CKBL-FM
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| City of license | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
|---|---|
| Branding | 92.9 The Bull |
| Frequency | 92.9 MHz FM |
| First air date |
1923 (AM) 1995 (FM) |
| Format | Country |
| Callsign meaning |
C K BULL |
| Owner | Saskatoon Media Group |
| Sister stations | CJWW, CJMK-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 92.9 The Bull |
CKBL-FM, branded as 92.9 The Bull, is a country radio station located in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The station is part of the Saskatoon Media Group, and has studios with sister stations CJWW and CJMK-FM. They are at 366 3rd Avenue South, downtown on the river.
History
The station originated on the AM dial as CFQC-AM, which began broadcasting in 1923. It was founded by electrical supply shop owners A. A. "Pappy" Murphy and David Streb. Murphy bought out Streb in 1932.
The station was an affiliate of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission from 1933 to 1936 when it affiliated with the newly formed Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It lost that affiliation in 1939 when the CBC signed on CBK as its outlet for all of southern and central Saskatchewan. In 1944 it became an affiliate of the CBC's Dominion Network until 1962 when the network was reabsorbed into the main CBC Radio network and CFQC became independent. In 1954, CFQC-TV was established by the Murphy family and became Saskatoon's first television station; initially a CBC affiliate, in the early 1970s it switched to the CTV Television Network. Both the TV and radio stations shared some on-air personal such as newsreaders.
Pappy Murphy died in 1959. His family sold CFQC-AM and TV to Baton Broadcasting in 1972, earning a handsome return on its original investment of 49 years earlier. Baton exited radio in 1991, selling CFQC to George Gallagher, at which point the radio station's ties to its TV namesake all but ended. However, only two years later, Gallagher was forced into receivership. Clint Forster, owner of CJWW, bought CFQC in 1994 and announced plans to move it to the FM band.
On February 6, 1995 at 6:06AM, CFQC left its longtime AM position at 600 and was replaced by CJWW, which moved from 750 AM. The last song played on "Hits 600" was "Stand Tall" by Burton Cummings.
At 7AM that day, CFQC-FM signed-on at 92.9 on the FM dial,[1] where it was rebranded Hot93 and switched from adult contemporary to country music, complementing CJWW's classic country format. Current owner Elmer Hildebrand bought the station in 2001. CFQC and its brand Hot 93 were retired at 6AM November 1, 2007. The final song played under the old call letters at 5:58AM was Michelle Wright's version of "Rock Me Gently"), ending an 84-year era (though the TV station would continue using CFQC). At 7 am that morning, the station changed its call letters to CKBL and its branding to "92.9 the Bull." The first song played under the new calls was Big & Rich's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." It also adopted a New Country format under the direction of program director and morning show co-host Steve "Hurricane" Huber.
The Bull's on-air lineup now consists of Mornings with Pat Dubois and Cristy Beggs, Mid-days with Kroeker, Bull on Demand from 12 - 1pm with Hudson, and Drive Time with Landen. The station is also the broadcast home of the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League.
CKBL is the former call of two stations in Kelowna, British Columbia, the FM station now known as 99.9 Sun FM and the current CKFR-AM.
References
External links
- 92.9 The Bull
- CFQC-FM history at the Canadian Communications Foundation
- Query the REC's Canadian station database for CKBL-FM
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Coordinates: 52°10′54″N 106°23′14″W / 52.18167°N 106.38722°W