Rogers Sports & Media is expanding its SONiC RADiO brand as it introduces the alternative format to Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Thursday morning.
Launching on the former KiSS-branded stations 104.9 Vancouver, 107.5 Chilliwack, and 92.5 Abbotsford, and online at sonicradio.ca, and the Radioplayer Canada app, the SONiC RADiO brand was established on CHDI-FM Edmonton in 2005, with the station acquired by Rogers the following year. Its playlist includes artists like Florence & The Machine, Foo Fighters, 21 Pilots, The Lumineers, Green Day, and The White Stripes.
The brand makes its debut in the Lower Mainland with a talent lineup led by modern rock radio veteran Angela Valiant, former midday host on X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary and X100.7 (CKEX-FM) Red Deer and a former afternoon drive host on 102.7 The Peak (CKPK-FM) Vancouver. She’ll be heard weekday mornings from 6 to 10 a.m. PT; followed by Alex Carr on middays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT), an alum of CFOX Vancouver, 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto, X92.9, and The Peak, who also handles middays on Rogers’ JACK 96.9 (CJAQ-FM) Calgary. Former CFNY-FM personalities Carly Meyers and Jay Brody will be heard in afternoon drive (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.); with former X92.9 hosts and current JACK 96.9 Calgary afternoon drive team Marc Michaels and Katlynn Millions in evenings (6 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT). Millions will also be heard on weekends, in addition to hosts including Graham Clark, Garner Andrews, Darren Worts, and Andrew Berridge.
“We’ve seen huge success with our SONiC brand in Edmonton, serving listeners who are looking for an alternative to pop music. We know there’s an appetite here in the GVA and Fraser Valley to launch this exciting format, with a stellar lineup of new local shows. We can’t wait for listeners to meet this fantastic group of entertaining personalities who are unapologetically themselves, and all share a passion for alternative music,” said Christian Hall, Content Director, SONiC RADiO & JACK 96.9, in a release.
Rogers plans to support the brand’s debut in Metro Vancouver with what it calls a “robust” marketing campaign through the remainder of the year across television, out of home (OOH), transit, digital, social, and guerilla marketing.
That guerilla marketing started by continuously playing Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of” on the station’s over-the-air signal following the announcement that the former KiSS Radio had parted ways with its talent lineup on Tuesday. The stunt went viral, even making headlines in Rolling Stone on Wednesday.
Vancouver’s KISS-FM radio station 102.9 has not stopped playing Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” for the past 10 hours after two beloved morning show DJs were laid off. https://t.co/vFbS2BMqLs
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) June 29, 2022
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