After 11 years of doing his rock n’ roll duty, Canadian musician Kim Mitchell signed off as host of Q107’s afternoon drive show late last month. According to reports, parent company Corus Entertainment opted not to renew his contract.
Maureen Holloway – who has co-hosted the station’s morning drive program Derringer in the Morning with Maureen Holloway since 2001 – replaced Mitchell in the afternoon slot (weekdays from 3-7 p.m.) Aug. 17 with a new program called The Mo Show. The veteran broadcaster, who also hosts a national celebrity gossip segment called The Last Word, was the 2006 recipient of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Gold Ribbon Award for Humour.
She is co-hosting The Mo Show with John Scholes, another long-time Q107 personality who has been with the station for close to 18 years in various roles including evening announcer, swing announcer, programming and weekends.
Scholes has also worked alongside Holloway in the past, subbing for John Derringer when he was away. “It’s not a question of us trying to fit them together and hoping it works,” said Corus Radio Toronto brand director Blair Bartrem. “They’ve actually worked together many times, have got great brand chemistry, and are off-air friends. We’re pretty confident they’ll connect.”
Bartrem said Mitchell’s departure from Q107 after hosting the afternoon drive show for 11 years was an “amicable” one. “He’s completely welcome back into the Q studios at any time,” said Bartrem.
He said Mitchell’s show was “competitive” in its timeslot, but the switch is part of an effort to fine-tune one of the station’s key time periods.
“We just looked for ways to get more horsepower out of a pretty good engine,” he said. “When you’re at this competitive level in Formula 1, it’s not about driving the car fast it’s about driving the car that much faster than the next guy. By making these adjustments it’s about adjusting the carburetor and getting that extra horsepower.”
Holloway’s appointment is not an overt attempt to woo more female listeners, said Bartrem, though the station has moved to broaden its appeal in recent months by featuring more female-friendly classic rock artists in its playlist. “Are we targeting women? No. Are we cognizant that women like rock? Yes,” said Bartrem. “It’s not a conscious decision to try to garner more female listeners.”
However, Bartrem acknowledged Holloway does have broad-based appeal, describing her as a personality women like and that men want to hang around with. “We’re taking some of that magic from the morning show and bookending the two drive periods,” he said.
Chris Sisam, general manager of Corus Radio Toronto and Hamilton, said Derringer in the Morning with Maureen Holloway is currently Toronto’s top-rated morning show among the station’s core target of men 25-54, and said the goal is to repeat that feat for the station as a whole.
He said about 40% of tuning to Q107 is by women, a number that has been growing since the station freshened its playlist and made a conscious decision to leave behind much of the dark, harder rock favoured primarily by men.
Bartrem said the station has increased tuning among both adults 25-54 and men 25-54 in the past two months, while John Derringer’s morning show has climbed to number two overall among males 35-54, less than one share point away from tying CHUM FM’s Roger, Darren & Marilyn for the market lead.
He attributed the increases to continued adjustments to the show’s music and content and a “refocused approach” to doing morning radio by the show’s personalities. “It’s all starting to connect,” he said.
Sisam said Corus plans to market Q107 as a whole until Holloway and Scholes “find their feet,” but will be promoting The Mo Show on-air. Future marketing for the show could appear later in the year, he said.
