The Shadow on CFUN in the 80's?

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The Shadow on CFUN in the 80's?

Postby Toomas Losin » Wed Aug 07, 2013 10:15 pm

Pondering the imminent demise of Network Replay (at least on the air) has me thinking back to the Good Ole Days of local OTR broadcasts.

Does anyone remember that in the very early 80's CFUN would air The Shadow? I believe it was an episode each weekend, and only The Shadow, no other series. I'm not sure how long it lasted, maybe a year, or maybe a few months in the summer before it quietly disappeared.

Why would CFUN, at the time a Top 40 station, decide to air an episode of The Shadow each weekend? Was it as competition for Network Replay (CKNW) or Lights Out (CFMI)? Was someone expecting a resurgence of old time radio that never happened? Does anyone know what the business decisions were? Can anyone clear up the details?

I loved The Shadow, so for me it was great to hear an episode per week compared to its occasional airing on the other stations' programs.
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Re: The Shadow on CFUN in the 80's?

Postby hagopian » Wed Aug 07, 2013 10:33 pm

Quick suggestion. If you have a smartphone - get one of the may "radio apps"and do some looking for special streamed ' classic radio'.
Tunedin is a good app - solid and free, or 99 cents.

I don't remember playing "The Shadow" when I was at CFUN. We had Sunday Graffiti, and some old shows - so you just may be right. I just can't recall. I do know that the audience for the weekend evening shows was larger than we expected. It was a lot of fun.

Happy hunting.

Hope this helps.
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Re: The Shadow on CFUN in the 80's?

Postby Toomas Losin » Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:07 pm

hagopian wrote:Quick suggestion. If you have a smartphone - get one of the may "radio apps"and do some looking for special streamed ' classic radio'.
Tunedin is a good app - solid and free, or 99 cents.

Yup. Tunein is what I'm using for worldwide radio these days. It's great for foreign news which is not well-reported or is totally ignored locally, and music. It's also a tool in the DXing arsenal.

hagopian wrote:I don't remember playing "The Shadow" when I was at CFUN. We had Sunday Graffiti, and some old shows - so you just may be right. I just can't recall. I do know that the audience for the weekend evening shows was larger than we expected. It was a lot of fun.

I only recall The Shadow but maybe my own biases have made me forget anything else. Most of the Shadow episodes that I have on cassette came from this run.
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Re: The Shadow on CFUN in the 80's?

Postby radiofan » Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:39 pm

I honestly don't recall CFUN running OTR at any time.

Maybe they inherited a library of OTR shows from sister station CFRA in Ottawa. On 'NW, Cullen often ran shows that included CFRA jingles and promos that were recorded who knows when.

There was a weekly show called When Radio Was King (or something like that) that statiosn like KIRO and KFBK ran.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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