page_title: CING-FM
section_title: Frequency switch; subsequent format changes (2001-present)
hierarchical_section_title: CING-FM / History / Frequency switch; subsequent format changes (2001-present)
caption_attribution_description: English: Radio station CING FM broadcast area map.
context_page_description: CING-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 95.3 FM in Hamilton, Ontario. The station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CING's studios are located on Main Street West in Hamilton, while its transmitter is located atop the Niagara Escarpment near Upper Centennial Parkway. CING is owned by Corus Entertainment.
  CING was launched in 1976 by Burlington Broadcasting, at 107.9 FM in Burlington, Ontario. Initially an easy listening and then an oldies station, the station switched to a dance music format in the summer of 1991, which garnered a huge audience, after several months of adding new-age music to its mixture of classical and middle-of-the-road music. The station applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission a number of times in the 1980s for frequency changes in the hopes of better reaching the more lucrative Toronto market, but was denied each time.
  CING is one of the most powerful radio stations in Southeastern Ontario. Its signal can be heard in Hamilton, the Greater Toronto Area, the Waterloo Region, the Niagara Region, and even Buffalo, New York. The station is marketed towards both Hamilton and Toronto.
context_section_description: On August 31, 2001, CING and CJXY-FM swapped frequencies. CING moved to its current 95.3 frequency, and CJXY took over the 107.9 FM frequency. The frequency switch brought with it a change in the network's sound, with the mainstream CHR format making way for a hot adult contemporary format. With CING now available over a wider geographic area, the other stations dropped their CING simulcasts in 2002. The new format mirrored the format of Toronto's market leader CHUM-FM, which resulted in very low ratings.
  On August 9, 2002, at 6 p.m., the station dropped its troubled Hot AC format (and the "Energy" moniker), and began stunting with stand-up comedy bits. The final songs on "Energy" were "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap! and "Happy Trails" by Roy Rogers. On August 19, 2002, at 7 a.m., the station flipped to country, branded as Country 95.3. The first song on "Country" was "Small Town Saturday Night" by Hal Ketchum.
  On November 13, 2009, at 3 p.m., CING-FM switched formats to classic hits, branded as Vinyl 95.3. The final song on "Country" was "The Dance" by Garth Brooks, while the first song on "Vinyl" was "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. The station's playlist featured the greatest hits of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, and was considered to be the first oldies/classic hits station in the Greater Toronto Area on FM after the CRTC permitted the oldies format to be heard full-time on FM for the first time. Locally, the station competed against AM station CKOC; after Christmas of that year, the station also competed against adult hits station CHBM-FM in Toronto, which lost their oldies outlet on CHUM, which flipped to a simulcast of CP24 in March of that year.
  In its latter months, the station broadened their playlist to include 90s and current tracks. With this change, however, the station's ratings began to slide.
  On April 10, 2013, at 9:53 a.m., the station changed its format back to Hot AC, now branded as 95.3 Fresh FM. The station became the fourth radio station owned by Corus to adopt the "Fresh FM" branding. While most of the previous format's airstaff (including Toronto market veterans Gord James, John Novak and Bob Saint) was let go, Darrin and Colleen remain in mornings with their producer Mike moving to evenings after a brief jockless period.
  On February 13, 2015, CING-FM rebranded to 95.3 Fresh Radio, in conjunction with Corus rebranding all of their "Fresh FM" stations to the new branding on the same date and time.
  On March 26, 2019, at 8 a.m., CING-FM rebranded as Energy 95.3. The last song on "Fresh" was "Good Feeling" by Flo Rida, while the first song on the revived "Energy" was "High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco. The change brought with it a new morning show, Tucker and Maura, formerly of CKFM in Toronto. Former morning hosts Colleen Rusholme moved to afternoon drive, while Darrin Laidman decided to leave the company. Later that year, Rusholme departed for Ottawa sister station CJOT-FM, and was replaced with the syndicated Brooke & Jubal, based out of KQMV in Seattle. CING is the second station in Canada to air the syndicated Brooke and Jubal show following Ottawa sister station CKQB-FM, and the first to air it in afternoons.
  CING competes with local stations CKLH-FM and CHRE-FM, as well as neighboring stations CHUM-FM and CHFI-FM (from Toronto) and CHYM-FM (from Kitchener).
caption: Broadcast area map for CING as of 2017.
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