About The Bay
Hunters Bay Radio (The Bay 88.7FM) is Muskoka’s not-for-profit Community Radio Station and the only radio station in Muskoka that is truly locally owned. We operate with a contingent of over 60 staff and volunteers. We fill a void in the local media by providing a wide variety of music and community programming, not otherwise available in the region.
Our eclectic music mix has been widely accepted by listeners all over the region and around the world who love the variety and the fact that they never know what they will hear next.
Our community programming comes from our studios in Huntsville, and Gravenhurst, Ontario. We're in the process of building a new studio in Bracebridge and hope to begin providing community content from there in 2020.
We operate on a show format, meaning that our music changes with every show, so there's something for everyone. Check our schedule for all of the shows we broadcast. We offer the widest variety in music with a focus on new emerging artists and old favourites, but tend to stay away from Top 40. Our specialty music shows on weeknights and weekends offer a glimpse into the widest variety of genres and interests. It's a music lover's dream.
Our talk programming, *Muskoka Magazine*, runs the gamut of topics that are of interest to our listeners. We have been compared and referred to as a "local CBC", while others in the business have called us the “best community radio station in the country”.
A survey recently undertaken shows that we have acquired a large listener base, aged 25 to 65, wherein 60% are female with higher than average incomes. Our listeners told us that they switched from other commercial stations in the region, as well as CBC 1 & 2, and that they prefer to listen to Hunters Bay Radio.
We have been featured on CBC’s "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", on CPAC, and most recently, we were profiled in The Globe & Mail and The National Post.
We launched our FM broadcast service in 2014, and joined the online community in 2009, gaining listeners from all over the world and right here at home. Our online service remains dominant to this day, with the largest online reach of any local media outlet including the web, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our newest technology is our Studio Textline.
We service the Almaguin Highlands, the District of Muskoka, Algonquin Park, and parts of the Parry Sound District.
CKAR 88.7 FM is owned and operated as a not-for-profit organization and governed according to the by-laws of Hunters Bay Radio Inc.
Membership is open to anyone whose application meets the conditions outlined in the by-laws, and who submits the appropriate fees.
CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
President & Managing Director: Jeff Carter
Treasurer: Jamie Oppenheimer
Secretary: James Dahlke
Directors:
Grant Nickalls, Phil Ward, Britta Gerwin, Steve Spencer, Ben Harrison, Wally Lennox, Hon. Tony Clement
