CKFG-FM

CKFG-FM
City 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 AC
ERP 446 watts average
1,000 watts peak
HAAT 276.6 metres
Class B1
Callsign meaning CK-Fitzroy-Gordon
Owner Fitzroy Gordon
(Intercity Broadcasting)
Webcast Listen Live
Website g987fm.com

CKFG-FM is a Canadian radio station which broadcasts an urban adult contemporary format at 98.7 FM in Toronto, Ontario. CKFG's studios are located on Kern Road in the Don Mills neighbourhood of North York, while its transmitter is located at the top of First Canadian Place in Downtown Toronto.

The station is targeted to the local Black Canadian community and began broadcasting on October 3, 2011. The station airs a mix of R&B, soul music, reggae, soca, hip hop, world beat, gospel, and smooth jazz that targets the 25-54 age demographic within the Caribbean and African communities.

History

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]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".

G98.7 original logo

On November 28, 2011, at 6 AM, 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 African and Caribbean communities. Virtually during the same time CKFG-FM signed on the air, its rival CFXJ-FM flipped from rhythmic contemporary back to urban contemporary (that station has reverted to Rhythmic Top 40 as of December 2012, then it switched to Classic Hip-Hop in late 2014, and switched again to Rhythmic AC in February 2016). Ironically, because there are no other R&B/Hip-Hop or Adult R&B outlets in Canada, the only major music chart CKFG reports to is the BDS Canadian Top 40 chart panel.[4]

The station's signal covers most of the city of Toronto, and extends towards Milton, Oakville, Brampton, Aurora, and Pickering. However, in the northeastern part of the GTA, particularly in the Scarborough area, reception of CKFG is often impacted by CBLA-FM's repeater in Peterborough. To try and remedy this interference in Scarborough and in Durham Region, Intercity applied for a re-broadcaster on 102.7 mHz as part of the CRTC's call for applications of new radio stations in May 2014. The CRTC declined the request on November 5, 2014, and instead awarded a new license to East FM, who will launch CJRK-FM on that frequency.[5]

In 2012, Intercity Broadcasting was one of 27 applicants for the 88.1 frequency vacated by the revocation in early 2011 of CKLN-FM's license,[6] applying to move CKFG-FM to the 88.1 frequency.[7] The bid was unsuccessful and the CRTC awarded the frequency to CIND-FM.

On October 21, 2014, it was announced that Gordon was granted a licence by the CRTC to launch a national Black/Caribbean television station. It will be the second Black Canadian television service after FEVA TV, which launched in August 2014 and targets African-Canadians.[8][9][10]

References

Coordinates: 43°44′59″N 79°21′05″W / 43.7496°N 79.3514°W / 43.7496; -79.3514

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