About CHTO 1690

CHTO 1690

CHTO, broadcasting on 1690 kHz as "CHTO AM 1690," is a Greek-language talk and music radio station based in Toronto, Ontario. Owned by Canadian Hellenic Toronto Radio Inc. and run by John Maniatakos, the station serves the Greek community of the Greater Toronto Area with predominantly Greek programming, while its licence also mandates programming in other languages. Its studios are on Danforth Avenue in the Riverdale neighbourhood — the heart of Toronto's Greektown — and its transmitter is on Waterman Avenue at Hollinger Road in the O'Connor-Parkview neighbourhood near the Don River. The station signed on in September 2007, succeeding a closed-circuit Greek audio service that had operated since 1966.

Overview

CHTO operates on 1690 kHz as a Class C station with 6,000 watts of power by day and 1,000 watts at night, using a non-directional antenna. It is also heard on repeater CHTO-1 on 1490 kHz in Mississauga, authorized at 23 watts by day and 770 watts at night. The call letters stand for "Canadian Hellenic Toronto Ontario," a direct statement of the station's community and geography.

The format is Greek-language talk and music, catering primarily to the Greek community of metropolitan Toronto — one of the largest Greek diaspora populations in North America. Although Greek dominates the schedule, the station is mandated to carry programming in other languages as well. The Danforth Avenue studio location places the station in the centre of the neighbourhood most associated with Greek life in Toronto.

History

The station's roots reach back more than four decades before its AM sign-on. Mrs. Vassiliki Maniatakos operated a closed-circuit specialty audio service in Toronto from 1966 under the name CHCR-FM, airing Greek-language programming 24 hours a day. The service was initially available as a subsidiary communications multiplex operation via CKFM-FM, and later moved to cable, where it was carried on Rogers Digital Cable channel 959 as part of the company's digital radio offerings in Toronto and area. When CHTO launched in 2007, CHCR-FM was discontinued, and CHTO took its place on Rogers Cable — a direct handoff from a pioneering Greek audio service to a licensed over-the-air station.

The 2006 licence

On April 4, 2006, the CRTC approved the application by Canadian Hellenic Toronto Radio Inc. for a new commercial ethnic AM radio station in Toronto. The new station would direct its programming primarily to the Toronto area's Greek-speaking community and would also provide ethnic programming in Armenian, Romanian, Serbian, and Bulgarian, as well as in English. It would broadcast on 1690 kHz with a transmitter power of 1,000 watts, day and night. Canadian Hellenic was controlled by its sole shareholder, Mrs. Vassiliki Maniatakos, who had provided the CHCR-FM closed-circuit service since 1966 — financed solely by advertising and distributed by cable before it moved to over-the-air distribution.

The licence commitments were substantial. All of the programming broadcast by the proposed AM station would be ethnic programming, and 88 percent would be in third languages — languages other than English, French, or a language of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. The applicant proposed to serve a minimum of five cultural groups in a minimum of six languages during each broadcast week, with Greek-language programming making up 70 percent of the schedule. A minimum of 120 of the 126 hours of the broadcast week would be devoted to local programming produced by the applicant using members of the cultural groups to be served. Spoken word programming would make up about 45 percent of the schedule. Beyond the general-audience newsmagazine, the applicant planned an educational program for children, programming of specific interest to women, and Greek-language newscasts at midday seven days a week. Approximately 55 percent of the broadcast week would be music, with at least 80 percent of all musical selections drawn from world beat and international music. Canadian Hellenic also committed to establishing a programming advisory board of community leaders to advise on programming and on how to serve each target group. The primary focus was to provide an over-the-air radio service to the Greek-speaking community in the eastern portion of the Toronto area, including Markham.

Growth and power increases

CHTO had hoped to be on the air by the end of 2006, but technical issues intervened, and the station began broadcasting in September 2007. On November 5, 2009, the CRTC approved the station's application to increase its daytime transmitter power from 1,000 to 3,000 watts, with all other technical parameters unchanged; the licensee said the change would improve signal quality within its licensed area, and specifically for listeners in Mississauga and Brampton who were experiencing poor reception. On August 17, 2012, the CRTC administratively renewed the station's licence to August 31, 2013, and also approved a change in effective control of Canadian Hellenic Toronto Radio Inc. from Mrs. Vassiliki Maniatakos to her son, Mr. John Maniatakos, following Mrs. Maniatakos's death in August 2010. On September 23, 2014, the CRTC approved another contour change, increasing daytime power from 3,000 to 6,000 watts.

The station expanded geographically in 2016: on September 1 the CRTC approved CHTO's application to add an AM rebroadcasting transmitter in Mississauga, serving additional listeners across the Greater Toronto Area — Brampton, Etobicoke, and Mississauga. The rebroadcaster, CHTO-AM-1, would operate at 1490 kHz with 23 watts by day and 770 watts at night. In August 2018 the station received an extension from the CRTC to September 1, 2019, to get the Mississauga transmitter on the air.

The station's early years brought signal improvements. On June 10, 2009, CHTO applied to the CRTC to increase its daytime transmitting power to 3,000 watts, aiming to better serve Greek communities in Mississauga and Brampton. The commission approved the request on November 5, 2009, and the station began broadcasting at its new daytime power in March 2010. On December 4, 2012, the CRTC approved a change in ownership of the station to John Maniatakos, following the death of his mother, the station's original owner.

The Mississauga repeater followed a separate proceeding. On October 14, 2015, Canadian Hellenic Toronto Radio Inc. applied to add an AM transmitter in Mississauga on 1490 kHz, at 23 watts by day and 770 watts at night, under the callsign CHTO-1. The application was approved on September 1, 2016, extending the station's reach into the western GTA.

Programming

CHTO's programming is predominantly Greek — talk, news, music, and community information serving Toronto's Greek community — with additional programming in other languages as required by its licence. The station's schedule reflects the community-service model of its closed-circuit predecessor: Greek-language content around the clock, oriented to the cultural, religious, and civic life of the diaspora. Radio directories note the station offering a substantial daily schedule of Greek programming. Specific current program titles and hosts are not independently confirmed, and the station's website has at times carried outdated information about its non-Greek programming.

Coverage and audience

As a 6,000-watt daytime (1,000-watt nighttime) AM station on 1690 kHz with a non-directional antenna from Toronto's east end, CHTO's signal serves the Greater Toronto Area, with its strongest coverage in the city itself and the eastern suburbs. The 2009–2010 daytime power increase to 3,000 watts (later raised to the current 6,000-watt authorization) was specifically aimed at improving reception in Mississauga and Brampton, and the CHTO-1 repeater on 1490 kHz in Mississauga further extends the station's western reach. The station's audience is the GTA's Greek community, one of the most established ethnic communities in Toronto. Current audience figures are not publicly confirmed.

Ownership

CHTO is owned by Canadian Hellenic Toronto Radio Inc., run by John Maniatakos. The Maniatakos family's involvement in Greek-Canadian media spans the CHCR-FM closed-circuit service (1966–2007), the launch of CHTO in 2007, and the Odyssey Television Network owned by Peter Maniatakos. The station operates under CRTC commercial ethnic radio licence conditions, including its mandate to air programming in languages beyond Greek.

Digital presence

The station maintains a webcast through its official website, am1690.ca, and its signal has long been carried on Rogers cable's digital radio lineup, continuing the CHCR-FM tradition. The station's stream is also available through third-party radio aggregators. A dedicated standalone mobile app for the station is not publicly confirmed.