Update 6/23/10: Sometimes it takes a little while for our NetGnome reports to come to pass. Today Astral announced that “Vibe 98.5” will relaunch as “98.5 Virgin Radio” on Wednesday, June 30 at 12pm. Our friends at Airchecker have audio of the announcement this morning.
Original Report: 4/27/10: Following up on a report from our friends @airchecker, it appears as though Astral Media will be adding a fifth market to its group of “Virgin Radio” branded stations in Canada. On April 1, Astral registered Virgin985.com, VirginRadio985.com, and VirginCalgary.com for use on CHR “Vibe 98.5” CIBK.
A flip to the Virgin branding would not necessitate a format change, as the Canadian Virgin stations run the gamut of formats. There’s Rock in Ottawa, CHR in Montreal, and Hot AC in Vancouver and Toronto. Vibe 98.5 has come under direct competition from Newcap’s “90.3 Amp Radio” CKMP since its launch last July.
yes it was comfirmed today.