Canadian radio is quickly becoming Virgin territory. Bouyed by what it calls the excitement and enthusiasm surrounding the August launch of the Virgin Radio brand in Toronto, Astral Media announced today that it will roll out the format in three additional markets: Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal.
Three existing stations Vancouver’s 95 Crave (95.3 FM), Ottawa’s The Bear (106.9 FM) and Montreal’s Mix 96 (95.9 FM) will be converted to Virgin stations in early January, said Astral.
The Vancouver and Montreal stations will boast a Hot Adult Contemporary format aimed at adults 25-54, while the Ottawa station will feature what Astral called a re-energized rock format aimed at males 25-54. Additional details will be announced on launch day in each market.
Jacques Parisien, group president, Astral Media Radio and Astral Media Outdoor, called it a milestone announcement, and added that the company is excited to bring the dynamic and innovative sounds of Virgin to additional markets.
We are confident that the Virgin Radio brand will invigorate our stations, while offering an entirely new and rejuvenated promise to our clients, he said.
Astral converted Toronto’s Mix 99.9 FM one of 53 Standard Radio stations it acquired last year to Virgin Radio 999 on Aug. 25. It was the first radio station in North America to bear the iconic Virgin name.
In an interview with Marketing last month, Astral president and CEO Ian Greenberg called the Virgin launch the most exciting radio development in the Toronto market in the past 20 years. Virgin was Toronto’s 10th-rated station in the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement‘s recent S4 survey which reflects the two-month listening period between Sept. 1 and Oct. 26 with a 4.1% share of the total hours tuned by listeners 12+ (CBC Radio One led all stations with a 9.4% share of hours tuned).
Virgin also increased its weekly reach (the number of local listeners who tuned in for at least 15 minutes in a week) to 741,300 from 647,100 in the corresponding period in 2007.
Greenberg told Marketing that the company’s objective is to be either the first- or second-ranked player in each of the markets in which it operates. Astral operates 82 stations in eight provinces.
