CHTZ-FM

Infobox_Radio_station | name = CHTZ-FM


city = St. Catharines, Ontario
area = St. Catharines, Ontario/Buffalo, New York
branding = 97.7 HTZ (Hits) FM
slogan = Southern Ontario's Best Rock
airdate = 1949
frequency = 97.7 MHz
format = active rock
power = 50,000 watts
erp = 100 Kw
class = B
callsign_meaning = HiTZ = Hits
owner = Astral Media
website = [http://www.htzfm.com/ 97.7 HTZ FM]

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.

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, CHTZ officially began broadcasting the the name of its new owner, Astral Media, as part of its station identification.

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.

External links

* [http://www.htzfm.com/ 97.7 HTZ FM]
*RecnetCanada|CHTZ-FM