CHTZ-FM
Encyclopedia
CHTZ-FM is a radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 in St. Catharines, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The station airs at 97.7 on the FM dial, and broadcasts an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...

 format with the brand name HTZ (Hits) FM. It is one of the most powerful rock radio stations in southern Ontario, as it can be heard not only in the Niagara Region, but also in Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, the portion of the Greater Toronto Area that includes Burlington
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...

, Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...

 and Mississauga, and in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

.

Music

HTZ FM features an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...

 format that capitalizes on heavy rock and metal rock. Core artists include Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

, Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...

, Billy Talent
Billy Talent
Billy Talent is a Canadian post-hardcore band from Streetsville, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with Ben Kowalewicz as the lead vocalist, Ian D'Sa on lead guitar, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk ....

, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

, Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....

, Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...

, Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...

, Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

, and Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...

.

History

The station launched in 1949
1949 in radio
The year 1949 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.-Events:*1 April – The facilities and staff of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland are transferred to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation....

 as an FM simulcast of the city's CKTB
CKTB (AM)
CKTB is a radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Broadcasting at 610 AM, the station airs a news/talk format. CKTB is housed in the former mansion of William Hamilton Merritt, the main promoter of the first Welland Canal....

. The station later launched distinct programming, and adopted a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 format with the new callsign CJQR in 1979. Niagara District Broadcasting, the owner of CKTB and CJQR, was acquired by Standard Broadcasting
Standard Broadcasting
Slaight Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. The company was first formed as Slaight Broadcasting in 1971, when owner J. Allan Slaight acquired CFGM in Richmond Hill...

 in 1980.

The station subsequently adopted its current callsign and a contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...

 format in 1986, which would later morph into its current rock format in 1998.

In 1998, the station was sold to Affinity Radio Group. In 2000
2000 in radio
The year 2000 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*The Real Radio & Century Radio networks become active on - air, through the United Kingdom....

, Affinity was acquired by Telemedia
Telemedia
Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....

, which was in turn acquired by Standard in 2002. Standard retained ownership of CHTZ after the reacquisition.

On October 26, 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....

, the station once again changed hands. The following Monday, CHTZ officially began broadcasting the name of its new owner, Astral Media
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...

, as part of its station identification. At that time, along with sister station CFBR-FM
CFBR-FM
CFBR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting an active rock format at 100.3 on the FM dial in Edmonton, Alberta. The station uses the brand name 100.3 The Bear....

 in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Astral Media shifted the stations to active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...

 from mainstream rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...

, whereas the existing active rock station in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 is Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...

's WEDG
WEDG
WEDG is a radio station in Buffalo, New York, USA. The station's on air branding is "103.3 The Edge" and broadcasts on 103.3 MHz FM. WEDG has an active rock format and is best known for its afternoon-drive hosts, "Shredd and Ragan," and being the co-flagship of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network...

. Astral's sister rockers CKQB-FM
CKQB-FM
CKQB-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an active rock format at 106.9 FM in Ottawa and 99.9 FM in Pembroke...

 (Virgin Radio 106.9, now back to their former Bear branding) Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 & CJAY-FM
CJAY-FM
CJAY-FM is an active rock radio station in Calgary, Alberta that broadcasts on 92.1 FM. Owned by Astral Media, CJAY operates repeater transmitters located in Banff, Alberta and Invermere, British Columbia...

 Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

 followed suit by 2010
2010 in radio
The following events occurred in radio in 2010.-Events:*Date Unknown: CHOI/Quebec City flips from Alternative Rock to News/Talk.*January 4: KJCS/Lufkin, Texas goes silent....

.

Jason Barr from 102.1 The Edge and Chris Biggs from Mix 99.9 have now been assigned the morning show role on HTZ Fm (The Biggs & Barr Show) with their producer known as Pasty Jamie. Kristy Knight, better known as the "KK," takes over middays and Iron Mike Benson and Joe Cahill from the previous morning show (before the Biggs and Barr Show) have been preserved. Benson does the drive home show and Cahill does the evening show, "Joe's Night Train." At 10 p.m. (Sunday through Friday), Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, author, fashion designer, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister before going on to form London with his Sister band mate Lizzie Grey...

 and Kerri Kasem
Kerri Kasem
Kerri Kasem July 12, 1978 in Los Angeles, California) is a radio and television host, actress and covermodel.She is the daughter of the radio host Casey Kasem and his first wife, Linda Myers Kasem, a Republican Party fund raiser.BIOGRAPHY...

 begin their syndicated broadcast, "Sixx Sense."

The schedule changes on weekends. On Saturdays, Kristy Knight hosts in the mornings while Paul Morris covers afternoons, and then Joe Cahill continues to cover the 6 p.m. till midnight timeslot. On Sundays, Joe Cahill broadcasts in the mornings, with Paul Morris covering mid-day until 6 p.m. In the evenings, "Sixx Sense" broadcasts again, though the aired content from Nikki and Kerri are repeats from the past week.

Biggs & Barr Controversy

On the morning of Wednesday, October, 18, 2011, a contest took place in which Jason Barr and Chris Biggs recruited contestants to ask people to get into a truck completely covered with the radio station's iconic logo. Contestants of the contest were only allowed to say "Excuse me, get in the truck!" to people they approached. All of this was done wearing ski masks. The goal was to get as many people to sit in the truck for 97 seconds. Unfortunately in a couple of occasions the prank was mistaken for attempted kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

. OPP
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...

 Constable Sal Basilone stated that "They were probably scaring people," he said. "I don't think it's funny and the police service doesn't think it's funny." Both of them made a public apology for "scaring people" on air the next morning, commenting on the police cuff marks and the fact that their sense of humor was taken the wrong way, however neither went as far as to say that they regretted the prank.

External links

  • 97.7 HTZ FM
  • CHTZ-FM history at Canadian Communications Foundation
    Canadian Communications Foundation
    The Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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