Pattison Media abandoned the NOW! radio format in Winnipeg at midnight CT, introducing ALT 94.3 – Winnipeg’s Music Alternative.
CHIQ-FM will now play the best of Alternative music from the 2000s to now, with a playlist featuring artists like Muse, Coldplay, Arkells, Death Cab for Cutie, Twenty-One Pilots, Cage the Elephant, Foster the People, and Foo Fighters.
General Manager Mark Patric told Broadcast Dialogue that Marika and Turnbull will continue in mornings, with both local and out of market voices to be heard in other dayparts, in a non-traditional approach.
“You’ll hear multiple voices throughout each hour of each day,” said Patric. “Those voices locally are Aaron Penman and Zap Davids and then out of market voices are Melissa Thomas (Vancouver) and Travis Bretzer (Edmonton). We’ll be adding more local and out of market voices to our content lineup in the New Year.”
The NOW! radio format was introduced to the city in October 2021, a departure from 94.3 The Drive, the Classic Rock format the station previously had carried since 2016.
A consistent ratings performer for Pattison in Edmonton, the NOW! format has struggled to gain traction in other markets. The company made the move to return Alternative Rock to Vancouver’s 102.7 The Peak (CJPK-FM) in June after a two-year run there. Stingray also moved away from the similar Today Radio format in Toronto this summer.
Pattison introduces ALT 94.3 less than a month after Corus Entertainment’s move to rebrand Power 97 (CJKR-FM) as Winnipeg’s Iconic Alternative, although its playlist skews toward New Wave, Grunge, and Classic Alternative hits.
Patric said despite Power 97’s shift to Alternative, ALT 94.3 will stand apart.
“We will be concentrating on the past 25 years of alternative music while Power is more focused on the 90s and more of a Classic Alternative station,” said Patric. “ALT 94.3 will be nothing like Power and completely unique to anything the Winnipeg market has ever heard on radio. We are all about the music, all about loving Winnipeg and a true alternative radio station that focuses on what’s new and great today in alternative music while still playing the biggest alternative hits from the past 25 years.”
“Winnipeg is long overdue for a station dedicated to new alternative music and I couldn’t be prouder to bring the best in alternative to my hometown,” added Program Director Dale Davies, in a Pattison announcement.
