Tuned opined in a seperate thread here recently that CISL's Gerry O'Day's music choices were pretty bad and implied that it was a reason why the station is pretty much unlistenable. I'll agree on that point but there are certainly a number of other key factors as to why this oldies station is so terrible.
Primarily, it's AM so that's a big handicap right there. There's also a lack of personality (a shortage of live, warm bodies'll do that), a lack of any real identity, no promo budget, no local connection with the audience, no listener interaction. I could go on.
For years, having this as my soul source and example of oldies radio I had developed a sense that I didn't care for the genre. Now that I've moved to the Seattle area I find myself going more and more to KBSG and am surprised at how much I'm enjoying it; and this is from a guy who normally listens exclusively to jazz.
If you want a clear picture of what CISL is doing wrong, listen to what KBSG is doing right. It actually sounds very much what KJR or CFUN sounded like in their best days. Strong, talented personalities are a big factor but the music choices are a very key part of it too.
I know that CISL is hampered with cancon requirements that U.S. stations do not suffer but that doesn't excuse or explain away everything.
To wrap this up, I'll ask if anyone knows exactly what is the problem with getting an oldies station on FM in Canada. Is there some CRTC reg that prevents this? Higher can con requirements for FM too discouraging?