Go FM acquires two Evanov radio stations

The two stations were rescued from closing today, but the future of a third Ontario station remains unknown.

It came down to the wire, but Evanov Communications has sold two of the three Ontario radio stations it had slated to close today. The assets of CHRC-FM in Clarence-Rockland and CKHK-FM in Hawkesbury, currently owned by ECI, will be transferred to Go FM. Applications for the transaction will soon submit applications to the CRTC for approval.

Paul Evanov, president and CEO of ECI, says, “This agreement ensures that the two stations will continue to serve their respective communities without interruption and remain truly local stations.”

Earlier this month, ECI had expressed its intent to close these stations if a suitable buyer could not be found. CHRC-FM and CKHK-FM, both with Hot Country formats, will continue to serve the anglophone communities. The third station, Lite 98.5 (CJWL-FM), will remain on air past today’s deadline with an update on its future expected from Evanov next week.

Mathieu Manning, general manager of Go FM, highlighted the impact of the acquisition. “Local, local, local. That’s how we grew Go FM from 5,000 to 50,000 listeners weekly, by focusing on local news and conversations that matter to the community. We’re excited to bring this same approach to these stations, restoring local programming and making them true cornerstones of their communities once again.”

Go FM operates non-profit, community French-language station 92.1 GO FM (CHOD-FM) Cornwall out of studios in Casselman. Go FM is owned and operated by the radio communautaire Cornwall-Alexandria cooperative.