CKPC (1380

kHz 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 uni ...

) was 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 ...

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

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 ...

. Owned by

Evanov Communications Evanov Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. It is also the sole owner of Dufferin Communications Inc., 80% owner of Halifax Broadcasting Ltd. and Ottawa Media Inc. The group of Evanov companies owns and operates a number of ra ...

, the station was first established in 1923 in

Preston, Ontario Preston is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. Prior to 1973 it was an independent town, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the city of Galt, Onta ...

, as one of Canada's earliest radio stations. The station broadcast various formats, ranging from full service, to

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 ...

and

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

formats. From 2020 to its closure in 2023, the station operated under a

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

format, which it had assumed from sister station CFWC-FM in exchange for its

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 ...

format.

History

In December 1923, CKPC

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air. The original

city of licence In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

was Preston (now part of the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

). The station first started out as an

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

station, but founder Wallace Russ quickly applied for a broadcast licence after a few trial transmissions. His licence was granted, and he started broadcasting from his home in Preston at a power of just 5

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s. Its power increased to 25 watts in 1927. It moved to 1010

kilocycle The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the ''hertz'' (Hz). Cycles per second may be denoted by c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just "cycles" (Cyc., Cy., C, or c). The term comes from repetitive ph ...

s at 50 watts in 1930, and then to 880 kHz. In 1933, Russ's friend Cyrus Dolph purchased the station, which was soon moved from Preston to Brantford. Russ still remained active with the station, and watched it grow throughout its early years. In 1934, the station moved to 930 kHz. In 1947, it moved to its current location on the band, 1380 AM. The company added an FM station in 1949,

CKPC-FM CKPC-FM (92.1 FM, ''Lite 92'') is a radio station in Brantford, Ontario. Owned by Evanov Communications, it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary format, billed as "Southern Ontario's Favourites". The studios are located at 325 West St in Brantf ...

, operating at 250 watts and simulcasting the AM signal. The AM and FM stations continued to mostly air the same programming until 1976, when the FM station's power increased to 50,000 watts. In 1951, Florence Buchanan assumed full control of Telephone City Broadcast Limited, including CKPC-FM and CKPC, from her father Cyrus. The AM station then had a 1,000-watt signal. She became the first woman in Canada to own and operate a radio station. In 1959, CKPC built a new

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

and increased power to 10,000 watts. In 1972, Florence's son Richard Buchanan assumed control of Telephone City Broadcast Ltd. CKPC was an

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

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 ...

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 ...

until 1962 when the station became an independent outlet. In 1980, during a live appearance on a CKPC talk show,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

revealed that the Canadian government had assisted in the rescue of six American diplomats during the

Iran hostage crisis The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...

. On March 15, 1999, Telephone City Broadcast Ltd. was denied an application to add an

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

at Simcoe to operate on 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 ...

with an effective radiated power of 1,090 watts. The proposed rebroadcasting transmitter was intended to correct coverage inadequacies in CKPC's AM signal to the Simcoe,

Port Dover Port Dover is an unincorporated community and former town located in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is the site of the recurring Friday the 13th motorcycle rally. Prior to the War of 1812, this community ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

area. On June 1, 2004, CKPC switched formats from

. Its power increased from 10,000 watts to 25,000 watts in 2007. Richard Buchanan died in July 2008. Telephone City Broadcast was held by Buchanan's estate until July 2009, when an agreement was reached to sell the stations to

, pending

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 ...

approval. The transaction was approved on August 28, 2009. On June 24, 2010, the station flipped to 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. In February 2020, the CRTC approved a request by Evanov to move sister station CFWC-FM's Christian format to CKPC. Evanov felt that the country format would be more profitable on an FM signal. The switch took effect on-air on September 4, 2020, with ''Arise'' moving to 1380, and CFWC flipping to country as ''Hot Country 93.9''. Shortly after midnight on August 4, 2023, the station signed off and shut down after nearly 100 years of broadcasting. Evanov cited "local market conditions, and changes to the radio industry" as reasoning, prioritizing the company's FM stations in the market. Its license was returned to the CRTC on December 4, 2023.Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2023-402
CKPC Brantford – Revocation of licence, ''CRTC'', December 4, 2023

References

External links

*
CKPC AM history
–

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 ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ckpc (Am) Radio stations established in 1923 Kpc Kpc 1923 establishments in Ontario KPC KPC Radio stations disestablished in 2023 2023 disestablishments in Ontario