Vancouver once again has a Peak on the radio dial.
After two years as Now! 102.7 FM, the Jim Pattison Group-owned radio station is once again The Peak; the brand and format was flipped almost two years ago, with The Peak moving to HD Radio before laying off the last of its on-air staff in January of 2023.
On Friday, June 7, The Peak returned to Vancouver airwaves with a variety of alternative rock including Arkells, Twenty One Pilots, and July Talk. Hosts that had been on Now! are now hosts on The Peak.
Now! was an adult-contemporary station that advertised hosts would have the freedom to play and say what they wanted; it followed two other similar stations in Edmonton and Winnipeg (which are still broadcasting).
A press release announcing the change states The Peak had a "detour and some valuable lessons learned" while on HD Radio.
"Now restored to its home on FM at 102.7, while also remaining on HD, The Peak will continue with the very best Alternative music from the 2000s to now," states the release.
While some took to social media to celebrate the return of The Peak, others criticized the back and forth of the Pattison-owned broadcaster including former hosts Casey Jo Loos on Reddit and Charis Hogg on Twitter.
"This is deplorable. Execs at Pattison played with people’s lives and livelihoods with the Now experiment," wrote Hogg. "They wasted millions and put workers through hell. We knew it wouldn’t work."
"This is gross and sad and anyone involved in this decision in any way should be sat down and shamed," wrote another person on Twitter/X.
"Not really a fan of it anymore. They also seem to treat their host[s] like garbage. I kinda hope they fail again!!" wrote a person on Reddit.
