...As of 8am tomorrow, Power 97, one of the most legendary Rock stations in Western Canada, and quite possibly the best Rock station in Western Canada for a period of time (BJ/Hal, Wheeler/Hal), will be flipping to 97.5 BIG FM, a Country-format station, to try and take on ratings powerhouse QX104FM.
...As a nerd who follows this kind of thing, I don't see Winnipeg as a big enough "Country" market for 2 stations. It's been tried in the past. 103 was Country at one point, and then the terrible attempt with Hank FM that failed in virtually every market. Nobody's been able to take on QX. If anyone can do it, it's Corus Ent, who have a great track record in the Country format, in Calgary, Edmonton and some Ontario sticks...along with owning CMT, which is a big part of it, but I just don't see Winnipeg being the right sized market.
Sad to see what was once an incredible Rock station go this way, but such is the radio world in an over-saturated market with too many radio licenses handed out, and too few advertising dollars to grab. Keep throwing **** against a wall until something sticks.