CKKS-FM

CKKS-FM (107.5 FM, ''Sonic'') is a radio station licensed to Chilliwack, British Columbia and serving Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Owned by Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts a modern rock format.

The station's main studios and offices are at 2440 Ash Street in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, where its rebroadcasting transmitter CKKS-FM-2 operates at 104.9 FM with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 31,000 watts and a height above average terrain (HAAT) of 672.2 metres (2,205 ft) from atop Mount Seymour. Another rebroadcasting transmitter, 92.5 CKKS-FM-1, is in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

The station went on the air in 1986 as CKSR-FM, with transmitters at Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Technical changes in the late 1990s added a third transmitter in Vancouver, greatly expanding its broadcast coverage.

History

Star FM in the Fraser Valley

The station signed on for the first time on October 1, 1986, as CKSR-FM ''Star FM''. It was the first FM radio service based in the region and was owned by Fraser Valley Broadcasters Ltd., which owned AM stations in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, the pair of CFVR and CHWK. A hybrid easy listening/adult contemporary format aimed at adult audiences was aired by Star FM, with transmitters at 107.5 MHz in Chilliwack and 104.9 MHz in Abbotsford.

Beginning in 1995, CKSR began gradually phasing out its easy listening songs in favor of a pure adult contemporary format. Fraser Valley Broadcasters also analyzed ways to improve its reception in several areas of the western Fraser Valley where its signal remained "unreliable". In 1997, the Abbotsford main transmitter was moved to 104.9 MHz on Mount Seymour, with a new Abbotsford transmitter on 92.5 MHz. While the CRTC did not permit the station to reduce its service to the Fraser Valley, approving the move over objections from several Vancouver radio stations, the move had the consequence of putting the Lower Mainland in its coverage area, and CKSR-FM opened a Vancouver office (without studios, as the CRTC did not allow permanent studios outside the Fraser Valley to be used). This gave Vancouver three adult contemporary stations: CKSR-FM, CHQM-FM, and CKKS-FM.

Rogers purchase and Xfm

In 1999, Rogers Broadcasting purchased the Fraser Valley Radio Group of CFVR, CHWK, and CKGO in Hope. The new ownership immediately made cuts at the low-rated Star FM. On December 31, Rogers flipped the station from "Star FM" to alternative rock as CKVX-FM ''104.9 Xfm''. The choice of format surprised some observers who expected Rogers to go after hit radio station CKZZ-FM.

Throughout the run, ratings were low, including behind competing FM rocker CFOX-FM, but there were some notable moments, including the early playing of the new Radiohead song "Optimistic" in September 2000, which earned a cease-and-desist order from record label EMI after CKVX obtained a recording. Rogers placed the CKSR call sign on the former CHWK and converted it to FM in 2001 as CKSR-FM, adopting the former Star FM's branding, and a similar light rock format.

Clear FM era

On November 19, 2003, the brand ''104.9 Christmas FM'' was introduced on-air as CKVX went to all-Christmas music for the next month. CKVX switched formats and brands again at noon on December 26, when the ''104.9 Clear FM'' brand was adopted and the station began playing a mix of adult contemporary and smooth jazz during most of the day, a format designed to complement CKLG-FM (now CJAX-FM), and its Jack FM format. A program of chillout, downtempo and trip hop electronic music called ''Vancouver Chills'', hosted by Trevor Shand, aired from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. nightly. The first song on "Clear FM" was " Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones. On April 8, 2004, CKVX-FM became CKCL-FM. In 2005, Shand left CKCL to move to Los Angeles to become the production manager at KROQ-FM (while continuing voiceover work for Rogers Broadcasting stations in Vancouver and Toronto). Music Director Doreen Copeland took over as host of ''Vancouver Chills'', which then began mixing more AC and smooth jazz in with the electronica tunes and expanded its airtime to 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. nightly.


On August 31, 2006, CKCL dropped the smooth jazz and electronic music and returned to a full-time AC format. Mornings on the revamped Clear FM were helmed by longtime Vancouver broadcaster Fred Latremouille and his wife Cathy, returning to local radio after six years of retirement in Hawaii on September 5. However, after a year, the Latremouilles opted to return to retirement.

