 | |
| Broadcast area | Greater Vancouver |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 102.7 The Peak |
| Programming | |
| Format | Modern rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| CJJR-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1923 (1923) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | |
Call sign meaning | PK for "Peak" |
| Technical information | |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 70,000watts |
| HAAT | 682.4 metres (2,239 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 49°21′15″N122°57′30″W / 49.3543°N 122.9583°W /49.3543; -122.9583 (CKPK-FM Tower) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | thepeak.fm |
CKPK-FM (102.7MHz) is acommercialradio station inVancouver, British Columbia. Owned byPattison Media, it broadcasts amodern rock format. Itsstudios are on West 8th Avenue in theFairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, while itstransmitter is located atopMount Seymour.
The station first signed on with an experimental license in 1923 asCFXC, and was renamedCJOR in 1926. It moved to its long-time home of600 AM in 1930. CJOR operated as the Vancouver affiliate of theCBC'sDominion Network from 1944 through the network's closure in 1962. It was later acquired byJim Pattison after the death of its previous ownerGeorge Clarke Chandler. In November 2008, after over 80 years as an AM station, the station,adult standards CKBD, moved to FM asadult album alternative (AAA)100.5 The Peak. In 2012, the station moved once again to 102.7 FM.
In 1923, the station was originally launched by the electrical store Hume and Rumble as experimental stationCFXC. It broadcast on 440metres with a power of 10watts. It switched to the frequency of 1030kilocycles in 1925. The following year, the station was acquired byGeorge Chandler. Under Canadian broadcast policy at the time, CFXC was shut down.[1] A new license was issued to Chandler forCJOR. The station subsequently increased power to 50 watts in 1928 and shared time withCNRV, then moved its frequency to 1210 AM and the studios relocated to 840 Howe Street (with another boost in power to 500 watts) in 1930, and then to 600 in 1933.
CJOR increased its transmission power to 1,000 watts in 1941, moving its transmitter site toLulu Island. (After the station switched to FM in 2008,CISL moved to the Lulu Island location, making it the oldest broadcasting site in the Vancouverradio market in continuous operation.)
In 1944, CJOR became the Vancouvernetwork affiliate of theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC)Dominion Network. It increased power again in 1947, this time to 5,000 watts, using two 280-foot towers at a site inRichmond. That same year, Chandler established "CJOR Ltd." to run the station.
In 1961, CJOR further increased power to 10,000 watts, using a threetower array. It became an independent station the following year after CBC ceased the Dominion Network's operations.
Following George Chandler's death in 1964, theJim Pattison Group acquired the station the following year. TheBoard of Broadcast Governors (predecessor of theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC) had decided not to allow the station parent CJOR Ltd. to renew the license. CJOR Ltd. was then owned by Chandler's widow Marie. The Board of Governors requested that a new buyer for CJOR be found. By the 1970s, the station shifted its focus away from music totalk radio, with such colourful and opinionated personalities asJack Webster,Pat Burns, and eventually, former British Columbia premierDave Barrett.
On October 31, 1983, with the pending demolition of the Grosvenor Hotel on Howe Street, CJOR relocated from the hotel's basement to its present studios at 1401 West 8th Avenue. On September 2, 1988, at noon, CJOR dropped itstalk radio format, flipping toclassic rock under new call lettersCHRX. The first song wasBob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll".[2][3][4] (The formerCJOR call sign currently belongs to a radio station inOsoyoos.) The station was very popular during the late 1980s, but started experiencing declining ratings by the early 1990s.
To remedy the ratings loss, in 1993, the station addedsports talk shows to its programming. However, this did not boost the ratings. On January 7, 1994, at 6 p.m., after signing off withLed Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", the station beganstunting with the sound of ocean waves.
On January 9, at noon, it switched formats and call signs again, becomingCKBD with the on-air brandThe Bridge as Canada's firstContemporary Christian music station. The first song on "The Bridge" was "Awesome God" byRich Mullins.[5][6][7] On July 31, 1998, the station changed to anadult standards format as600 AM with the slogan "Unforgettable Adult Favourites".[8]
On May 30, 2008, CKBD was given approval by the CRTC to move to 100.5MHz on the FM dial.[9][10] As part of its move to FM, CKBD planned to switch from adult standards toadult album alternative (AAA) with a new call sign,CKPK-FM. On October 23, 2008, the FM stationsigned on for testing. The transmitter on 600 AM was shut down on November 13, 2008. The last program was a 25-minute summary of the station's 84-year history on the AM band, followed by "Thanks for the Memory" byBob Hope.[11]Astral Media'sCISL had flipped fromoldies to adult standards just days before to take advantage of the move. At 7:20 that same evening, at a live party at the Seasons in the Park restaurant, "100.5 The Peak" launched withU2's "Elevation."[12]
CKPK-FM received a new competitor onCanada Day,2009, when CHHR-FM began airing aAAA format. CHHR (nowCHLG-FM) would change formats toclassic hits on June 20, 2014.
On December 9, 2010, the Jim Pattison Group applied to exchange frequencies withnon-commercialcommunity radio stationCFRO-FM, which then operated at 102.7 MHz.[13] The application was approved on September 9, 2011.[14] The swap took place almost a year later on September 10, 2012.[15]
During the summer of 2015, CKPK began evolving towards a moremodern rock format. Eventually, CKPK began reporting on theMediabase Canadianalternative rock panel.
On July 22, 2022, it was announced that CKPK would drop its rock format on July 25, with its existingPeak format and programming moving to anHD Radio sub-channel andinternet radio.[16]Radio Insight reported that Pattison had bought severaldomain names branded asNow! Radio for the station—implicating ahot adult contemporary "social radio" format modelled after sister stationsCKNO-FM in Edmonton,CHNW-FM in Winnipeg, andCKCE-FM in Calgary (which uses a similar positioning asToday Radio) with a focus on topical discussions and listener interactions.[17]
The launch of "Now! Radio" officially occurred at 1:02 p.m. on July 25.[17][18] The flip came nearly a month after Rogers'CKKS-FM had flipped from hot AC to modern rock on June 30.[19] In January 2023, CKPK laid offThe Peak's on-air personalities; the company cited low adoption of HD Radio by local listeners as its reasoning for the cutbacks.[20]
On June 7, 2024, at midnight, almost two years after the flip toNow! Radio, Pattison dropped the format and returned to CKPK's previousPeak branding and modern rock format. The station's two remaining live personalities underNow!—Jaclyn Tatay and Brayden Mack—retained their morning and afternoon shows respectively. Program director Russell James credited the "impressively dedicated" audience that CKPK'sPeak digital stream retained as an impetus for the decision.[21]
