Is Vancouver about to see a return of XFM?

Rumors have been swirling about the future of Sonic in Vancouver, especially after the last original on air host Alex Carr was let go. Currently there is only one host listed on the website and that is Darren Worts who is listed in the 12-6 slot but is actually on air from 6-12 Monday to Friday. Every single person that was hired for the original lineup of Sonic has been let go from Rogers and Christian Hall who helped launch the station is no longer at Rogers.

Recently I discovered that the domain 1049xfm.com was recently registered and the info was redacted for privacy which usually happens prior to a format change. Yes, I understand the Sonic and the trio of stations is actually licensed to Chilliwack at 107.5 but Rogers could launch it as XFM 104.9 and as a Vancouver station but then still incorporate the 107.5 frequency while also adding local traffic and news for Chilliwack and Abbotsford (92.5).

For a while Rogers was running the ResurreXtion Radio show on both Saturday and Sunday as a way to test maybe a classic format. My thought with the possible return of XFM would be to have an on air lineup of Danger and Jason Manning, both who are working for Rogers currently. Possibly adding a specialty show hosted by Rob Pepper of the Pepper and Dylan show on Kiss Edmonton as he was an XFM original back in the day. Even if Rogers operated this station with a minimal on air lineup they could still use some of the hosts that work in Ottawa (CHEZ) and Kingston (K-Rock) and maybe a host or two from the Sonic lineup in Edmonton also. My guess is that Jason Manning would take the 6-12 show and Danger 12-6 and then maybe a host or two from other markets in the evening and on weekends.

Could this format work? I think it should have been the format originally instead of Sonic but with the Sonic lineup. Doing this now I think it can work even with less of a lineup as the original Sonic. Would this station compete with The Peak? Maybe not as The Peak focuses on newer Alternative and XFM would have an older playlist, maybe similar to Lithium on SiriusXM. But I do think that a new XFM could make waves in Vancouver and do well enough. They might even be able to take some listeners from the mighty CFOX.

Only time will tell.