Following the flip of Hot AC “Kiss Radio” CKKS-FM to Alternative “Sonic“, two more format changes are imminent in Vancouver.
Durham Radio will launch Smooth AC “Wave 98.3” CIWV-FM on Monday, July 18. The station, which is currently testing its signal with programming from Durham’s similarly formatted 94.7 CHKX-HD2 Hamilton ON, has been silent since the sign-off of “Roundhouse Radio” CIRH-FM in 2018.
When the new brand launches, it will feature Tara Jean Stevens in mornings. Stevens had been hosting afternoons on CKKS-FM until its flip to Alternative and has also co-hosted mornings at “Virgin 95.3” CKZZ from 2009 to 2012 and “96.9 Jack-FM” CJAX-FM from 2012-2017. She also has hosted “Breakfast Television” on City-TV Vancouver.
Meanwhile the signs of an upcoming format change at Pattison Media Alternative “102.7 The Peak” CKPK-FM continue to grow stronger. We first reported in our 6/29 Domain Insight that Pattison has been sitting on 1027NowRadio.com and .ca since 2020 for CKPK-FM for the growing “Social Radio” format it operates in Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. Now Christy Farrell and Fraser Tuff, morning hosts at said formatted “101.5 Today Radio” CKCE-FM Calgary, have announced they will be departing their station after six years for an opportunity “within our company” in Vancouver.
CKPK, now one of three Alternative stations in Vancouver, was already the lowest rated FM in the market with a 2.9 share in the Spring 2022 Numeris ratings.
For more than two decades, Tara Jean Stevens has been a part of Vancouver’s radio, television and theatre scene. She’s known for her number one shows on JACKfm and Virgin 953 and as a host on Breakfast Television. Most recently Tara Jean held down the afternoon drive home show on Kiss radio.
Tara Jean (or “TJ”) is a captivating storyteller with an infectious spirit of fun and curiosity. A two-time winner of the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters’ “Performer of the Year” award, Tara Jean is also an award-winning playwright and alumnus of “Bard on the Beach.” She is the host and creator of the very personal and popular podcast, “Heaven Bent.”
In her spare time, she is an amateur-sleuth, world traveller and hockey mom.
WAVE 98.3 is thrilled to welcome Tara Jean to the team, launching “Tara Jean in the Morning” Monday July 18th in Vancouver on WAVE 98.3, nationwide on RadioPlayer Canada and around the world on all your favourite streaming services.WAVE 98.3 is Vancouver’s Coolest Vibe, owned and operated by Durham Radio Inc., an independent Canadian broadcaster with 7 radio stations in Ontario and British Columbia.
