The station originally decided to program the wildly popular New York-based morning show to boost ratings back in March. When coronavirus lockdown measures hit, execs pushed the debut to May. But Toronto listeners haven’t warmed to the change.
Local hosts Blake Carter and Peter Kash, who were bumped to the drive-home time slot, will now return to mornings starting on October 14.
Steve Parsons, general manager of FLOW’s parent company Stingray, says the programming change happened at “the exact wrong time.”
The pandemic, the police killing of George Floyd and the U.S. election saw The Breakfast Club shift from pop culture and entertainment to focus more heavily on American politics.
“It didn’t match up with the culture of Toronto so we decided to make the change,” Parsons explains. “A couple days ago they were talking for 40 minutes about how to vote in Florida as an ex-felon. It’s not relevant to Toronto.”
“The show itself is still a killer show,” he adds. “All three hosts are unbelievable class acts and incredible entertainers – for the U.S.”
Shouts to @flow935 and everybody in Toronto for showin us love! pic.twitter.com/nKUZWCiTZQ
— The Breakfast Club (@breakfastclubam) October 9, 2020
Parsons expected a dip in ratings, as is normal when a station swaps morning shows. But the audience didn’t bounce back, he says.
Fans and industry voices alike criticized FLOW for the programming change back in the spring, arguing Toronto should have a morning show that is plugged into the city’s hip-hop culture.
While Parsons says FLOW listeners are passionate, the station is struggling to boost listenership.
Between May 25 and August 30, FLOW had a 0.7 per cent Toronto market share in the A12+ demographic, according to data released on September 10 by broadcast measurement service Numeris.
The top station in Toronto, CBC Radio One, had a 16.7 per cent market share in the same category.
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