About Z95.3 (CKZZ)

Z95.3 (CKZZ)

Z95.3 (CKZZ-FM) is Vancouver's hot adult contemporary radio station — one of the city's most iconic brands, owned by Stingray Group. Broadcasting on 95.3 MHz with 71,300 watts from Mount Seymour, the station plays "Today's Best Mix" of pop hits. It signed on May 23, 1991, as "Zed 95.3" with a CRTC-authorized dance music format, became a Top 40 powerhouse through the 1990s, flipped to hot AC in 2004, spent 2008–2014 as Virgin Radio 95.3, and returned to the beloved Z95.3 brand in 2014.

Overview

CKZZ-FM is a commercial FM station licensed to Vancouver, British Columbia (originally Richmond), owned by Stingray Group through Stingray Radio. It broadcasts on 95.3 MHz with 71,300 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour. Its studios are located in Richmond.

The station's format is hot adult contemporary, and its broadcast area covers Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Sister stations in the Stingray Vancouver cluster include CHLG-FM (104.3 The Breeze). The station's bumper stickers — the classic Z95.3 logo — remain a fixture on cars around the city decades after their heyday.

History

CKZZ-FM signed on at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 23, 1991, running commercial-free until Monday, May 27. South Fraser Broadcasting, operators of CISL in suburban Richmond, founded the station; the studio was shared with its sister station in Richmond. Its format was authorized by the CRTC as "Dance Music." "Zed 95.3" became immediately successful with a younger audience, due mostly to an exceptionally strong promotional presence at local high schools, its unique blend of music, and a general movement of listeners from AM to FM.

In 1995, CKZZ and CISL were sold to Standard Radio in an $18 million purchase approved by the CRTC on May 8, 1996. Following the sale, CKZZ moved to a more mainstream Top 40/CHR format. The station's success continued into 2001, ranking number two overall among Vancouver radio stations in the BBM ratings for much of the year; its website ranked 28th on Radio Ink's "50 Best Radio Station Websites in the World," and CKZZ was named "Station of the Year" by Canadian Music Week in March 2002.

In August 2002, the station edged toward "The Best of the Nineties and Today" while remaining a CHR outlet. In March 2004, it switched to hot adult contemporary with the slogan "Your Music, Your Zed" — ironically, days after being named "CHR Station of the Year" by Canadian Music Week; the first song under the Hot AC format was Coldplay's "Clocks." In September 2005, the station moved toward an adult top 40 format with the slogan "Today's Best Music."

Astral Media acquired Standard Radio in 2007, and in 2008 Astral rebranded the station as Virgin Radio 95.3, part of its national Virgin Radio rollout. Bell Media acquired Astral in 2013, and as part of the CRTC-approved divestitures, CKZZ was sold to Newcap Radio in 2014 in a $112-million transaction that also included Toronto stations and other Vancouver outlets. Newcap immediately rebranded the station back to Z95.3 — the moniker it used from its 1991 launch until 2007 — retaining the hot AC format and features such as the "$1,000 Minute." Stingray Group acquired Newcap in 2018, bringing CKZZ into Canada's largest independent radio group.

CKZZ's birth was a CRTC competitive process. On February 19, 1990, the Commission called for applications for a new commercial FM station in Vancouver on 94.5 MHz; six companies applied, and on June 20, 1990, South Fraser Broadcasting — controlled by Michael Dickinson — won. A November 1, 1990 amendment moved the allotment to 95.3 MHz to avoid interference with CJJR-FM. The station signed on at 8 a.m. on May 23, 1991, commercial-free until May 27, with C&C Music Factory's "Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)" as the first song — a fitting launch for a station licensed for dance music.

The dance format was an instant hit with young Vancouver: Z95.3 sat constantly in the market's top three. The 1995 sale of CKZZ and sister station CISL (AM 650) to Standard Radio for $18 million CAD — CRTC-approved in 1996 — began the drift from licensed dance toward Top 40/CHR. The success continued: number two overall in the Vancouver BBM ratings for much of 2001, a website ranked 28th among the "50 Best Radio Station Websites in the World" by Radio Ink, and "Station of the Year" from Canadian Music Week in March 2002. The August 2002 shift to "The Best of the Nineties and Today" edged the station toward hot AC while technically remaining CHR.

The brand carousel spun through the 2000s and 2010s: "95 Crave" hot AC (2007), Virgin Radio 95.3 under Astral/Bell, and back to Z95.3 when Newcap Radio acquired the station — part of a $112-million transaction, the largest in Newcap's history, CRTC-approved March 19, that also included Toronto's Boom 97.3 and Flow 93.5 plus Vancouver's CISL and Shore 104.3. Bell kept the Virgin Radio brand rights and relaunched it elsewhere in Vancouver. Through every brand, the 71,300-watt Class C signal from Mount Seymour and the Richmond studios remained constant, and the Z95.3 bumper stickers never quite left Vancouver cars.

The format carousel kept turning: on June 5, 2007, Z95.3 signed off and, 31 hours later, relaunched at 7 a.m. as rhythmic AC "95 Crave," with Madonna's "Music" as the first song — bringing back much of the early-'90s dance music the original Z had played. In January 2009 the station became Virgin Radio 95.3 as part of Astral's national Virgin rollout. Then, after Newcap's acquisition, the station reclaimed its heritage: at 5:30 a.m. on March 31, 2014, Virgin Radio 95.3 became Z95.3 again, the moniker it had carried from 1991 to 2007 (Bell Media retained the Canadian rights to the Virgin brand). The relaunch was celebrated that June with an event at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Morning hosts Nat Hunter and Drew Savage — "Mornings with Nat & Drew" — moved to 103.5 QM/FM, replacing Mike Shaeffer and Tara McGuire after their 19-year "Mike and Tara in the Morning" run. Newcap general manager Sherri Pierce noted that the Z95.3 brand remained firmly entrenched in listeners' minds, with its bumper stickers still dotting cars around the city.

Programming

Z95.3 plays "Today's Best Mix" — a hot adult contemporary blend of current pop hits and recent favorites. Long-running features include the "$1,000 Minute" contest, "Golddigger," and "The Sleaze" entertainment segment. The station's programming targets adult listeners with a mix of today's best music and the personality-driven shows that made the Z brand famous.

Coverage and Audience

CKZZ's 71,300-watt signal from Mount Seymour covers Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. The station's ratings peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it was a Top 3 station in the market; after the 2002 launch of rhythmic Top 40 competitor CFBT-FM, its share declined, and it now competes in the hot AC space with Bell Media's QMFM and Rogers' KiSS outlets.

Ownership

CKZZ-FM is owned and operated by Stingray Group, Canada's largest independent radio broadcaster. Stingray acquired the station in 2018 as part of its purchase of Newcap Radio. Earlier owners included South Fraser Broadcasting (1991–1996), Standard Radio (1996–2007), Astral Media (2007–2013), Bell Media (2013–2014), and Newcap Radio (2014–2018).

Digital Presence

Z95.3 streams live through Stingray's digital platforms and maintains active social media accounts promoting its hosts, contests, and events. The station is associated with the z953.ca web portal; Wikipedia lists z953.ca as the station's official website.

The station's history — from the 1991 dance-format launch through the CHR glory years, the Virgin interlude, and the 2014 Z homecoming — is documented by the Canadian Communications Foundation's broadcasting-history.ca project and in CRTC licensing records.