('''Z103.5''') is a
Rhythmic/Dance Top 40 Radio Station that serves
Central Ontario and the
Greater Toronto Area . Although they are licensed to
Orangeville , and still have a transmitter there, the station's studios are located in Toronto. The station is owned by the
Evanov Radio Group . It fills the market's Top 40 niche and includes a certain degree of dance music in its playlists. The station can be heard as far south as
St. Catharines .
CIDC started as ''Hot 103'' in
1995 , playing only dance music. The station then began adding more
R&B and pop tracks to its Top 40/dance playlist in
February ,
1998 , and was rebranded ''Hits 103.5''.
On
January 1 ,
2001 , the station was rebranded in imitatation of
New York station
Z100 and became known as ''Z103.5'', though they retained their CIDC call letters.
Z103.5 is currently the only radio station in Canada that plays
Dance Music since
Energy 108 changed formats. It should be noted though, that it is also the only
Top 40 station left in Toronto after
Kiss 92 became
Jack FM in 2003. For a brief period in 2001
Foxy 88.5 also played dance music but poor ratings led it to switch to an
Oldies format.
Beginning in
2006 , Evanov will launch a
New Station in
Halifax, Nova Scotia patterned after CIDC. It will also use the Z103.5 moniker but will feature a different logo and slogan.
The station airs the
Syndicated Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 and
American Top 40 on the weekends. The ''Z103.5 Morning Show'' is hosted by Scott Fox, Melanie, and Dave Blezard.
Despite the decrease in dance music, the station's highest rated program continues to be
The Drive @ 5 Street Mix with
DJ Danny D . The show is mixed live entirely with
Vinyl . A similar show,
The Power Mix With DJ Spence Diamonds , used to air three nights a week. The show, which features urban music, was cut back to one night in the fall of
2005 .
Z103.5 also had a weekly show on Sundays called the
Freestyle Frenzy , hosted by Z103.5 veteran
Tony Monaco . It was solely a show of
Freestyle Music and mixes. It aired for many years, but in January 2004 the
Evanov Radio Group who owns the station cancelled it and made the time slot available for regular programming, and soon to be part of
Ryan Seacrest's American Top 40 countdown.
Many longtime listeners have been disappointed by the decline of dance music. Some listeners have blamed this decline on attempts by the station to appeal to former
Kiss 92 and
Flow 93.5 listeners. The station now includes more rap and hip-hop music.
The station annually hosts a number of live concert events. Past and present concerts include the Hot Rush (now Summer Rush), Euro-Freestyle Invasion (now Euro Invasion), and Partymania. Most of the concerts are sold-out because they are mostly filled with performances by dance artists that usually don't get much publicity.
The station also hosts live-to-airs from various Toronto-area nightclubs three or four nights per week. Wednesdays have been from
Club Menage since 2002. Thursdays and Fridays have been hosted by various clubs as the station looks to find new live club locations for those nights since Berlin and Plastique closed down in 2003 after many years of anchoring those nights. Saturday nights has stabilized lately at
Distrikt , after a more than decade-long run at club Paparazzi came to an end, also in 2003.
