CKLG-FM

CKLG-FM (identified on air and in print as 96.9 Jack FM) is a Canadian radio station in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia. It broadcasts at 96.9 MHz on the FM band with an effective radiated power of 75,000 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour in the District of North Vancouver. The station also operates a 1,430 watt repeater (CKLG-FM-1, 96.9 MHz) in Whistler, British Columbia.^[1] Studios are located in downtown Vancouver, and the station is currently owned by Rogers Communications.

Format

CKLG was the first conventional radio station in North America to adopt the Jack FM brand, officially classified as a "variety hits" or "adult hits" format. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s to 1990s hits, as well as some current adult contemporary singles. It uses the slogan "Playing what we want", promoting itself as having a larger and more varied playlist than other commercial radio stations.

History

In 1980, Selkirk Communications launched CJAZ-FM at 92.1 MHz FM in Vancouver, with an all-jazz music format, transmitting from Salt Spring Island at a power of 100,000 watts. Although overall regional coverage was very good, poor stereo reception in the key Vancouver area led the station to change frequencies and transmitter site to 96.9 MHz and Mt Seymour in 1984, transmitting at 75,000 watts. Low ratings led to a format change on September 15, 1985, when the station adopted an urban adult contemporary format (the first in Canada), rebranded as FM 97 and the call sign was changed to CKKS-FM. This was followed about a year later by a switch to the "adult contemporary music" format and another on-air rebranding as "97 Kiss FM". Four years later, the station was sold to Maclean-Hunter Ltd, and in 1994 it became a part of Rogers Broadcasting. The adult contemporary format would also arrive on CHQM-FM, which dropped its easy listening format in 1992, and surpassed CKKS as Vancouver's leading AC station, becoming Vancouver's most-listened-to FM station later on.

In 1988, West Coast Community T.V. Association received CRTC approval to add a very low-power transmitter at 102.7 MHz in Ucluelet to rebroadcast the programming of CKKS-FM. ^[2] The call sign for the Ucluelet transmitter is CIWC-FM.

In 2002, the station's adult contemporary playlist was dropped in favour of Christmas music, followed by the "Jack FM" adult hits format on Boxing Day. It ended the 10-year adult contemporary war in Vancouver. Given the "attitude" inherent in the Jack brand, it was felt that the call sign "CKKS" would maintain an undesirable association with Kiss-FM's "soft favourites" identity. As it turned out, in 2001 Corus Entertainment had abandoned the old CKLG call sign formerly assigned to one of its Vancouver AM stations (Mojo AM 730). Rogers applied to transfer these letters to Jack FM, and the station's call sign became CKLG-FM. This was in part an attempt to trade on CKLG-AM's history as a popular Vancouver music station in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The move was successful, as Jack-FM's ratings increased dramatically, at one point briefly surpassing traditional market leader CKNW before settling into the upper rankings in the Vancouver market. The CKKS callsign was subsequently given to a Sechelt rebroadcaster of CISQ-FM in Squamish, British Columbia.

In 2005, some members of Vancouver's Indo-Canadian community accused the station of racial insensitivity with regards to its advertising strategy.^{[3] [4]} The ads in question featured Vijay Chandra, a Fijian radio engineer for the station with a strong Indian accent, singing to promote Jack-FM's "Larry and Willy show".^[5] The complaints stem from a perception that viewers are intended to laugh at Chandra's accent, rather than at the ad copy itself, and that similar lyrics performed without an accent would not be considered humorous.

Coincidentally, the Jack FM format was cloned on a Calgary radio station April 1, 2003, on the same station also on the 96.9 frequency and also owned by Rogers Media. The station was formerly urban CHRK (Kiss FM), as the station changed calls to CKIS-FM and later to CJAQ-FM (after swapping callsigns with 96.9 Jack FM Calgary when Toronto's Jack FM flipped back to top 40 as Kiss FM). As a result, Jack FM Toronto was the third Jack FM outlet in Canada.

Notes

• The station incorrectly broadcasts the callsign CKHK-FM via Radio Data System.

References

1. ^ Decision CRTC 2000-405
2. ^ Decision CRTC 88-18
3. ^ http://www.voiceonline.com/voice/050402/headline2.php
4. ^ http://www.voiceonline.com/voice/050416/headline7.php
5. ^ 96.9 jackfm.com

External links

• 96.9 Jack FM
• CKLG-FM history at Canadian Communications Foundation
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CKLG-FM
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CIWC-FM