93.5 FM Toronto is the frequency of the original Flow before the trade in 2023 to the current 98.7 FM location. Since their inception, Flow 93.5 had stuck to a primarily Hip-hop and R&B format, but after years of trials and tribulations, owners appeared disgruntled with poor ratings, failed results and a primary lack of advertising revenue that went with their urban format.

In 2023, Flow 93.5 abandoned their full-time urban format, and cemented the move by leasing the ‘Flow‘ name to their G987 counterpart. It was a good make-sense move for G987, also sporting a full time urban format at the time that failed to generate profitable advertising revenue. With an already established Flow name to re-brand with, G987 was now blessed with a legit opportunity to restart with a new identity. That’s how it happened, how Toronto’s G987 FM, formerly owned by the late Fitzroy Gordon, became the current Flow 98.7 FM.

Listen to 93.5 FM now and you hear a totally different station; 93.5 FM has rebranded as ‘Today Radio’, offering a mix of straight up pop and Top 40. Yeah, they play Taylor Swift, then after you may hear The Killers, and now and then, you might hear a decent urban hit, but don’t get excited, it doesn’t happen too often. 

I’ll still give 93.5 FM credit for having courage; it’s never easy to start fresh, abandon all that’s been built to start again. This classic starting from scratch gambling scenario meant scrapping an old style, brand and audience, an uphill but not impossible climb for ‘Today Radio‘. And one more thing – 93.5 FM’s signal strength is still a hinderance, it has issues, it could be stronger; but it seems there’s only so much a station can do to solve these unique technical issues.

Today, the new 93.5 FM is still going through baby steps after relaunching. The audience and listener culture has totally shifted, and with that has come rewards of new and increased streams of advertising. With a hits format however, we saw the elimination of R&B, Hip-hop, Reggae, Soca, and other forms of good-taste Black and urban music now missing from their programming and from our Toronto FM airwaves.

The good news is that today, even in pop radio formats, radio stations have to go outside their traditional box and play the odd good-taste Black music track. Some of today’s best Black music is already chart topping, relevant, requested and in demand from listeners. If you’re willing to wait for it, then you may want to give this station a try, but if you’re hardcore and cultured like me, you just tune in then tune out.

Over all, ‘Today Radio‘ sounds like an average conservative pop or ‘hits’ radio station that can be played while at work or in the office. The announcers are all very Canadian-sounding, which will be comforting and relatable for white Torontonians in their mid 20’s to mid late 30’s who don’t want hardcore Black urban music and don’t relate to their conversations.