CKPK-FM
Alternative Rock 102.7 The Peak | |
Ownership | |
---|---|
Owner |
|
CJJR-FM | |
History | |
First air date | 1923 November 2008 (as CKPK-FM) | (as CFXC AM)
Former call signs | CFXC (1923–1926) CJOR (1926–1988) CHRX (1988–1994) CKBD (1994–2008) |
Former frequencies | 440 metres (1923–1925) 1030 kHz (1925–1930) 1210 kHz (1930–1933) 600 kHz (1933–2008) 100.5 MHz (2008–2012) |
Call sign meaning | CK PeaK (former branding) |
Technical information | |
Class | C |
ERP | 70,000 watts |
HAAT | 682.4 metres (2,239 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 49°21′15″N 122°57′30″W / 49.3543°N 122.9583°W |
Links | |
Webcast | FM/HD1: 102.7 Now Radio Listen Live HD2: The Peak Listen Live |
Website | FM/HD1: 1027nowradio.com HD2: thepeak.fm |
CKPK-FM (102.7
The station first signed on with an experimental license in 1923 as CFXC, and was renamed CJOR in 1926. It moved to its long-time home of 600 AM in 1930. CJOR operated as the Vancouver affiliate of the CBC's Dominion Network from 1944 through the network's closure in 1962. It was later acquired by Jim Pattison after the death of its previous owner George Clarke Chandler. In November 2008, after over 80 years as an AM station, the station, adult standards CKBD, moved to FM as adult album alternative (AAA) 100.5 The Peak. In 2012, the station moved once again to 102.7 FM. Ten years later in 2022, the rock format was moved to HD Radio in favour of its current format.
History
Early years
In 1923, the station was originally launched by the electrical store Hume and Rumble as experimental station CFXC. It broadcast on 440
CJOR increased its transmission power to 1,000 watts in 1941, moving its transmitter site to Lulu Island. (After the station switched to FM in 2008, CISL moved to the Lulu Island location, making it the oldest broadcasting site in the Vancouver radio market in continuous operation.)
CBC Dominion Network
In 1944, CJOR became the Vancouver network affiliate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) Dominion Network. It increased power again in 1947, this time to 5,000 watts, using two 280-foot towers at a site in Richmond. That same year, Chandler established "CJOR Ltd." to run the station.
In 1961, CJOR further increased power to 10,000 watts, using a three tower array. It became an independent station the following year after CBC ceased the Dominion Network's operations.
New ownership
Following George Chandler's death in 1964, the Jim Pattison Group acquired the station the following year. The Board of Broadcast Governors (predecessor of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC) had decided not to allow the station parent CJOR Ltd. to renew the license. CJOR Ltd. was then owned by Chandler's widow Marie. The Board of Governors requested that a new buyer for CJOR be found. By the 1970s, the station shifted its focus away from music to talk radio, with such colourful and opinionated personalities as Jack Webster, Pat Burns, and eventually, former British Columbia premier Dave Barrett.
On October 31, 1983, with the pending demolition of the Grosvenor Hotel on Howe Street, CJOR relocated from the hotel's basement to its present studios at 1401 West 8th Avenue. On September 2, 1988, at noon, CJOR dropped its
Sports and Christian programming
To remedy the ratings loss, in 1993, the station added
On January 9, at Noon, it switched formats and call signs again, becoming CKBD with the on-air brand The Bridge as Canada's first Contemporary Christian music station. The first song on "The Bridge" was "Awesome God" by Rich Mullins.[2] On July 31, 1998, the station changed to an adult standards format as 600 AM with the slogan "Unforgettable Adult Favourites".
Switch to FM, The Peak
On May 30, 2008, CKBD was given approval by the CRTC to move to 100.5
CKPK-FM received a new competitor on Canada Day, 2009, when CHHR-FM began airing a AAA format. CHHR (now CHLG-FM) would change formats to classic hits on June 20, 2014.
Move to 102.7
On December 9, 2010, the Jim Pattison Group applied to exchange frequencies with non-commercial community radio station CFRO-FM, which then operated at 102.7 MHz.[6] The application was approved on September 9, 2011.[7] The swap took place almost a year later on September 10, 2012.[8]
During the summer of 2015, CKPK began evolving towards a more modern rock format. Eventually, CKPK began reporting on the Mediabase Canadian alternative rock panel.
Now! Radio
On July 22, 2022, it was announced that CKPK would drop its rock format on July 25, with its existing Peak format and programming moving to an
On July 25, the station rebranded as 102.7 Now! Radio, featuring an
Past station logos
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1972 CJOR logo.
-
The New 600 AM logo in 1998.
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600 AM logo from 2008.
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100.5 The Peak Logo 2008–2012.
References
- ^ Historical information on CFXC Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine at Canadian Communications Foundation
- ^ "Birth of the Bridge: Remembering a Format Flip from Yesteryear". 26 June 2014.
- ^ "ARCHIVED - Licensing of new radio stations to serve the Vancouver radio market". 30 May 2008.
- ^ "600 CKBD Signs-Off". 13 November 2012.
- ^ "100.5 the Peak Debuts". 15 November 2008.
- ^ Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-928
- ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-580
- ^ The PEAK (is moving to a stronger frequency) TV Commercial Contest[permanent dead link]
- ^ Connie Thiessen, "Pattison to relaunch Vancouver’s 102.7 The PEAK on HD Radio". Broadcast Dialogue, July 22, 2022.
- ^ a b "102.7 Now Radio Debuts in Vancouver". RadioInsight. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ "Vancouver radio station 102.7 FM is mixing things up as NOW!radio". vancouversun. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
- ^ Venta, Lance (June 30, 2022). "Rogers Launches Sonic Radio Vancouver". RadioInsight. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (2023-01-12). "Vancouver's The Peak lays off talent as HD Radio experiment slow to gain traction". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
External links
- 102.7 Now! Radio
- CKPK-FM at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation
- CJOR/CKBD history at Vancouver Radio Museum
- CKPK-FM in the REC Canadian station database