| City of license | Toronto, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Toronto Area |
| Branding | G 98.7 |
| Slogan | The Way We Groove |
| Frequency | 98.7 MHz (FM) |
| First air date | October 3, 2011 |
| Format | Urban Adult Contemporary |
| Power | 446 watts |
| Class | B1 |
| Owner | Fitzroy Gordon (Intercity Broadcasting) |
| Website | G 98.7 |
CKFG-FM is a new radio station which broadcasts an Urban Adult Contemporary format on the frequency 98.7 MHz (FM) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The station will be targeted to the local Caribbean and African communities and began broadcasting on October 3, 2011.
The station was originally licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in 2006,[1] but as the proposed 98.7 frequency was second adjacent to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's CBLA-FM, the approval was made conditional on the new station's owner, Fitzroy Gordon, submitting a revised application for a different frequency.[2] Milestone Radio also filed an intervention, stating that the station's proposed format duplicated that company's Flow 93.5.[1]
The station did not file a revised application, however, and the initial authorization lapsed; instead, Gordon subsequently reapplied for the same 98.7 frequency. Accordingly, Industry Canada allowed the station to broadcast a test signal for three weeks in 2010 to determine whether the frequency could be used without impacting CBLA.[1] The test signal, a mix of reggae, rhythm and blues, hip hop, gospel and soca music, was branded as Caribbean African Radio Network, or CARN.[1]
The test found no significant interference,[1] and on June 9, 2011, Gordon's Intercity Broadcasting Network received CRTC approval to use the 98.7 frequency.[3][4] The CBC again noted its objection to the licensing of a second-adjacent frequency; four commercial broadcast groups — Rogers Media, Astral Media, Bell Media and Durham Radio — also filed comments in support of the CBC's position.
The station's call sign CKFG is named after the founder Fitzroy Gordon.
Gordon stated that the station's goal was to have at least a temporary signal on air in time for the 2011 Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival,[1] but did not immediately confirm a permanent launch date. RadioInsight revealed on October 1 that the station would begin airing on October 3. On that day, the station officially signed on the air and changed monikers to "G 98.7".
The station airs a mix of music from the genres of R&B, soul music, reggae, soca, hip hop, world beat, gospel, and smooth jazz that targets the 25-54 age demographic and targets the Caribbean and African communities.
On November 28, 2011, at 6am, the station aired its first live broadcast with the song "I Can See Clearly Now" by Jimmy Cliff, then founder Fitzroy Gordon said a prayer, before handing it over to morning hosts Mark Strong and Jemeni (both formerly of Flow 93.5). The station is also slated to air local news and sports programming, as well as talk shows relating to the Black and Caribbean communities.
The station's signal covers all of Toronto, and extends towards Hamilton, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Brampton, Aurora, and Ajax. However, in the Northeastern part of the GTA, CKFG is often interfered by CBLA-FM's repeater in Peterborough.
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