| Defunct | |
|---|---|
| |
| Broadcast area | Edmonton Metropolitan Region |
| Frequency | 1260kHz |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| CFBR-FM,CFMG-FM,CFRN-DT | |
| History | |
First air date | April 17, 1927; 97 years ago (1927-04-17) |
Last air date | June 14, 2023; 21 months ago (2023-6-14) (96 years, 58 days) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies |
|
Call sign meaning | G.R.A. Rice and H.F. Nielson, partners who bought the station in 1934 |
| Technical information | |
| Class | A (Regional) |
| Power | 50,000watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 53°27′8.3″N113°40′52.6″W / 53.452306°N 113.681278°W /53.452306; -113.681278 |
CFRN was a Class A, 50,000-watt (directional at night)radio station inEdmonton, Alberta, Canada. CFRN was unusual in that it was aClass A (protected nighttime skywave) AM station on a regional frequency.[1] Owned byBell Media and broadcasting on 1260AM, the station last aired asports format, branded asTSN 1260 Edmonton. The station's studios were located at 18520 Stony Plain Road in Edmonton, where it shared studio space with itssister station,CFRN-DT.
As of February 28, 2021, CFRN was the 17th-most-listened-to radio station in the Edmonton market according to a PPM data report released byNumeris.[2]
In 1927, the Christian and Missionary Alliance launched the original station as CHMA at 580kHz. The station operated experimentally for two months before using its full power of 250 watts beginning in June.[3] In March 1934, CHMA became CFTP after Taylor & Pearson Ltd. took over the station, which moved to 1260 kHz; its debut broadcasts featured theEdmonton Athletic Club in theAbbott Cup andMemorial Cup.[4] Studios were located in the Birks Building in Edmonton.[5]
At the end of October 1934, Taylor & Pearson announced it would leaseCJCA from theEdmonton Journal. Simultaneously, the manager of CJCA, G. R. A. "Dick" Rice, acquired CFTP from Taylor & Pearson.[6] On November 3, Rice immediately changed the call letters to CFRN,[7] representing Rice and his business partner, H. F. Nielson ofCoalspur.[8] The two formed the Sunwapta Broadcasting Company, named forSunwapta Falls inJasper National Park.[9]
On September 13, 1936, the station moved to 960 kHz,[10] where it remained until March 29, 1941, when it returned to 1260 (as part ofNARBA) and boosted power from 100 to 1,000 watts.[11] It was one of the charter stations of theCBC Radio-ownedDominion Network from its launch in January 1944;[12] the CBC would not have its own station on its main network in Edmonton until 1964, whenCBR launched in Calgary, andCBX became Edmonton's exclusive CBC station.[13]
FM simulcast began in 1951 onCFRN-FM 100.3, which lasted until 1964, when the FM station began offering separate stereo programming.[14][15] CFRN-FM became fully separate from CFRN in 1979 and changed its call sign to CKXM-FM.[16][17] Sunwapta brought television to Edmonton in 1954 whenCFRN-TV signed on.[18]
According to the 1976B.B.M. Weekly Reach survey, CFRN was the 4th-most-listened-to radio station in Edmonton.[19]
The CFRN stations were sold in 1988 toKitchener, Ontario-based Electrohome Limited for $51.2 million;[20] a 91-year-old Rice rejected offers from several western groups and selected Electrohome as the purchaser.[21] Electrohome sold off the radio properties to Standard Broadcasting in 1991 to concentrate on the television station.[22]
On July 1, 1998, CFRN flipped fromadult standards tooldies, debutingStandard Radio's new oldies network, withCISL inVancouver, delivered via Anik satellite. The new oldies network replaced the former Satellite Radio Network service.
In June 2002, CFRN flipped tosports radio asThe Team 1260, as an affiliate ofCHUM Radio'sThe Team network. However, the network folded shortly afterwards. CFRN would maintain its branding asThe Team as a locally programmed format, while adding syndicated programs such asPrime Time Sports andThe Jim Rome Show. In 2007, Standard Radio was acquired byAstral Media. In turn, Astral Media was acquired byBell Media on July 5, 2013; the acquisition reunited CFRN with its television sister, and with The Team's former owned-and-operated stations.[23][24]
On September 30, 2013, CFRN was re-branded as a part of Bell'sTSN Radio network, asTSN Radio 1260, introducing a new lineup of local afternoon programming.[25]
On June 14, 2023, as part of a mass corporate restructuring at Bell Media, the company shut down six of their AM radio stations nationwide, including CFRN. The station ended regular programming at 9 a.m. that day, airing a looped message about the impending shutdown, which lasted until the completion of the signoff. The shutdown came with such little warning that shortly before 9 a.m., the station went to a commercial break from which it never returned.[26][27]
The CRTC approved Bell Media's application to revoke CFRN's licence on April 10, 2024.[28]
CFRN was the flagship station for the following teams' radio broadcasts: