watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
(directional at night)
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. CFRN is unusual in that it is a Class A (protected nighttime skywave) AM station on a regional frequency. Owned by
Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
format, branded as '' TSN 1260 Edmonton''. The station's studios are located at 18520 Stony Plain Road in Edmonton, where it shares studio space with its sister station,
CFRN-DT
CFRN-DT (channel 3) is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside cable-exclusive CTV 2 Alberta. The two outlets share studios with si ...
.
As of February 28, 2021, CFRN is the 17th-most-listened-to radio station in the Edmonton market according to a PPM data report released by
Numeris
Numeris (formerly the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, or BBM Canada) is a Canadian audience measurement organization. Established on May 11, 1944 as a division of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, Numeris is the primary provider of viewers ...
.
History
Early History
In 1927, the Christian and Missionary Alliance launched the original station as CHMA at 580 kHz. In 1934, CHMA became CFTP after Taylor & Pearson Ltd. took over the station in an agreement that allowed the Christian and Missionary Alliance to maintain airtime on Sundays.
On November 1, 1934, the first license for the CFRN call letters was issued to Dr. G. R. A. "Dick" Rice" and his company, Sunwapta Broadcasting Co. Ltd., who had recently purchased CFTP from Taylor and Pearson Ltd. after financial troubles. CFRN began broadcasting on November 3, 1934 at the 1260 kHz frequency. On September 13, 1936, the station moved to 960 kHz and remained there until 1941 when they returned to 1260 kHz, a frequency they still occupy today.
In 1944 station became a
network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
of
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
's Dominion Network. It remained an affiliate of the main CBC Radio network until 1964 when CBR launched.
FM simulcast began in 1951 on CFRN-FM which lasted until 1964 when the FM network began offering its own content. CFRN-FM became fully separate from CFRN in 1979. Sunwapta brought television to Edmonton in 1954 when
CFRN-TV
CFRN-DT (channel 3) is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside cable-exclusive CTV 2 Alberta. The two outlets share studios with siste ...
signed on.
According to the 1976 B.B.M. Weekly Reach survey, CFRN was the 4th-most-listened-to radio station in Edmonton.
Sunwapta merged with
Electrohome
Founded in 1907, Electrohome was Canada's largest manufacturer of television sets (TVs) from 1949 to 1987. The company was also involved in television broadcasting, and was a leader in data, video, graphics displays and projectors.
From 1984 to 1 ...
in 1988. Electrohome exited radio in 1996, selling CFRN to Standard Broadcasting.
On July 1, 1998, CFRN flipped from adult standards to
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...
, debuting
Standard Radio
Slaight Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. The company was formed as Slaight Broadcasting in 1971, when owner J. Allan Slaight acquired CFGM in Richmond Hill. Slaight later also acquired CFOX in Montreal and CHOK in Sar ...
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, delivered via Anik satellite. The new oldies network replaced the former Satellite Radio Network service.
Switch to sports radio
In June 2002, CFRN flipped to
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...
as ''The Team 1260'', as an affiliate of
CHUM Radio
Bell Media Radio, G.P. (formerly CHUM Radio), operating as iHeartRadio Canada, is the radio broadcasting and music events subsidiary of Canadian media conglomerate Bell Media. The company has its origins in CHUM Limited, which was acquired by ...
's The Team network. However, the network folded shortly afterwards. CFRN would maintain its branding as ''The Team'' as a locally programmed format, while adding syndicated programs such as ''
Prime Time Sports
''Prime Time Sports'' was a sports radio talk show produced from the studios of CJCL, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'', in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The show was hosted by Bob McCown until June 21, 2019 when McCown left the show. After his departure, t ...
'' and ''
The Jim Rome Show
''The Jim Rome Show'' is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific Time. The show is produced in Los Angeles, syndicated by CBS Sports Radio, and can be heard on affil ...
''. In 2007, Standard Radio was acquired by Astral Media. In turn, Astral Media was acquired by
Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
on July 5, 2013—the acquisition re-united CFRN with its television sister, and with The Team's former owned-and-operated stations.
On September 30, 2013, CFRN was re-branded as a part of Bell's
Edmonton Cracker-Cats
The Edmonton Capitals, originally the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, were a Canadian professional independent minor league baseball team that played between 2005 and 2011 in several leagues.
The Capitals are based in Edmonton, Alberta, and are currently ...
live play-by-play - Games were carried on the Team 1260 during the first two years of the franchise. Al Coates handled the play by play
* Total Sports - Hosted by Bob Stauffer; featuring the 'Total Sports Dream Team' of co-hosts
* What's Going On - Hosted by Jason Jones, Corey Graham and Nadine Woudstra
* Sports Talk - Hosted by John Short
* More on Sports - featuring play-by-play veteran Bryn Griffiths and Jake Daniels (the "voice of the fan").
* Way Offside - Hosted by Jake Daniels
* The Pipeline Show - Hockey program hosted by Global Edmonton's Dean Millard and columnist Guy Flaming
* The Ultimate Soccer Show - 3 hour Soccer program hosted by "Soccersteve" Steve O'Boyle
Live sports
CFRN is the flagship station for the following team's radio broadcasts:
*
Edmonton Oil Kings
The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers ...
Spruce Grove Saints
The Spruce Grove Saints are a junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Grant Fuhr Arena.
History
The Saints' franchise is the only franchise remaining fro ...
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...
Golden Bears football and hockey games (select games)