The New Millenium and New Technologies Abound
2000
Dec. 31/99 5 pm: STAR FM 104.9 Vancouver (also 92.5
Abbotsford/Mission & 107.5 Chilliwack ) signs off and changes to a
new rock alternative sound called XFM
104.9 .
It starts out with a
month-long commercial-free preview through the month of January. Feb. 14: CKXM 1200 Victoria starts simulcasting it’s country music radio station at 91.3 FM for 3 months and call the station X91.3.The AM 1200 frequency goes dead May 17.
May 26, 3 pm: CFEX FM 107.3 (EXTREME 107.3) Victoria signs on the air after being heard live on the internet since January and on FM cable in Victoria since May 1. Its format is modern rock/alternative.
Aug. 4 3 pm: CKAY 1500 Duncan becomes CJSU (SUN FM) 89.7. Its slogan is “New station... New Sound” and is a mix of alternative and album rock. The FM station’s power is more than on AM 1500. AM 1500 went silent at the end of September.
Aug. 12: CKMO FM 103.1 Camosun College, Victoria increases it’s power from 50 watts to 20,000 watts so it can be heard from the Sunshine Coast to Everett and east to Chilliwack. It broadcasts mostly “Global Roots” and folk music with 4 hrs/day of instructional programming. It increases its broadcast day from 12 hrs/day 5 days/wk to 18 hrs every day.
Sept. 2: CJVI AM 900 Victoria signs off the air unceremoniously at 5:05 pm after over 78 years of continuous broadcasting. Last song played was the Fortunes "You've Got Your Troubles." At 5:06 pm CHTT (HOT 103) FM 103.1 signs on with today’s hit music with “N Sync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye”. At the same time CKMO moves from 103.1 FM to AM 900 with its “Global Roots” format.
Oct. 2: THE FOOD NETWORK launches it’s own Canadian service known as “FOOD NETWORK CANADA” TNN: THE NASHVILLE NETWORK becomes TNN: THE NATIONAL NETWORK. In Aug. 2003 this service became SPIKE TV.
Dec. 1: SHAW CABLE and ROGERS CABLE swap their cable assets. Shaw receives Rogers customers in BC and Rogers receives Shaw customers in Ontario and New Brunswick. This means that Shaw Cable operates all of the Lower Mainland’s cable systems except Delta. Shaw already operates cable systems in Nanaimo, Duncan, Victoria, Kelowna, Penticton, Kamloops, Prince George & many others in BC.
2001
Jan. 26: CHEK TV 6 Victoria starts broadcasting some GLOBAL programming beginning with Super Bowl and the new Survivor series. This move is in anticipation of its move to the GLOBAL network on Sept. 1
Jan. 31: CKLG 730 signs off 1 day short of 46 years on the air. At midnight following the playing of Sarah McLaughlin’s “I Will Remember You” NW2 launches with 24-hour news radio powered by CKNW.
Also some CKST 1040 personalities say goodbye as the station changed ownership on Feb. 1.
April 1: SUPERCHANNEL changes it’s name to MOVIE CENTRAL and launches 6 new premium movie services with MOVIE CENTRAL (recent releases), ENCORE AVENUE (classic movies from the 40s to the mid 90s), ADRENALINE DRIVE (action & adventure), SHADOW LANE (mystery and suspense), HEARTLAND ROAD (romance & dramatic) and COMIC STRIP (comedies).
April 25: CKST 1040 moves from adult contemporary/easy listening to commercial-free Classic Rock promoting the launch of “The Team--110 Percent Sports.” Last song played May 7 was the Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter."
May 7: CKST 1040 becomes TEAM 1040 at 10:40 am with a local preview of its all-sports format. National coverage started at noon PT. Stations along the network are in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Peterborough, Kitchener/Waterloo, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and the flagship station is CHUM (TEAM) 1050 Toronto.
June 21 noon: CKXM FM 91.3 Victoria changes from a country station to modern rock under a new name “The Zone@91.3 FM.” The station has been struggling with ratings since signing on the air in 1995. It moved from AM 1200 to FM 91.3 in Feb. 2000 and in that time has gone from country to country-crossover back to country on June 4 with new DJs. On July 5 the call letters were changed to CJZN FM. First song played: "Rock Show" by Blink 182.
