| City of license | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
|---|---|
| Branding | 102.3 Clear FM |
| Slogan | Winnipeg's Best Music Mix |
| Frequency | 102.3 MHz (FM) |
| First air date | December 31, 1949 (as 580 CKY) January 21, 2004 (as 102.3 Clear FM) |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| ERP | 70,000 watts |
| Callsign meaning | randomly assigned |
| Owner | Rogers Radio |
| Sister stations | CITI-FM |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 102.3 Clear FM |
CKY-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a adult contemporary format on 102.3 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is owned by Rogers Radio, and shares studios with sister station CITI-FM. CKY-FM competes with Hot 103 and Energy 106.
CKY-FM has been the callsign of three radio stations in Winnipeg. The original CKY was formed in 1923 by the Government of Manitoba and operated by the Manitoba Telephone System. [1] The Provincial Government ran the station and in the station's early years, CKY would turn over its signal to the Canadian National Railway and the frequency would be identified as CNRW. When the Federal Government took over operations of the CNR Network in the 1930s, CKY continued the relationship and much of CKY's programing originated with the CRBC (which later became the CBC). In June 1948, CKY was purchased by the CBC and was renamed CBW. On the last day of 1949, Lloyd Moffat resurrected the CKY call letters to begin the second incarnation of CKY.
The current CKY-FM was established in 1949 by Moffat Communications as CKY-AM, broadcasting at AM 580. The station featured a Top 40 format for much of its broadcast life, which gradually shifted into an Oldies format in the 1980s. In 1963, Moffatt also established the first CKY-FM, at 92.1 on the FM dial and for a period of time was the most powerful radio station in North America broadcasting at 360,000 watts. In 1978, CKY-FM was re-branded as CITI-FM. A 1980 article in the Free Press said that both CFRW and CKY-AM want to broadcast in AM stereo. CKY chose the failed Kahn-Hazeltine system.[2]
In 1992, both CKY-AM and CITI-FM were sold to Rogers Communications. In 1994, Rogers applied to the CRTC to convert CKY-AM to the FM band, due to lack of advertisers. However, due to the success of CKY's "Don Percy and Friends" morning show, which featured numerous "info chats" from businesses, the station managed to make a considerable profit. As a result, Rogers held off the conversion to FM until 2004. On January 21, 2004, Rogers converted CKY-AM to FM, where it broadcasts at 102.3 FM, with an EIRP of 70,000 watts.[3] and has retained the CKY-FM calls. The current CKY-FM broadcasts an adult contemporary (AC) format with the on-air brand name 102.3 Clear FM. The 580 frequency went silent in Winnipeg. However, CKY-FM gave adult contemporary rivalry with longtime AC station CILT-FM of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is also the first adult contemporary station licensed in Winnipeg since the flip of CFWM-FM from adult contemporary to adult hits in 2002. CKY-FM's adult contemporary format persuaded CILT-FM of Steinbach, Manitoba flipping to hot adult contemporary as Mix 96 in 2006.
"Jay & Billie Jo" were the first morning show signed on to the newly branded station in May 2004. They continue to broadcast live from 5:30 - 9 weekday mornings. The 2 had worked together previously in Saskatoon as the morning duo on what was then Hot93 FM (CFQC; now 92.9 The Bull).
In 2005, CJML a low-power temporary radio station station which had no ownership affiliation with CKY launched in Winnipeg at 580 kHz. This station is used for special events. The call sign of CJML stood for "Come Journey Down Memory Lane". Since then, the station has been on the air from time to time for other events and it's uncertain if the station is still broadcasting.[4]
As of September 21, 2008, CKY-FM is the only "Clear FM" station since the Vancouver Clear FM flipped to classic hits. All major Western Canada markets (Vancouver's CHQM-FM, Calgary's CHFM-FM & Edmonton's CKEA-FM) out of the top-10 Canadian markets would have only one adult contemporary station, including CKY-FM Winnipeg.
A new logo for CKY-FM was unveiled late June 2011, and the station moved in a more rhythmic direction (like sister CHFM-FM Calgary), but is still reported as adult contemporary per Mediabase & Nielsen BDS.
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