Stock will take over the CHOM "sports department", which sounds like it will still be Chantal and Bad Pete but that Stock will do the morning sports news currently being done by CJAD's Abe Hefter.
When Ted Bird asked people to put his personal email out to the world in the wake of his seemingly sudden resignation from CHOM (his CHOM email address was shut down even before his departure was announced), he was hoping a few people might send him a note and say they would miss him. Turns out a lot of people did exactly that, and even he was surprised by the deluge of emails he got from fans.
One of those emails struck him particularly hard, and he suggested I share it here:
Every morning, Mr. Bird, I wake up at 5:30 so I can catch the very start of CHOM’s Morning Show. I don’t think I’ve had a worse morning than I did yesterday. When I heard the announcement of your resignation, I was extremely saddened. I truly believe that you are the reason that I have been a loyal CHOM listener for so many years.
I read the article about you in the Gazette this morning, and I find it almost comical that you said that the station is targeting a more youthful audience and that you aren’t getting younger. Coming from this 19-year-old, I can tell you that to me you were perfect. I laughed heartily every morning on the way to work. Between telling the city about what you did on your summer vacation, or Revisionist History, I had a hell of a good time. But there have also been times where I have been quite touched by your broadcasts. I was lucky enough to meet the side of Ernie Butler that was not only the humorist, but the loving, doting father as well the genuinely kind man. After he passed away, I made a point to listen to what you had to say, and just to hear you speaking so fondly of him brought me to tears.
I actually met you once just over a year ago as I was working as a cashier at Chapters, and I said “Hi” and although I spoke to you for all of 90 seconds, you were so pleasant. There you were; out with your son for the day, and I had to interrupt with my star-struck awe. But you were really nice about it. It makes a radio listener’s experience much more enjoyable when the host is actually as awesome face-to-face as well as on the air. I have an insurmountable amount of respect for you.
SO, I guess there isn’t much left to say except “Good Luck!” I wish you all the best on your future endeavors. I listened to you throughout my childhood, adolescence, and I hope I can say my adult life as well. Unbeknownst to you, you have taught me so much. Your presence in this city as a radio host has had a substantial and eternal impact upon me. And for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
All the Best,
Catherine Londei
Bird's response:
Hi Catherine,
I don't know how many hundreds of e-mails I've received in the last two days, and as much as I've been touched by all of them, your's is the only one that made me cry. And as you know, there's no crying in radio, goddam it.
I remember very well the day I met you at Chapter's, and trust me - I was as gratified that you recognized me as you were that I made time for you, however briefly. On the celebrity food chain, local radio personality ranks somewhere between circus clown and fuzzy mascot (think about it - more people have heard of Youppi than have heard of me), and we get just enough public recognition that it's flattering without being intrusive. But no matter what the level of celebrity, it's a two way street and even the biggest stars in the world owe it to themselves and their fans to make sure that their connection with the audience is emotionally genuine.
In any event, thanks a pantload for bringing me to tears for the first time since Bucky F#*&ing Dent's home run helped the Yankees beat the Red Sox in a one-game playoff in 1978 - my first year in radio and 12 years before you were born. Way to bridge the generation gap.
All the best,
Ted Bird
Bird is busy writing individual responses to everyone who has written to him. He can be reached at tesburp@live.ca, and he's now also cracking jokes on Twitter, to reinforce the image that he now has no life.
Ted Bird, one of the veterans of Montreal radio, has flown the coop.
Ted Bird
The official word from CHOM, Pete Marier and the Bird Man himself is that Bird resigned from his morning show job.
I'd originally reported here that he had been fired. I'll swallow my pride and retract that. My sources were wrong, and I relied too much on unverified information in repeating them. My apologies to my readers and to CHOM.
Bird himself confirmed Wednesday that he resigned from the station "for personal and professional reasons":
Just for the record, I did in fact submit my resignation from CHOM for personal and professional reasons, which VP and general manager Martin Spalding graciously accepted. I no longer have an e-mail account at the radio station but if I owe anyone money or they want their driveway shovelled, they can reach me on my home e-mail at tesburp@live.ca.
It would be fair to say that there were creative and philosophical differences that took a lot of the passion and joy out of the process, and I'm not going to get up at 3am to go to a job that's no fun anymore. CHOM is skewing younger and I'm getting older (51 this month) so it just didn't feel like it fit.
Bird welcomes comments at his email address above, which he has asked me to share with his listeners.
The story is getting coverage in The Gazette and at CTV. Both are being flooded with comments from people who support Bird and others who support him being taken off the air.
