Toronto's Flow 93.5 radio station has found a new home but listeners have complaints
Toronto hip-hop fans are still reeling from the changes taking place at Flow 93.5, one of the city's most iconic radio stations that has abruptly changed frequencies after 21 years thanks to a new merger with G 98.7.
Anyone tuning in to 93.5 FM expecting their usual hosts and tunes will now instead be listening to Today Radio, while Flow has been moved over to 98.7 FM.
It's not just the station that is changing, either — the "all-new" rebranded Flow is proving to be a very different iteration of its former self, notably without much of the staff and programming it was known for, which listeners are obviously upset about.
This is ridiculous and I listened to the new platform for less than 1 minute and I cannot repeat in writing what I said outloud for everyone around my car to hear. This is a major fail, from a dedicated listener and I do not meet your target market, but it was the best station
— Stacey Carruthers (@sc_carruthers) February 16, 2022
Though Flow says in a post on its website that it plans to "continue to be Toronto’s hip hop and R&B station" at its new home, it does add that the station hasbeen "reimagined" to bring together the best of both Flow and G 98.7.
This will inevitably mean a change in the music played to now include an expanded list of "various genres including but not limited to hip-hop, rhythm and blues, soca and reggae."
Well-known DJs and hosts such as Devo Brown, Dr. Jay, Spex, Peter Kash and Blake Carter are also now gone, as is HipHopCanada programming like Megacity Countdown and The Real Frequency.
Along with the obvious losses, another new problem has been coming to light since the Feb. 14 switch: the fact that 98.7 channel does not seem to offer nearly the same listening experience as 93.5 did.
One video in particular shared by a listener to 6ixdriptv shows just how poor the sound quality is on 98.7, especially compared with the new 93.5 (which was hilariously playing Nickelback at the time of the clip).
"If you're from Toronto, then you'll know that Flow 93.5, which was this station..." the original poster says before turning up the volume on what is now Today Radio.
"Sounds clear, right?" she points out, before switching it over to the new Flow.
"[It] has now moved to 98.7. This is Flow 93.5, a.k.a 98.7, this is how it sounds," she continues, turning up the volume yet again on the latter frequency.
In the footage, the music sounds significantly more muffled, fuzzy, unclear and quiet, prompting her to ask, "How does that sound good?"
Many have been posting comments claiming they've experienced the same issue, with some complaining that they've even completely lost signal when driving in certain parts of the city, on top of all of the other reasons they oppose the merger.
"Not to mention they fired everyone," one person aptly adds.
"Flow 93.5 music turned to trash since they switched stations," another chimes.
Still others note that 98.7 has always sounded less-than-ideal, which is unfortunate for fans trying to stay dedicated to the Flow brand, which is now owned by G — which for whatever reason opted not to keep Flow's most beloved staff.
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