CHTZ-FM
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CHTZ | |
City of license | St. Catharines, Ontario |
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Broadcast area | St. Catharines, Ontario/Buffalo, New York |
Branding | 97.7 HTZ (Hits) FM |
Slogan | "Southern Ontario's Best Rock" |
Frequency | 97.7 MHz |
First air date | 1949 |
Format | active rock |
Power | 100,000 watts |
ERP | 100 Kw |
Class | C |
Callsign meaning | HiTZ = Hits |
Owner | Astral Media |
Website | CHTZ |
CHTZ is a radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The station airs at 97.7 on the FM dial, and broadcasts an active rock format with the brand name HTZ (Hits) FM.
[edit] History
The station launched in 1949 as an FM simulcast of the city's CKTB. The station later launched distinct programming, and adopted a country music format with the new callsign CJQR in 1979. Niagara District Broadcasting, the owner of CKTB and CJQR, was acquired by Standard Broadcasting in 1980.
The station subsequently adopted its current callsign and a contemporary hit radio format in 1986.
In 1998, the station was sold to Affinity Radio Group. In 2000, Affinity was acquired by Telemedia, which was in turn acquired by Standard in 2002. Standard retained ownership of CHTZ after the reacquisition.
On October 26, 2007, the station once again changed hands. In Diane Daniels evening program, she commented on the affair calling it "an end of an era." The following Monday, HTZ Fm officially began broadcasting the commercials for Astral Media, it's new owner, as part of station identification commercials.
CHTZ-FM is led by a veteran group of disc jockeys: Buffalo-based DJ Iron Mike Bensson in the mornings, along with new chick Shannon Slack, Jonny Crow the morning show's producer and long-time sports guy Joe "Carrots" Cahill; long-time rawk chick Kristy Knight who returned to the station earlier in the century after a stint as a record publicist, she had been with the stations from the late-1980s to the late-1990s; another returned veteran, Jon Gonzo Mark, who came back to the station in 2004; and Double D, Diane Daniels in the evenings. There are also cameo appearances by Michelle Cruise, who can be heard at the news desk Monday to Friday on sister station CHRE-FM 105.7 EZ Rock.
[edit] External links
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