Bob FM
Bob FM is the on-air brand of a number of FM radio stations in Canada and the United States. The Bob FM format features a mix of classic 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles.
BOB FM stations in Canada are (with the exception of London, Ontario's Bob FM station, CHST-FM) all owned by Bell Media. Those in the United States are owned by a variety of companies. Bob FM stations are officially classified as variety hits or adult hits by radio research companies.
It was originally named for the "Best of the Best", and subsequently associated with an everyday character named Bob, and it proved extremely successful in its first implementation on Winnipeg, Manitoba's CFWM. It inspired Rogers Communications to license the Jack FM format at many of its stations, Corus Entertainment's subsequent Joe FM and Dave FM brands, and comparable moves at other stations. Currently a syndicated version of the format is offered by Waitt Radio Networks.
The format was largely conceived by Howard Kroeger, a former executive at CHUM, after attending a friend's 40th birthday party. He took the "Bob" moniker from a country music station (then WBOB, today KFXN-FM) that had broadcast in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market of Minnesota to the south several years earlier.
Many BOB FM stations market themselves with the slogan "Turn your knob to BOB"; this was parodied in a Mystery Science Theater 3000 skit in which TV's Frank creates his own radio station and exhorts viewers to "Turn your crank to Frank", satirizing commercials for BOB 100 FM that were playing in the Minneapolis area at the time.
CHUM Limited's CKLY in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, adopted the format on August 21, 2005, while WLFF in Lafayette, Indiana, jettisoned its country format to introduce Bob to its listeners on December 6, 2007.
Many Bob-FM stations are imaged by Digital Sound & Video, Inc, located in Daytona Beach, Florida.
At least three non variety-hits Bob FM outlets exist, WBYB in Eldred, Pennsylvania, WRBT in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and KLCI in Minneapolis-St. Paul, all of which run a country music format. Kroeger created a similar format and brand, Hank FM, for country stations; that brand has seen limited usage.
The newest Bob FM station in the United States is KVGS in Meadview, Arizona, replaced its alternative rock format.
The newest Bob FM station in Canada is CKX-FM in Brandon, Manitoba, replacing its mainstream rock format.
The first international (Non American or Canadian) Bob Fm launched in early 2016 in George Town, Grand Cayman in The Cayman Islands. 94.9 BOB FM, Grand Cayman ZFBB-FM of Hurley's Entertainment Cayman.
Bob FM stations in Canada
| Location | Call sign | Frequency | Notes/websites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brockville, Ontario | CJPT | 103.7 FM | |
| Kawartha Lakes, Ontario | CKLY | 91.9 FM | |
| London, Ontario | CHST | 102.3 FM | - Purchased by Rogers Communications Inc. 12/22/2010 - Former Bob FM now Jack FM as of 08/28/2014 |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | CFWM | 99.9 FM | |
| Brandon, Manitoba | CKX | 96.1 FM |
Bob FM stations in the United States
The first BOB FM outside of The U.S. or Canada launched in early 2016, broadcasting from George Town, Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. '94.9 BOB FM Grand Cayman'.