Bird gave an interesting quote to The Gazette about the state of the industry, something I've heard a lot from other radio veterans:
Radio stations used to be owned by families. They were creative people with a passion and instinct for the business. Now stations are run by corporations. They've taken the craft out of the hands of the craftsmen. I have to work with creative people - as a collaborator - not be dictated to.
Following the usual playbook of pretending like people never existed when they leave, Astral wasted no time scrubbing references to Bird from CHOM's website on Tuesday, even while ads showing Bird were still appearing. Bird's blog and CHOM email have been deleted or disabled.
The move (or at least the announcement of the move) comes the day after Chantal Desjardins joined the morning crew. Desjardins moved over from CJFM (Virgin Radio 96) to replace Kim Rossi, who left for a new job in St. Catharines, Ont. Desjardins and Bird didn't work a single show together as "Ted, Chantal and Bad Pete".
The CHOM morning show was also in the process of finding a new name, running a contest asking for suggestions from listeners. That contest has suspended entries, though they will draw the grand prize on Friday for anyone who entered before the contest was rendered moot. For now, the show is being referred to as "Chantal and Bad Pete".
On Wednesday morning's show, Marier started by stressing that Bird resigned suddenly on Jan. 1 (though few people knew about it until Tuesday). He said he doesn't know why Bird quit, but that it was for "personal reasons". (He also took a shot at those pesky online rumours that are full of "BS".)
Marier also said the station will be looking for a replacement for Bird, even suggesting that one would be in place by February.
That's not to say Marier was quick to move on. He devoted a perfectly respectable 17 minutes of the first three and a half hours of the show (it was extended an hour because of the unrelated fact that afternoon host Rob Kemp has just had a baby). Considering this is a music station that's lucky to get five minutes an hour to talk about stuff between music, commercials, news, traffic, sports and weather, that's not bad.
Marier repeatedly stressed that Bird had not been fired (I feel guilty enough to want to send him flowers), and that there was no personal conflict between the two, who have long been friends (apparently some people suggested that Marier had something to do with Bird's departure, which really makes no sense).
Bird first joined CHOM 21 years ago as a news announcer, moving from CJFM. In 1993 he and Terry DiMonte moved to CJFM to take over the Mix 96 morning show. DiMonte and Bird later reunited at CJAD and in 2002 retook the CHOM morning show in a bid to bring the station back to its roots (and ratings).
You can get a taste of Bird's history in this mini documentary about the morning show trio, back when it was Ted, Kim and Kemp:
Asked what he'll do next, Bird was his usual wisecracking self:
I have no immediate plans, although my 8 and 10 year old sons, Charlie and Sam, want the three of us to set up an Internet radio station, where Sam suggests that some of our regular features include him falling down in the snow and hitting Charlie in the nuts with an apple.
Bird's current and former colleagues said they were shocked by the news, which was given to employees in the late afternoon on Tuesday. Terry DiMonte, who teamed up with Bird for many years at three radio stations, called it a "sad day for Montreal radio."
December 17, 2009 – 2:13 am|Posted in Montreal, Radio
Chantal Desjardins and Mark Bergman put on their sad faces in announcing they're splitting up on Twitter
The game of musical chairs in local radio continues. Bob Harris, formerly the head honcho at Astral Media's Montreal radio stations, is moving to take a similar job in Hamilton. His wife, CHOM morning host Kim Rossi, joins him and gets a job in St. Catharines.
Rossi's job will instead be filled by Chantal Desjardins, Bergman's afternoon cohost on CJFM.
Mike Cohen was the first with the news in The Suburban. Bergman and Desjardins made the announcement on Wednesday's show. Desjardins joins the CHOM morning team of Ted Bird and Pete Marier on Jan. 4.
Chantal received a Communications degree from the University of Winnipeg and a Creative Communications diploma from Red River College. She then got her big media break as a sports anchor/reporter at CityTV Winnipeg.
Chantal got her first taste of radio thanks to a number of guest appearances on Winnipeg’s Q94FM and BOBFM’s morning shows. Once Chantal realized she could wear jeans and a ponytail every day to work, it was only a matter of time before her big TV hair and spray tan days were behind her.
Chantal’s lived in Montreal since 2006, reporting on the Montreal sports scene for CJAD800AM and helping people get home every afternoon as a traffic reporter for Astral Media Montreal.
Mike Bendixen, former CJAD programming director who took a temporary job doing the same at CFRB 1010 in Toronto, will remain there permanently.
