Torres Media has rebranded its Ottawa Active Rock station Rebel 101.7 (CIDG-FM) as Rebel Rock in a move to offer listeners a wider variety of music spanning the 1970s through 2000s.
CIDG-FM flipped to an Active Rock format in 2016 when it moved from 101.9 MHz to 101.7 MHz on the dial. Now branded as Rebel Rock 101.7 – Ottawa’s Best Rock, the move to play a greater mix of rock positions the station to compete with Rogers Sports & Media’s mainstream rock station CHEZ 106.
“Rebel has proudly filled and served a niche in Ottawa for six years,” Torres stated in a press release. “Our listeners are loyal and our clients have had success advertising on the station. We believe now is the time to add audience with a broader musical offering, while not forgetting where we came from and what made us successful.”
“Our goal now is to also attract new listeners to the Rebel family, those rock listeners in Ottawa who may not have listened to the station in the past or have not even heard of it. With a recently improved signal boost in the Ottawa Central market area, we are in a better position to grow as our world is coming out from the pandemic. In turn, more audience for Rebel will better serve our local retailers.”
The format transition comes just weeks after the hiring of Danny Kingsbury, former National Format Director for Rock Radio at Rogers Sports & Media, who came out of retirement in August to join Torres Media as Executive Programming Advisor.
Along with the playlist and library adjustments, Rebel Rock welcomes new station imaging voice Jamie Watson.
The on-air lineup remains intact with Darryl Kornicky heard on “Kornicky in the Morning”, Cub Carson in afternoon drive, and Alexa in the evening time slot.
Torres says it’s also invested in new audio processing equipment, resulting in a cleaner and louder sound.
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