Canada's BIGgest Online radio station moving to Souris

Selkirk’s BIG FM, Canada’s biggest online-only radio station boasting 300,000 listeners, is set to move to Souris in August.

“I had been on Brandon radio between September 1988 and September 1998, and this kind of feels like a little bit of a homecoming,” said Ray Walker, BIG FM President.

Walker will be moving to be married, and bringing the station with him.

BIG FM started off primarily focusing on getting Selkirk Steelers junior hockey games broadcast over the internet. Since getting on the internet airwaves, BIG FM has grown in popularity, broadcasting from many big events, such as the 2007 RBC National Junior Hockey Championship, the 2008 Western Canadian Junior B Hockey Championship, and the 2009 Telus Cup National Midget Hockey Championship. The hockey broadcasts of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the Keystone Junior Hockey League were very well received and are a big part of why the radio station is so successful. BIG FM will hope to continue that in broadcasts of the Southwest Cougars and Brandon Midget Wheat Kings of the Manitoba Major Hockey League, the Souris Elks of the Tiger Hills Hockey League, Sabres and Vipers high school sports, and hopefully some summer sports like football and Cardinals baseball.

“More and more people are following professional hockey and other sports through the internet, why not make the smaller leagues accessible the same way?” asks Souris Mayor Darryl Jackson, “it’s definitely a good thing, and new businesses are always welcome.”

The radio station plays a unique blend of pop, rock, and country music.

“A number of former Brandon radio personalities have touched base with us and have indicated an interest in helping out with the radio station once it is back on-line. Our intention for BIG FM is to be a community portal from Souris with the world checking in on us from time to time,” said Walker.

There is no plan in place for BIG FM to become an over-the-air radio station, as Walker says Brandon has many radio stations that already provide that service to Westman.

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