CBW (AM)

CBW
Broadcast area Southern Manitoba
Branding CBC Radio One
Frequency 990 kHz (AM)
First air date 1923
Format public broadcasting
ERP 50,000 watts
Class A
Callsign meaning Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Winnipeg
Owner Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Website CBC Manitoba

CBW is the callsign of the CBC Radio One station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The station broadcasts at AM 990, and this frequency functions as a Class A clear channel under former North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement allocations.

Contents

History

The station first aired in 1923 as CKY, owned and operated by the Manitoba Telephone System. It became a partial affiliate of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1933, and was purchased outright by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1948. The station adopted its current callsign a few months after the CBC purchase, and the CKY callsign was reassigned to a new commercial radio station.

It was part of the Trans-Canada Network, which was the main CBC radio network, while CKRC carried programming from the Dominion Network between January 1, 1944 and 1962.

The transmitter was originally located in Carman, Manitoba. On February 3, 1952, a small plane with 3 passengers struck the Carman tower, due to heavy fog. None of the passengers survived.[1] In November 1964, CBC opened a centralized antenna, and transferred the CBW-AM signal to Starbuck, Manitoba. On October 15, 1993, CBW began broadcasting from a transmitter site in Springstein, Manitoba, while the 98.3 FM signal remained at the Starbuck tower.

CBW moved from the 3rd floor of the Telephone Building on Portage Avenue East to their current location at 541 Portage Ave, activating their new equipment on July 5, 1953,[2] and officially opening on September 25, 1953. Over the next week the station held Open House tours of the station. The building cost $1 million to construct and was state of the art at the time.[3]

Today, CBW shares this same location with CBW-FM and CBWT.

On March 16, 2006, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application by the station to implement a new FM transmitter in Winnipeg itself to simulcast the AM programming due to poor AM coverage in parts of the city. CBW-1-FM 89.3 operates from a transmitter atop the Richardson Building. Its effective radiated power is 2,800 watts. The main CBW transmitter site is west of Winnipeg, south of White Plains, Manitoba on Highway 424.

The call sign CBW was previously used by the CBC Radio station in Windsor, Ontario in 1937-38 until it was shutdown.

Local programming

CBW's local programs are Information Radio in the mornings, Radio Noon and Up to Speed in the afternoons. and the weekend morning show on Saturdays and Sundays and the arts and culture show The 204 at 5:00 PM on Saturdays An ongoing series, Urban Myths and Urban Myths: The Workplace Edition, features Winnipeg neighbourhoods and local organizations.

CBWK-FM Thompson and its rebroadcasters also air programming from the CBC Manitoba studio in Winnipeg.

Rebroadcasters

CBW has the following rebroadcasters:

Current CBW personalities

Former CBW personalities

CRTC licensing

See also

References

  1. ^ "Small Plane Hits CBW Tower in Carman, Manitoba". Winnipeg Free Press. February 4, 1952. p. 1. 
  2. ^ "New CBC Nerve Centre Springs to Life Sunday". Winnipeg Free Press. July 1, 1953. p. 3. 
  3. ^ "Official Opening CBC Building". Winnipeg Free Press. September 24, 1953. p. 14. 

External links