In December 2007, management announced that Charlee Morgan, formerly of Calgary's CHFM and the old LG73 in Vancouver, would begin hosting the morning show in early 2008. Morgan made her morning show debut at CKCL on February 18, 2008. On September 26, 2008, CKCL dropped Morgan's morning show and the station's adult contemporary format, switching to classic hits and re-branding itself as ''FM 104.9'', thus once again leaving CTVglobemedia's market-leading CHQM-FM as the sole adult contemporary outlet in Vancouver. The last song on "Clear FM" was " I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan (which was also the last song on LG73), while the first song under the new format was " Twist and Shout" by The Beatles. This move prompted Astral Media's CISL to flip from oldies to adult standards on November 10, 2008.

On November 12, 2009, CKCL rebranded itself as ''104.9 fun FM''; the call sign changed in late November to CFUN-FM to reflect the updated branding. The heritage CFUN call letters were vacated by CTVglobemedia after AM 1410 (now owned by Bell Media) flipped to sports radio and became CFTE.

CHR era as Sonic and Kiss

On August 16, 2011, Rogers announced that CFUN-FM would launch a new format at 8:30 a.m. the following morning, and began redirecting listeners to sister adult hits station CKLG-FM. ''Radio Insight'' reported that Rogers had purchased domain names containing names such as "sonic1049" and "sonichitsnow", implicating the possibility of the branding ''Sonic'' and either a modern rock format (modelled after Rogers-owned CHDI-FM in Edmonton, which also brands as ''Sonic'') or contemporary hit radio (CHR). The following morning at 8:42 a.m., CFUN-FM flipped to CHR as ''Sonic'', launching with 10,000 songs in a row commercial-free.
On February 23, 2015, CFUN re-branded as ''Kiss Radio'' with no change in format, unifying itself with the Kiss branding used by other Rogers-owned CHR stations. It then swapped call signs with CKKS-FM in Sechelt, British Columbia, which became CFUN-FM.

In 2019, Rogers filed an application with the CRTC to replace CKKS-FM-2 with a new station on the same frequency, which would operate independently of CKKS. CRTC rules require a consultation on the appropriateness of a new station in the market, which can include a requirement for competing applicants. This was denied in 2020, with the CRTC's decision noting that "the Commission is of the view that Rogers is significantly understating the potential market impact of converting its rebroadcasting transmitter to an originating station". In 2021, Rogers received a renewal for CKKS-FM and its rebroadcasters, with the CRTC rebuffing a proposal to drop traffic reports for the Fraser Valley.

In 2021, CKKS shifted to hot adult contemporary and changed its moniker to "Today's Best Music, The New KiSS Radio".

Return to modern rock

On June 28, 2022, the station announced it was parting ways with morning hosts Kevin Lim and Sonia Sidhu, who joined CKKS in January 2017, as well as afternoon host Tara Jean Stevens. Station owner Rogers said that further announcements about the station's future would follow shortly. At midnight that night, the station dropped its format and began stunting with a continuous loop of "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine. The loop occasionally included staged segments of DJs discussing their intent to keep playing the song, and taking calls from listeners wanting them to stop playing "Killing in the Name", or outright "requesting" the song. During this stunt, other changes in staff were reported, as were rumours that the ''Sonic'' brand would be returning to Vancouver.

While stunting is common practice during a radio format change, this particular stunt gained attention in international media outlets including ''The Guardian'' and ''Rolling Stone'', driven in part by theories put forward on social media that the remaining staff had commandeered the station to protest the layoffs, despite the other changes being reported. Industry observer Sean Ross suggested that despite being the "most traditional of format launch stunts", the outsized attention the relaunch received made it "the greatest radio stunt ever—or at least for this year."

On June 30, 2022, at 6:00 a.m., the station officially flipped to modern rock as ''Sonic'', with new morning host Angela Valiant introducing the format, then playing "Killing in the Name" one more time. The station briefly competed with Pattison Media's CKPK-FM, before that station flipped to hot AC the following month.

Rebroadcasters

* CKKS-FM-1 former frequencies: 104.9 FM (1996–1997) and 107.1 FM (April–June 2002)

References

External links

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Radio stations established in 1986
1986 establishments in British Columbia