Steve Kowch, the man Bendixen replaced at CFRB (and who took Bendixen's job at CJAD in a rather ironic move), is out. His last day is Dec. 18. He had expected to be at CJAD until March. Now he can concentrate on writing a book, at least.
Chris Bury takes over as PD/Interim News Director at CJAD on Jan. 4. Bury started at CJAD in 1998, but for most of this decade worked at 940 News. He became CINW's program director when it became 940 Hits.
Mark Bergman becomes Interim Program Director of CJFM (Virgin Radio 96), replacing Bob Harris, who is leaving for Hamilton. Bergman is currently the assistant PD. Bergman will remain on his afternoon show with Chantal Desjardins.
Mathew Wood, who managed promotions for all three stations, now focuses exclusively on CHOM.
Melissa Mancuso, a promotions assistant, replaces Wood as Promotions Director at CJFM.
Bianca Bayer becomes Promotions Coordinator for CJFM. (What's the difference between a Promotions Director and Promotions Coordinator? Beats me.)
Lisa Fuoco becomes Promotions Director at CJAD, stripping "assistant" from her title.
Peter McEntyre will assist Fuoco part-time. (McEntyre is also one of the hosts of CJAD's Irish Show)
VP/GM Martin Spalding explains the strategy, in case it's not obvious:
The strategy is to have a dedicated Program and Promotions Director for each station. This will enable CJAD, Virgin 96 and CHOM to compete independently, prosper and build strong brand identities within an aggressive and ever-evolving radio market.
Could it be that Astral Media is finally realizing that radio stations work better if they have their own brands and target audiences, and that the tag "an Astral Media radio station" doesn't impress anyone?
According to a report at radio industry watcher Milkman Unlimited, Astral Media is making changes at its Montreal office. Most of the changes are related to management (including Bob Harris, who will be moving to Hamilton), but one on-air voice is also affected.
Kim Rossi, who is part of the Terry, Ted, Kim, and Kemp Bad Pete trio (and is also married to Harris), will also be heading down the 401, filling a one-year maternity leave and joining Iron Mike on the morning show at Astral-owned CHTZ-FM (coincidentally, also at 97.7FM) in St. Catharines.
There's no mention of a replacement for Rossi on CHOM's morning show, which might just mean there won't be any. CFQR is trying the one-morning-host format, and CHOM might be next to focus more on music and less on banter in the drive-to-work hours.
The big news is that "Bad" Pete Marier and Rob Kemp will be switching slots on the schedule. Marier will join Kim Rossi and Ted Bird on the morning show, while Kemp will DJ in the afternoons.
The schedule tightens up the shows during weekdays, enough to add a new one: "Jo's Garage" with Musique Plus VJ and CBC radio host Joanne Vrakas, in the late evenings.
The old schedule
Weekdays:
Ted, Kim and Kemp in the Morning: 5:30 am to 10:00 am
Sharon Hyland Show: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Pete Marier Show: 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Evenings with Bilal: 7:00 pm to 12:00 am
Overnight Rock w/ Brandon: 12:00 am to 5:30 am
Saturdays:
Best of Ted, Kim & Kemp: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Tootall Weekend Show: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Randy Renaud Show: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
CHOM's That 80's Show: 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Randy Renaud Show: 11:00 pm to 12:00 am
Jimmy Spencer Show: 12:00 am to 6:00 am
Sundays:
CHOM Rocks Your Weekend Mornings: 6:00 am to 9:00 am
The Deep End with Nick Michaels: 9:00 am to 11:00 am
Electric Brunch with Tootall: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Tootall Weekend Show: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Randy Renaud Show: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
CHOM's Black Cat Alley Show: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Little Steven’s Underground Garage: 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Off The Record: 11:00 pm to 12:00 am
Overnight Rock w/ Brandon: 12:00 am to 5:30 am
The new schedule
Weekdays
Ted, Kim and Bad Pete in the Morning: 5:30 am to 9:00 am
Sharon Hyland Show: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
The Electric Lunch Hour: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Rob Kemp Show: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Butt Show (Bilal): 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Jo's Garage with Joanne Vrakas: 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
Overnight Rock w/ Brandon: 12:00 am to 5:30 am
Saturdays and Sundays are unchanged. Tootall and Randy Renaud aren't going anywhere.
I think we've found the real reason there was a riot around Crescent St. on Monday night: Bilal and CHOM's Hockeyville (not to be confused with CBC/Kraft Hockeyville). Time to repent, Bilal...
