Allan Waters, CHUM's Founder and The History of CHUM

In 1945, 1050 CHUM signed on the air in Toronto becoming the city's fifth AM station. For nearly a decade it placed fifth-last in the ratings. In 1954, Allan Waters sold his shares in two packaging companies and bought the station outright. He soon made Canadian radio history and his vision continues to be at the forefront of the 500-channel lineup.

Up until the 1950s, radio in Canada consisted of the CBC and a rag-tag group of independent stations who were restricted to non-network broadcast programming. Most stations were broadcasting "shows" -- usually live programs catering to various interests and tastes. It was a fit that did not suit Waters or CHUM well. At about this time, other stations in Canada were starting to experiment with the simple playing of popular records with program hosts known as "disc jockeys."

In 1954, Hal Yerxa turned his Camrose, Alberta station CFCW over to the exclusive broadcasting of country and western music, becoming Canada's first 24-hour country station. Waters took notice and also looked south where American stations had great success playing a limited number of contemporary new records in rotation day and night. On May 27th, 1957, Waters and CHUM brought Top 40 radio to Canada and Canadian format radio was born. It was only the beginning of history.

The baby boom saw a new age group with disposable income: the teenager. The record industry saw that radio was the best tool available to create million sellers. Top 40 radio became the dominant format throughout the 1960s as revenue kept pace with a growing audience.

Waters added CHUM-FM in 1963, and soon began buying up radio and TV stations across the country. In 1977, Moses Znaimer's independent Toronto UHF TV station Citytv was in financial straits. Waters bought the station and took its founder on board.

In 1988, Allan Waters was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Hall of Fame. In 1993, he was awarded the prestigious Gold Ribbon for Broadcast Excellence. He was the first broadcaster to be honoured with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for contributions to the Canadian music industry, and was also inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.

Waters stepped down from the position of chairman and president of CHUM in December, 2002 but remained as a board director until October, 2005. On his retirement, he became an honourary director.

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