CKLC-FM (98.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It broadcasts a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

format and is owned and operated by

My Broadcasting Corporation My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is a Canadian broadcasting company founded in 2004 by Jon Pole and Andrew Dickson. Based in Renfrew, Ontario, the company operates a number of radio stations in small to medium-sized markets in Ontario. History ...

which also owns

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 ...

CFLY-FM CFLY-FM (98.3 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station broadcasting in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, and is owned by My Broadcasting Corporation. It airs an adult contemporary radio format, format branded as ''98.3 FLY ...

. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

s and offices are on Princess Street in Kingston. The

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is on Dawson Point Road on Wolfe Island.

History

CKLC, along with its sister station

CKLC-FM CKLC-FM (98.9 Hertz, MHz) is a Commercial broadcasting, commercial radio station in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It broadcasts a country music, country radio format, format and is owned and operated by My Broadcasting Corporation ...

, began operations in 1953 at 1380 on the AM dial as an affiliate of the CBC's

Dominion Network The Dominion Network was the second English-language radio network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from January 1, 1944 to 1962. It consisted of the CBC-owned CJBC (AM), CJBC radio station in Toronto and a series of 34 privately owned ...

and remained with the network until it dissolved in 1962. The call letters are taken from Kingston's nickname, the "Limestone City". Some of its earliest alumni include newscaster Allan Saunders (Sandzelius), Al Boliska as morning man, and

disk jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile ...

s Buddy Guilfoyle and Ron Bertrand. The original station manager was John Bermingham. 1380 CKLC started broadcasting in AM Stereo in the summer of 1970 In 2001, CKLC changed from its

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format in favour of a national

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

network The Team. In August 2002, after just over a year on the air, then-owner

CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM (AM), CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in ...

reversed their decision on the Team format and CKLC moved to an

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

format as "All time favourites". In April 2007, CKLC applied to move to the FM band at 98.9 MHz and was given approval by the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

on August 28, 2007. CKLC-FM began broadcasting a test signal on 98.9 in October 2007, with an announcement that "Kingston's newest radio station" will be launching either "soon" or "in the weeks to come". The test signal included

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alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

music. The test announcements featured the voice of

CHUM-FM CHUM-FM (104.5 FM) is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, the station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CHUM-FM's studios are located at 250 Richmond Street West in the Entertainment District, while it ...

's Darren B Lamb. On November 29, 2007, after a short test period, CKLC made the flip from AM to FM. The new CKLC-FM tower was to be installed on the same land as the 1380 AM transmitter site located on Wolfe Island. Due to safety concerns, the construction could not commence on the new 500' FM tower while the 4 175' AM towers remained on and standing. So for the first several weeks on air, CKLC-FM broadcast from a temporary 1 kW transmitter on the old AM STL tower attached to the transmitter building. Once the main transmitter was completed, the station powered up to its full authorized power of 15,000 watts. In 2007, CHUM Limited was acquired by CTVglobemedia (later

Bell Media 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, a division of BCE Inc.. The company owns stations across the countr ...

). Before CHUM was purchased, the company had applied to the CRTC to convert CKLC to 98.9 MHz with an average effective radiated power of 8,700 watts. On August 28, the Commission approved that application. On November 29, 2007, CKLC launched its FM signal and flipped from

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

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

as ''98.9 The Drive''. CKLC 1380 left the air in December without ever simulcasting the new CKLC-FM. The AM had authorization to simulcast the FM for three months. On May 27, 2019, CKLC started stunting with a wide range of music. The next day, the station flipped to

as '' Pure Country 99'', joining all other Bell Media-owned country stations in adopting the "Pure Country" brand that day. In January 2020, the station attracted media attention when, in the midst of a controversy around the under-representation of women in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, it committed to playing a 50/50 balance of male and female country artists for one week. On February 8, 2024, Bell announced a restructuring that included the sale of 45 of its 103 radio stations to seven buyers, subject to approval by the CRTC, including CKLC, which was sold to

(MBC). The sale to MBC was approved by the CRTC on February 26, 2025; on March 24, 2025, CKLC rebranded as ''Kingston's New Country 98.9'' with no change in format. The rebranding was modelled after sister station CKYY-FM IN Welland. Alongside the rebrand, Gary "Big G" McColman and Wayne "Matty" Mathews (who previously worked for Rogers-owned rival CKXC-FM) moved from sister station

WLYK WLYK (102.7 FM; "102.7 Wow FM") is a radio station licensed to Cape Vincent, New York. Owned by Border International Broadcasting and operated by 1234567 Corporation, a company owned by the co-founders of Canadian broadcaster My Broadcasting ...

to become CKLC's new morning hosts.

References

External links

New Country 98.9
- iHeart
CKLC-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* * (Old frequency) {{coord, 44, 12, 36, N, 76, 25, 05, W, type:landmark_region:CA, display=title KLC KLC KLC Radio stations established in 1953 1953 establishments in Ontario KLC