FM 108 era (1976–1997) CING began on September 24, 1976, as a
beautiful music format featuring mostly instrumental versions of
pop favorites. The first song heard on the 107.9 FM frequency was "
Sing" by
The Carpenters. The station began experimenting with playing
oldies during the overnight period in 1978; the response was positive, and by 1980 oldies shows constituted the majority of the program schedule. During the 1980s, FM 108 divided its programming between oldies and
MOR music, and was known for its personable oldies announcers, including Glen Darling, Norman B., Steve Richards/Mortenson, Wes Atkinson, Burt Thombs, Clint Trueman, Mark Eustace, Jay Brown, Dale Patterson (webmaster for Rock Radio Scrapbook), the Shadow, Dave Terryberry, Larry Smith, and the infamous Rockin Robin. CING began to phase out its
oldies programming in the fall of 1989 with the addition of
dance programming ("Rhythm Radio") in evenings and overnights; the station continued with its
Soft AC/
MOR format during the rest of the day on weekdays, as "Daytime Lite and Rhythm at Nite." Oldies programming was relegated to Saturdays. The last oldies show on
FM 108, hosted by Dale Patterson, aired on September 29, 1990. "Daytime Lite" ended on September 2, 1991, and the dance format expanded full-time (first as
Dance 108, and then to
Energy 108 in the mid-1990s).
Energy 108 era (1997–2001) In 1997, the station was acquired by
Shaw Communications. Following the change in ownership, Energy's format shifted from
dance music to mainstream
CHR.
dance,
hip-hop/
rap,
rock, and
pop all received equal airplay. A minor name change also took place, with
Energy 108 changing to
Energy Radio. Under Shaw's ownership, several other stations in
Ontario, including
CKDK-FM in
Woodstock/
London,
CHAY-FM in
Barrie and
CKGE-FM in
Oshawa/
Toronto, also adopted the "Energy" format, rebroadcasting CING much of the day. Shaw's radio operations were, in turn, spun off to
Corus Entertainment in 1999.
Frequency switch; subsequent format changes (2001–present) On August 31, 2001, CING and
CJXY-FM swapped frequencies. CING moved to its current 95.3 frequency, and CJXY took over 107.9. The frequency switch brought with it a change in the network's sound, with the mainstream
CHR/Top 40 format making way for a
hot adult contemporary format. With CING now available over a wider geographic area, the other stations dropped their CING simulcasts in 2002. The new format mirrored the format of Toronto's market leader
CHUM-FM, which resulted in very low ratings. On August 9, 2002, at 6 p.m., the station dropped its troubled
Hot AC format (and the "Energy" moniker), and began
stunting with
stand-up comedy bits. The final songs on "Energy" were "
Rhythm Is a Dancer" by
Snap!,
Last Dance by
Donna Summer and "
Happy Trails" by
Roy Rogers. On August 19, 2002, at 7 a.m., the station flipped to
country, branded as
Country 95.3. The first song on "Country" was "Small Town Saturday Night" by
Hal Ketchum. On November 13, 2009, at 3 p.m., CING switched formats to
classic hits, branded as
Vinyl 95.3. The final song on "Country" was "
The Dance" by
Garth Brooks, while the first song on "Vinyl" was "
Start Me Up" by
The Rolling Stones. The station's playlist featured the greatest hits of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, and was considered to be the first
oldies/
classic hits station in the
Greater Toronto Area on FM after the
CRTC permitted the
oldies format to be heard full-time on FM for the first time. Locally, the station competed against
AM station
CKOC; after Christmas of that year, the station also competed against
adult hits station
CHBM-FM in Toronto, which lost their oldies outlet on
CHUM, which flipped to a simulcast of
CP24 in March of that year. In its latter months, the station broadened their
playlist to include
90s and current tracks. With this change, however, the station's ratings began to slide. logo (2013–2015)|right|150px On April 10, 2013, at 9:53 a.m., the station changed its format back to
Hot AC, now branded as
95.3 Fresh FM. The station became the fourth radio station owned by Corus to adopt the "Fresh" branding. While most of the previous format's airstaff (including Toronto market veterans Gord James, John Novak and Bob Saint) were let go, Darrin Laidman and Colleen Rusholme remain in mornings with their producer Mike moving to evenings after a brief jockless period. The final song as "Vinyl" was Landslide by Fleetwood Mac while the first song as "Fresh" was Get the Party Started by Pink!. On February 13, 2015, CING rebranded to
95.3 Fresh Radio, in conjunction with
Corus rebranding all of their "Fresh FM" stations to the new branding on the same date and time. On March 26, 2019, at 8 a.m., CING rebranded as
Energy 95.3. The last song on "Fresh" was "
Good Feeling" by
Flo Rida, while the first song on the revived "Energy" was "
High Hopes" by
Panic! At the Disco. The change brought with it a new morning show, Tucker and Maura, formerly of
CKFM-FM in
Toronto. Former morning hosts Rusholme moved to afternoon
drive, while Laidman decided to leave the company. Later that year, Rusholme departed for
Ottawa sister station CJOT-FM, and was replaced with the
syndicated "Brooke & Jubal in the Morning", based out of
KQMV in
Seattle. CING was the second station in Canada to air Brooke & Jubal following Ottawa sister station
CKQB-FM, and the first to air it in afternoons. (The show would later be dropped, and replaced with Jeunesse.) CING competes with local stations
CJED-FM and
CHRE-FM, as well as neighboring stations
CHUM-FM and
CHFI-FM (from
Toronto) and
CHYM-FM (from
Kitchener). On September 13, 2023, the
CRTC approved an application by Corus to relocate CING-FM's transmission site from
Stoney Creek to a new tower in the Flamborough district of Hamilton, off Highway 5, between Millgrove Side Road and Mazza Avenue. Antenna height was lowered from 305.0 to 287.0 metres (EHAAT). Power would remain at 100,000 watts (ERP) and the radiation pattern would remain non-directional. CING-FM remains at 95.3 FM. ==HD Radio==