“This Jack has hit the road,” reads a message on the website of the Smiths Falls-based radio station JACK 92.3.
Local fans were dismayed to learn that the station, owned by Rogers Sports & Media, had been shut down as of Dec. 3. In place of the adult hits format the station had broadcast since 2004, listeners tuning into 92.3 began hearing country music instead.
According to a news release posted on the website of the Rogers-owned Ottawa radio station 1310 NEWS, the change is part of a major reorganization undertaken by Rogers, a Toronto-based media company founded in 1960.
As of Dec. 3, 1310 NEWS has become CityNews, and will be “heard throughout Ottawa and the Valley” by simulcasting on 101.1 FM. The 101.1 FM frequency was formerly used by Country 101. According to CityNews, Country 101 “has now moved down the dial to 92.3 FM, where Jack FM used to be found, and will now be Country 92.3 FM giving fans the same great music and listening experience.”
Smiths Falls listeners disappointed in the format change are being encouraged to tune into Jack’s “brother station,” Jack 102.2, located in London, Ontario.
This move leaves Smiths Falls without a local radio station for the first time since the 1950s. The local country music station operated as CJET until it was purchased by Rogers in 1999.