CFRW (1290 AM) is a

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 radio ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. 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 ...

, it is co-located with its sister stations

CKMM-FM CKMM-FM (103.1 MHz) is a Top 40/CHR radio station owned by Bell Media, branded as ''103.1 Virgin Radio''. The station broadcasts from 1445 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, with sister stations CFWM-FM and CFRW, while its transmitter is locat ...

and

CFWM-FM CFWM-FM (99.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is owned by Bell Media and airs an adult hits format branded as ''Bounce 99.9''. The studios and offices are at 1445 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg, with sister stations CKM ...

on 1445 Pembina Highway. Its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is located near Oak Bluff along Road 54 off McGillivray Boulevard.

History

Early years

On November 1, 1963, the station first signed on as CJQM. At the same time, FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

CJQM-FM also came on the air. The two stations simulcast an

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

format. CJQM-AM-FM were owned by Winnipeg Broadcast Associates Ltd. (a division of Vancouver Broadcast Associates, the original owners of CHQM and

CHQM-FM CHQM-FM (103.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Canadian radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia. It broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour and airs an adult contemporary radio format, form ...

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 ...

). CJQM originally broadcast at 1470

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

, powered at 5,000

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 Wa ...

s. Winnipeg Broadcast Associates sold both stations in 1965 to QM Winnipeg Ltd., which was later purchased by Radio Winnipeg Ltd. The call signs changed to CFRW and CFRW-FM in 1969.

Jim Pattison James Allen Pattison (born October 1, 1928) is a Canadian business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he holds the position of chief executive officer, chairman and sole owner of the Jim Pa ...

's CJOR Ltd. (the owner of Vancouver station CJOR) bought CFRW-AM-FM from the bankrupt Radio Winnipeg in 1970.

Top 40 CFRW

CFRW-AM-FM were purchased by CHUM Ltd. in 1974. CHUM got CFRW's frequency changed in 1977 to 1290 AM. The move provided a better signal, doubling the power to 10,000 watts. CHUM management also had the studios and office relocated. The station moved from the Confederation Building at 457 Main Street to the same studio across the street previously used by CKY. Meanwhile, CKY relocated to new studios in Polo Park. CFRW re-branded itself as ''13 CFRW'', airing a Top 40/CHR format. Some notable personalities during the CHUM ownership years include: Ron Able,

Gary Christian Gary John Christian (born 7 August 1971) is an English professional golfer who has played on the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour. Christian was born in Carshalton, England. As a junior, he played golf at Addington Palace Golf Club, England. He pl ...

, Dick Reeves, Tim "Trucker" Bradley, KC Foxxe, Ralph "Racoon" Carney, Franc Cappozolo, Lee Marshall, Stu Ferguson, Pat Cardinal and Steve Jackson. Al Gibson was News Director with notables such as

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their S ...

, George Gordon (formerly at CFTR Toronto), Tom Mark (formerly at CKNW Vancouver) and Jeff Murray (Feldman) as Sports Director. Bob Laine (popular disc jockey in CHUM's hey day, now deceased) was transferred to CFRW from CHUM to be station manager. Other notable on-air staff included Dan Williams, Larry Hennessey, Roger Kelly, Al Stewart, Frank Roberts (Traffic) and Brian Stone (News). From 1983 to 1991, the station was the radio broadcaster for

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

football, with play-by-play voice Ron Oakes and Robb Glazier.

1980s and 90s

CFRW played a contemporary music format until 1987, when it switched to

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

, with a call sign and branding change to ''1290 Fox'' CIFX. The station changed formats several more times, including to

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

on May 8, 1995, and to adult standards in 1999. On May 7,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, the station flipped to an all-sports format. It was one of several CHUM Ltd. stations in the now-defunct network known as " The Team", which only lasted one year.

Oldies

The CFRW call sign and

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 we ...

format returned in August

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, competing with CKY in the format before that station moved to the FM dial and changed to a

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

format in 2004 as

CKY-FM CKY-FM (102.3 MHz) is a Canadian FM radio station broadcasting in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The station airs a hot adult contemporary format branded as ''KiSS 102.3''. The station is owned by Rogers Sports & Media which also owns sister station CIT ...

. CFRW aired all games of the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern ...

baseball team from 2005 to 2013. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, CFRW, along with the other CHUM stations, were sold to CTVglobemedia.

Return to sports

CFRW returned to an all-sports format as ''Sports Radio 1290'' on September 27,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. Much of its programming at the outset was provided by

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...

, though it also carried the syndicated ''Jim Rome Show''. However, since the station's relaunch, the station has progressively added original programming, including shows that originated from other Canadian sports radio stations, such as the ''Illegal Curve Hockey Show'' and ''Hustler & Lawless''. Three months later, CTVglobemedia relaunched the

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

format on co-owned

CHIQ-FM CHNW-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 94.3 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The station broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format, branded as ''94.3 Now! Radio''. The station's studios are located at 177 Lombard Avenue in Downtown Winnipe ...

. CTVglobemedia was merged into

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, which put CFRW under Bell Media ownership. On July 21, 2011, the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'' reported that Bell Media had reached a deal for broadcast rights with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

for both television and radio coverage of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

team. TSN became its television broadcaster and CFRW became the official

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

radio station of the Jets. Since 2015, CFRW had also been the radio and online broadcaster for the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

, the Jets'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate. On October 5, 2011, CFRW was re-branded as part of the

TSN Radio TSN Radio is a semi-national sports radio brand and part-time network in Canada carried on AM radio stations owned by Bell Media.CJOB CJOB (680 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned and operated by Corus Radio and airs a news/talk format with news and sports programs. CJOB and its sister stations, CFPG-FM, CJKR-FM, and CKND-DT, have ...

and

CJKR-FM CJKR-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting on the assigned frequency of 97.5 MHz in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It airs an active rock format with the on-air brand name ''Power 97''. The station is owned and operated by Corus Entertainment, which a ...

. On February 9, 2021, Bell Media ended the TSN Radio formats at CFRW and sister stations

CKOC CKOC (1150 AM) is a radio station in Hamilton, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts a business news format. CKOC is a 50,000-watt, Class B station operating on a Regional (not clear-channel) broadcast frequency, with transmitters locate ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, and

CKST CKST (1040 AM) is a radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts comedy-oriented programming, including stand-up comedy routines. CKST's studios are located on Robson and Burrard Street in Downtown Va ...

. After stunting with music for three days, the station flipped to Bell Media's "Funny"

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

format on February 12, 2021. On March 4, 2021, the station announced a return of sports content by assuming rights to the

Winnipeg Ice The Winnipeg Ice (officially stylized as ICE) are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The team began competing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2019–20 WHL season, and plays home games at the Wayne ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

beginning with the 2021 season, rescinding a five-year deal with CJOB.

References

External links

* * *
Radio Locator information on CFRW
{{coord, 49.7994, -97.2750, type:landmark_region:CA-MB, display=title Comedy radio stations in Canada Frw Frw Radio stations established in 1963 1963 establishments in Manitoba