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Broadcast area | Nipissing District |
---|---|
Frequency | 90.5 MHz (FM) |
Branding | Country 90.5 |
Programming | |
Format | Country |
Ownership | |
Owner | Vista Radio |
CFXN-FM | |
History | |
First air date | June 15, 2021 |
Technical information | |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 45,800 kWs |
HAAT | 145.5 meters (477 ft) |
Links | |
Website | mynorthbaynow.com/on-air/cfch/ |
CFCH-FM (90.5 FM) is a Canadian radio station in North Bay, Ontario. Owned by Vista Radio, it broadcasts a country format branded as Country 90.5.
History
On September 27, 2018, the CRTC issued call applications to operate new operate a new commercial FM radio station to serve North Bay, Ontario. Vista Broadcast Group, the owner of CFXN-FM North Bay submitted an application to operate a new FM station in North Bay on the frequency of 90.5 MHz.[1] At the time, no formats were announced for the new proposed station. On October 29, 2019, Vista Radio Ltd. (formerly Vista Broadcast Group) applied for a broadcasting licence to operate an oldies music station in North Bay. The station would operate with an effective radiated power of 45,800 watts, and would broadcast 126 hours of local programming per broadcast week.[2]
On May 25, 2020, the CRTC approved an application by Vista Radio for a new FM radio station in North Bay, which would operate on the frequency 90.5 MHz, and carry an oldies format.[3]
Return of CFCH and Launch
In June 2020, Vista announced that it had acquired the heritage callsign CFCH, which once belonged to what is now Rogers-owned CKFX-FM. Vista Radio's owner Sherry Brydson is a granddaughter of CFCH's original owner Roy Thomson, and she described the station as being established in Thomson's legacy.[4] From 2005 to 2014, the CFCH callsign was previously used at an unrelated radio station in Chase, British Columbia.
On June 15, 2021, at 7:15 am ET, CFCH-FM officially signed on the air at 90.5 FM as Country 90.5. Its first song on the air was "Outlaws and Outsiders," the first gold-certified single by North Bay’s Cory Marks.[5] [6]
This makes it the first country music station on FM in the North Bay market since CKAT took over the original CFCH's AM 600 frequency, and CFCH moved to 101.9 FM, adopting the new callsign CKFX in the 1990s. The launch of Vista Radio's new Country 90.5 also makes Rogers Media's CKAT the second country radio station in the North Bay market with the similar branding of CKAT's Country 600.
References
- ^ Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2018-380, Call for comments on market capacity and the appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications to serve North Bay, Ontario, CRTC, September 27, 2018
- ^ Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2019-358, Vista Radio Ltd. North Bay, Ontario Application 2018-0329-7, CRTC, October 29, 2019
- ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2020-05-25). "English-language FM radio station in North Bay". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
- ^ "New radio station reaches back in City history for iconic call letters". BayToday.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
- ^ Oschefski returns to morning radio with launch of new FM station, baytoday.ca, June 15, 2021
- ^ The return of CFCH, North Bay Nugget, June 15, 2021
External links
- Country 90.5
- CFCH-FM at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation
- CFCH-FM in the REC Canadian station database