Toronto's Urban Radio Map

Toronto’s 92.5 Kiss FM is what it is, one of Canada’s best contemporary ‘hits’ radio stations, a fact that is reflected in their consistently healthy BBM ratings. They are successful because they have good dee-jays and professional and relatable hosts-broadcasters fortifying their programming. It also helps to have a really strong broadcast signal, one of the strongest in the city. 92.5 Kiss FM, for the most part, proudly adheres to a Top-40 urban hits formula, but sometimes they play good urban tracks that we have to approved as cool. 

I’m not a fan of Top-40 radio, and there will be some who may question why I’ve even included Kiss FM amongst the list of urban shapers in Toronto. Afterall, they play a lot of music that hardcore people like myself just don’t like, and yes, that includes anything by Taylor Swift. She, and others with music like hers, has music that we consider not in our good taste, pop-structured music that is sappy and not Black enough, to put it bluntly and plain. 

The good news is that there are indeed a few shows and short moments on Kiss that take you away from their allegiance to poppy hits, and instead offer good taste and up to date urban flavours with creative and on-point live dee-jay mixing. Shout outs to award winning dee-jays like Mike Tomas and DJ Clymaxxx, two time Stylus Canadian Radio ‘Mix Show DJ of the Year’.

Kiss FM has been careful not make the often fatal error of taking talent off the streets and nightclubs and try to sell them off as true radio broadcasters. When it comes to good hosting and entertaining, the slick and smooth Kiss FM radio announcers reign at the top of their craft, operating with a higher spoken word sophistication coming from confidence and experience. 

92.5 Kiss FM without doubt, is personality-driven radio, and that helps them make the cut. The broadcasters at Kiss are true professionals and veterans; radio is a comfort zone for them if they just be themselves. The crew are relatable, funny, and immediately likeable. If the music doesn’t keep you tuned in, the entire team and their crazy rhetoric keeps listeners locked. 

Having said that, let’s give props to the Roz and Mocha Show, aired 6 -10 AM weekly. Listeners will enjoy a fun morning show environment, with added personalities like Shem, who is Black, added to the team. Not only is it the stations most prized commodity, but the Roz and Mocha Show may be the most popular and highest rated sub-urban morning show in the city. It’s certainly the most promoted, with posters and billboards plastered on bus stops and subway walls all over Toronto. Their marketing and promotion campaign is a great example of how what radio stations can do in order to achieve increased listenership and listener loyalty.