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Jack FM
Jack FM is a radio network brand that is licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs.
Stations using the "Jack" name are strictly licensed by SparkNet Communications. There are several terms that each station must agree to, including operating without disc jockeys for at least the first few months of the format. SparkNet has been protective of its format, unsuccessfully filing trademark infringement suits against Bonneville International for its use of the Jack FM service-marked slogan "Playing What We Want" and other similar phrases. For this reason, many stations airing a Jack-like format use slightly different slogans to avoid infringing on SparkNet's service marks: WBEN-FM in Philadelphia uses the tagline "Playing anything we feel like." On WLKO "102.9 The Lake" in Charlotte, North Carolina, the tagline is "We Play Anything". During its run as "Doug FM", WDRQ in Detroit used the line "93.1 DOUG FM – We Play...EVERYTHING!"
Most stations in the United States use Howard Cogan and Andrew Anthony (best known as the voices of GEICO and EA Sports, respectively) as the voice of "Jack", while stations in Canada use Greg Beharrell. All Jack FM stations in the United Kingdom used former Blake's 7 actor Paul Darrow as the voice of Jack.[citation needed] In place of DJs, the Jack character makes sarcastic or ironic remarks and quips, often using self-deprecating humor.
Each September, all Jack FM stations ask listeners to visit a certain link to evaluate which songs should be played on the radio and which ones should be swapped.
In 2000, the first originator of New York's Jack FM format was radio programmer Bob Perry, the president of Big Sticks Broadcasting Corp., on a United States–based Internet radio stream. Perry named the station after a fictitious persona, "Cadillac Jack" Garrett, "a hard-living radio cowboy". The back story created by Perry for the original web stream was that Garrett, a disc jockey who had worked many "big sticks", finally got his own radio station, and after years of being told what he was to play on-air was creating a station where the motto was "playing what we want".
Rogers Communications claims that the only thing taken without permission, for the Jack FM radio station, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was the name and the tagline. Pat Cardinal, one of the first Jack program directors, says that he was unaware of the type of music on the American website and that "Jack" was one of several names that were considered for the format. Rogers Communications came to an agreement with Perry for the use of the Jack FM name in Canada soon after the launch. The original web stream is still live to this day.
Jack was also inspired by the success of CHUM Limited's "Bob FM" brand on CFWM radio in Winnipeg. Program director Howard Kroeger was inspired to create Bob FM after hearing a mixtape at a friend's 40th birthday party. Other Canadian broadcasters copied the concept as well, adopting such brands as Corus Entertainment's "Dave FM" and "Joe FM". In 2003, an Ottawa station launched "Frank FM" as a one-day Halloween prank. (The prank's name was possibly also inspired by the Canadian satirical magazine Frank, and probably the New England stations known as Frank FM.)
Beginning in late 2002, several Canadian radio stations owned by Rogers Communications starting using the format. The first Jack station was Vancouver's CKLG-FM, which quickly shot to the top of the city's BBM radio ratings. The format was consequently adopted on other Rogers stations in 2002 and 2003. The format proved popular in many markets where it was introduced, although its success was not always as dramatic as it had been in Vancouver.
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Jack FM
Jack FM is a radio network brand that is licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs.
Stations using the "Jack" name are strictly licensed by SparkNet Communications. There are several terms that each station must agree to, including operating without disc jockeys for at least the first few months of the format. SparkNet has been protective of its format, unsuccessfully filing trademark infringement suits against Bonneville International for its use of the Jack FM service-marked slogan "Playing What We Want" and other similar phrases. For this reason, many stations airing a Jack-like format use slightly different slogans to avoid infringing on SparkNet's service marks: WBEN-FM in Philadelphia uses the tagline "Playing anything we feel like." On WLKO "102.9 The Lake" in Charlotte, North Carolina, the tagline is "We Play Anything". During its run as "Doug FM", WDRQ in Detroit used the line "93.1 DOUG FM – We Play...EVERYTHING!"
Most stations in the United States use Howard Cogan and Andrew Anthony (best known as the voices of GEICO and EA Sports, respectively) as the voice of "Jack", while stations in Canada use Greg Beharrell. All Jack FM stations in the United Kingdom used former Blake's 7 actor Paul Darrow as the voice of Jack.[citation needed] In place of DJs, the Jack character makes sarcastic or ironic remarks and quips, often using self-deprecating humor.
Each September, all Jack FM stations ask listeners to visit a certain link to evaluate which songs should be played on the radio and which ones should be swapped.
In 2000, the first originator of New York's Jack FM format was radio programmer Bob Perry, the president of Big Sticks Broadcasting Corp., on a United States–based Internet radio stream. Perry named the station after a fictitious persona, "Cadillac Jack" Garrett, "a hard-living radio cowboy". The back story created by Perry for the original web stream was that Garrett, a disc jockey who had worked many "big sticks", finally got his own radio station, and after years of being told what he was to play on-air was creating a station where the motto was "playing what we want".
Rogers Communications claims that the only thing taken without permission, for the Jack FM radio station, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was the name and the tagline. Pat Cardinal, one of the first Jack program directors, says that he was unaware of the type of music on the American website and that "Jack" was one of several names that were considered for the format. Rogers Communications came to an agreement with Perry for the use of the Jack FM name in Canada soon after the launch. The original web stream is still live to this day.
Jack was also inspired by the success of CHUM Limited's "Bob FM" brand on CFWM radio in Winnipeg. Program director Howard Kroeger was inspired to create Bob FM after hearing a mixtape at a friend's 40th birthday party. Other Canadian broadcasters copied the concept as well, adopting such brands as Corus Entertainment's "Dave FM" and "Joe FM". In 2003, an Ottawa station launched "Frank FM" as a one-day Halloween prank. (The prank's name was possibly also inspired by the Canadian satirical magazine Frank, and probably the New England stations known as Frank FM.)
Beginning in late 2002, several Canadian radio stations owned by Rogers Communications starting using the format. The first Jack station was Vancouver's CKLG-FM, which quickly shot to the top of the city's BBM radio ratings. The format was consequently adopted on other Rogers stations in 2002 and 2003. The format proved popular in many markets where it was introduced, although its success was not always as dramatic as it had been in Vancouver.