You'll recall DiMonte left CHOM FM here in November for a financially secure job at Q107 which pays him (according to the Herald's sources) a sweet $450,000 a year, guaranteed for five years. (And really, who wouldn't eat a steaming pile of dog poo for that kind of cash?)
November 21, 2007 – 10:28 pm|Posted in Montreal, Radio
Rumours that longtime Montreal radio personality and CHOM-FM morningman Terry DiMonte was considering an offer to move to another radio station were verified today when CHOM announced he was leaving in an email to listeners.
Strangely, the announcement doesn't mention where he's going, calling it only "a new opportunity in Western Canada." But he has accepted a five-year contract at Calgary's Q107 classic rock station, where he will begin a show in January.
DiMonte's last day is this Friday.
Through two stints at CHOM (separated by five years at Mix 96 and four years at CJAD), DiMonte has spent 14 years at the classic rock station, becoming one of its most recognizable names. He's been a perennial favourite among anglo Montrealers, and won the Mirror's No. 1 choice for best radio host in its 2005 Best of Montreal poll.
DiMonte's replacement on the Terry Ted and Kim morning show is Rob Kemp, who currently hosts the Rob Kemp show on weekday afternoons on Mix 96. He starts Monday, when the show will become the Ted, Kim and Kemp show (a name which sounds cooler than "Ted Kim and Rob" but makes no sense logically).
As for Kemp's old slot, Mix 96 is currently hiring to fill it. So if you have a sunny disposition and at least three years of on-air experience in the format, feel free to apply.
UPDATE: The Gazette (after talking with DiMonte) confirms what's been pretty obvious to everyone, that DiMonte's move was about contract negotiations. Talks to re-sign him weren't going well, giving him the distinct impression that CHOM didn't really want him back. (Classy man that he is though, he doesn't blame management for the deal going sour, lamenting only that he and Bird don't have the star power they used to.)
Q107 gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. So Montreal loses another star to free agency.
There's also an article in the Calgary Herald about how DiMonte's arrival will affect the radio landscape there. It notes how DiMonte's departure is "front-page news" here, though with the exception of The Gazette and CTV News I find this story vastly under-covered in the Montreal media. A brief Presse Canadienne piece, a couple of sentences at CJAD (where he spent a few years). Not a peep from CBC, Global, or any of the French media.
The news item is already off CHOM's front page, replaced by a Led Zeppelin promo. Hell, even Ted Bird's blog is absent any mention of his best bud's departure (what the hell is the point of these blogs if you're not going to use them for things like this?). Kim Rossi mentions it briefly, though it sounds more like a press release than a heartfelt goodbye to a friend.
So I'll leave you with this video from CTV News on YouTube (I would have linked to the one on CTV's website, but all the links I found to it say the video is "no longer available"):
UPDATE (Jan. 4): DiMonte has already begun his morning show at Q107, where he's being partnered with former Montrealer "Peppermint" Patti MacNeil. The show can be heard online weekdays 7:30am-noon (5:30-10am in Calgary).
Astral Media, owners of The Movie Network, Teletoon, Astral Photo, and lots of radio stations in Quebec and Atlantic Canada including the Énergie (CKMF 94.3) and Rock Détente (CITE 107.3) networks, will take overStandard Broadcasting, which owns stations in Western Canada, but also three English Montreal stations -- CHOM 97.7, CJAD-800 and CJFM Mix 96. Montreal is the only market where there's any overlap, and even then they work in two different languages.
Rogers (telecom, Maclean's, Rogers Sportsnet, OMNI and 51 radio stations) will buyCitytv (5 stations in Toronto and Western Canada) after CTVglobemedia (Globe and Mail, CTV, TSN/RDS, Discovery Channel Canada, Comedy Network, MuchMusic, Bravo! Canada, A-Channel, your first-born child) was ordered to divest itself of the competing TV network in its acquisition of CHUM Ltd.
Neither decision is particularly bad for competition in Canada. The radio deal involves two companies that weren't really competing, and the TV deal gives Rogers a foot in the door to network television.
Of course, it's the deals that preceded these that are cause for concern. The fact that CHOM and Mix 96, which should be highly-competitive stations, are owned by the same company is troublesome. And CTV's takeover of CHUM was ushered through without any apparent concern that their mega cable channel powerhouse has only gotten bigger. It now includes, for example, two all-news stations: CTV NewsNet and City's CP24, which for some insane reason they were not required to sell off as part of Citytv.
DiMonte's replacement on the Terry Ted and Kim morning show is Rob Kemp, who currently hosts the 
