On Wednesday, shortly before 5:00 pm, Barbara Mandrell’s “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” signalled the end of B-103’s (CKOV-FM) Kelowna 2½ year country format. Now, it’s Q-103 (CKQQ-FM) with a Hot AC format, targeting females 25-44. First song was Sheryl Crow’s “A Change Would Do You Good”.
VP/GM Bruce Davis of Jim Pattison Broadcast’s Kelowna stations, says the switch caused a storm of protest from loyal Country listeners. “You do not announce format changes in advance, so the flip came as a total surprise to our listeners. There’s a sense of loss. I spent the entire day on the phone”, he said.

Further, Davis made the point that while Country listeners are extremely loyal, the numbers weren’t enough to make CKOV commercially viable. There are seven Kelowna stations competing for listeners and ad dollars.

Q-103 is running commercial-free and without a news package until Feb. 8 when the new on-air line-up takes effect. Steve Thompson, in from BOB FM Winnipeg joins Heather Adams in the morning. Troy Scott moves from mornings to afternoons. Drew Ferreira, most recently having worked at stations in Barrie and Cornwall, is doing mid-days. Check out their new website and listen online here