CFMJ (AM)
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| CFMJ (AM) | |
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| City of license | Toronto, Ontario |
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| Branding | AM640 Toronto Radio |
| Slogan | Home of the Leafs |
| Frequency | 640 kHz (AM) |
| First air date | 1957 |
| Format | sports, talk |
| Power | 50 kW |
| Former callsigns | CJRH, CFGM, CHOG, CFYI |
| Owner | Corus Entertainment |
| Website | AM640 Toronto Radio |
CFMJ is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 640 on the AM dial in Toronto, Ontario.
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[edit] Early years
The station first launched in 1957 under the callsign CJRH, on the 1310 frequency. It changed its call letters to CFGM in 1961. The station adopted a country music format in 1964; a few years later they became Canada's first 24-hour country station. Don Daynard was a notable host with the station in the 1960s.
The station moved to 1320 in 1978, and to 640 in 1989.
[edit] 1990s transitions
On June 29, 1990, the station changed its format and call letters, broadcasting rock music as CHOG (branded 640 The Hog). The Hog format was short-lived, and evolved into contemporary hit radio as AM 640: The Beat Of Toronto. Several notable radio personalities were associated with the station during this era, including John Gallagher, Tarzan Dan, Kenny 'The Hitman' Koglan, Roger Kelly and the Toronto radio team of Jesse and Gene. After CFTR moved from contemporary hits to all-news in 1993, AM 640 (still with the calls CHOG) was the last contemporary hit radio station in Toronto proper (and the very last AM station in the area to broadcast Top 40 hits) until CISS adopted the format in 1999. Talk shows came to take up a substantial part of the station's schedule, particularly during midday periods when many of the station's hit music listeners might normally be in school.
On October 11, 1995, the station changed to a talk radio format. As Talk 640, the station aired syndicated programming such as the Joy Browne, Rhona Raskin, Dr. Laura and Live Audio Wrestling, along with local programming hosted by personalities such as Gene Valaitis, Jane Hawtin, Bill Carroll, Shelley Klinck, Marsha Lederman, Karen Horseman, Michael Coren, Dave Chalk , Spaceman Gary Bell and Roger Kelly. Despite regular adjustments, the station received low ratings. During this period, the station adopted the call letters CFYI.
[edit] Mojo Radio
On April 23, 2001, the station adjusted its programming, dumping most of its old hosts to create a male-oriented talk station as Mojo Radio, with programs hosted by Humble and Fred, John Derringer,Phil Hendrie, Mike Stafford, Andrew Krystal and the syndicated Coast to Coast AM, among others. The station changed its call letters again, to the current CFMJ. John Oakley replaced Scruff Connors who had taken over from Humble and Fred in the morning show; the latter pair left for hot adult contemporary station Mix 99.9. Krystal was eventually fired, and moved to part-time work at CFRB and CKTB before moving to Halifax. Derringer's Mojo show was discontinued as he concentrated on his marquee morning show on "brother station" Q107. Former Toronto Maple Leaf executive Bill Watters became the host of a noon to 2 p.m. hockey show called Leafs Lunch, which he co-hosted with Sports Programming Director Jeff Marek. Phil Hendrie was dropped by AM 640 in 2004 due to 'racist' comments in which Hendrie referred to Osama Bin Laden as a 'Raghead'.
[edit] AM640 Toronto Radio
In 2004, due to low ratings (MOJO was typically hovering around a 1.4 share) the station moved away from the male-oriented imaging to a more general news and talk format as AM640 Toronto Radio. Oakley and Stafford continue to host the major morning and afternoon drive programs. Craig Bromell joined the station as co-host of a new late morning program, The Beat (later rebranded as Bromell! in 2006), and in 2005, Charles Adler's nationally-syndicated radio show was added to mid-afternoons. Award-winning journalist Arlene Bynon was added to the ranks in 2006 to host the Saturday afternoon Toronto Weekend program, which has expanded to include a Sunday edition as well.
Near the end of July, 2007 the programming line-up was shuffled in response to the departure of Craig Bromell, whose show will continue to run until the end of August 2007. Replacing "Bromell" will be afternoon host Mike Stafford. To fill the afternoons, There is Leafs Lunch now hosted by Brian Duff from the NHL Network from 12–1pm. Just as the new show Bill Watters show with Jeff Marek expanded, Jeff Marek moved on to Sirius Satellite Radio. Greg Brady now co-hosts with Bill. His show runs from 4–7, Covering Mainly Hockey issues but other major sports news. His show has been moved to the new time slot to compete with the rival show, Bob McCowan's Prime Time Sports on FAN 590. See below for AM 640's new line-up.
To date, the station's biggest draw is that it is the radio broadcaster of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which it networks into other markets. Its play-by-play announcers are Joe Bowen, Dennis Beyak and Jim Ralph.
The other sport franchise it currently broadcasts is the AHL's Toronto Marlies.
[edit] Leafs Lunch
Due to the Show's enormously high ratings, Jeff Marek was offered a position with Sirius Satellite Radio and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada to Host a new show. On September 7th, 2007 Jeff Marek announced that he would be leaving Leafs Lunch on AM 640 Toronto Radio to pursue a new route in Radio Broadcasting. He will be Broadcasting on the "Hockey Night in Canada" radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 122 starting October 1st from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Brian Duff from the NHL Network has resigned. The Hosts of the show now are Greg Brady from the Bill Watters show and co-host Bill Watters.
[edit] Programming Lineup
| Timeslot | Show | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 5:30am to 10:00am | The John Oakley Show | Mondays to Fridays |
| 10:00am to Noon | The Mike Stafford Show | Mondays to Fridays |
| Noon to 1:00pm | Leafs Lunch | Mondays to Fridays |
| 1:00pm to 2:00pm | Stafford At Large | Mondays to Fridays |
| 2:00pm to 4:00pm | Adler Online | Mondays to Fridays |
| 4:00pm to 7:00pm | The Bill Watters Show | Mondays to Fridays (Chopper traffic with Brandon Miles) |
| 7:00pm to 9:00pm | The John Downs Show | Non-Hockey Weeknights |
| 9:00pm to 5:30am | Coast to Coast AM | Nightly |
| 3:00pm to 5:00pm | Bynon's Toronto Weekend | Saturday |
| 2:00pm to 5:00pm | Bynon's Toronto Weekend | Sunday |
| 8:00pm to 12:00am | A View From Space | Saturdays |
| Varies | Toronto Maple Leafs | Varies |
| Varies | Toronto Marlies | Varies |
[edit] See also
- CHMJ, a radio station in Vancouver that also used the Mojo format
[edit] External links
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