Aug. 31 5 pm: STAR FM returns to the air in the Fraser Valley. This time it is an adult contemporary format at FM 98.3 Chilliwack, FM 107.1 Abbotsford & FM 100.5 Hope. These stations will replace RADIO MAX AM 850 Abbotsford, AM 1270 Chilliwack and AM 1240 Hope. The AM and FM frequencies will be simulcast for up to 3 months. The Chilliwack FM had been offering a sneak preview since July 22 and the Abbotsford station since Aug. 7. Last song played on Radio Max was Lulu's "Morning Dew." First song played on STAR FM was Madonna's "Music."
Sept. 1: After 2 years of speculation the big Vancouver TV network swap took place. Four stations changed network affiliation. The list is as follows:
Station Name Ch. Cable Network New station name New network
CHEK TV 6 6 CTV CH Global
BCTV 8 11 CTV Global BC Global
Global (CKVU)10 13 Global CKVU Ind
VTV 32 9 Ind BC CTV CTV
Sept. 7: Shaw Cable starts a 4 month preview of over 30 new digital TV channels including National Geographic, Animal Planet, MSNBC, Discovery Health, Discovery Civilization, BBC Canada and Fox Sports World. Not all channels are ready to launch and BBC Kids won’t launch until November.
Sept. 11: The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington launched full coverage on CKNW, NW-2, CKWX, CBC Radio, CBC TV, CTV, Global (from Vancouver), CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX.
Independent channels like KVOS, CKVU and KSTW simulcast from CNN.
Sept. 14: KVRI 1600 starts testing their new service from Blaine with Christian music for 4 days then signs off.
Sept. 15: NOW TV (ch. 66/cable 10) starts broadcasting from Surrey at 7 pm with a 1 hour preview, and a 2 hour launch of the series “Doc.” The new station mostly features Christian and family-based programming.
Sept. 21: Nanaimo launches 2 new FM stations to the radio dial with test programming. They are CHLY FM 101.7 from Malaspina College known as “The Beat of Nanaimo” with a variety of music formats. The other is “The Wolf” at FM 106.9. CKWF Nanaimo’s Rock Authority broadcasts classic & modern rock music. Both stations officially launch Friday night Sept. 28. The CHLY launch includes a live party and a Nanaimo Clippers/South Surrey Eagles hockey game. The Wolf’s launch will be simulcast for up to 3 months on AM 1570. All 3 Nanaimo stations shared the transmitter site on Cottle Hill and broadcast with 3000 watts of power.
Oct. 4: CIVI launches with 2 street parties in Victoria and Nanaimo which are broadcast live from 6-8 pm on cable 12. It is known as “The New VI” and features much of its programming from the CHUM/CITY TV building in Toronto. It is Victoria’s first TV station launch in just under 45 years. KVOS, which had been on cable 12 moves to cable 23 in the Lower Mainland.
Nov. 3: About Town, Surrey launches at FM 88.9. It is a 25-minute rotation of news & information for tourists and visitors to Surrey & White Rock. It is a 34 watt station and can be heard in Langley, Delta, Richmond, New Westminster & south Vancouver. On the same day, Surrey’s 2nd radio station launches at AM 1600. It is called “Radio Punjab”and broadcasts from Surrey over to the internet to Blaine and then over the AM 1600 frequency to Greater Vancouver.
2002
Jan. 14 6 am. CIBH FM 88.5 Parksville signs on completing Island Broadcasters move to change all their AM stations to FM. The station replaces AM 1350 which will simulcast "The Beach" for 2 months.
Feb. 22: Following a sign on party at the Commodore: CFBT FM 94.5 “The Beat” signs on for a 10 day commercial-free test period. Its format is urban which means R&B, soul, rap & reggae.
May 28 5 am: CJNW AM 730 “NW2” 24-hour news radio powered by CKNW is now unplugged by CKNW. The station goes to a commercial-free modern rock format with live coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This format signed off following the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 games win over the Carolina Hurricanes on June 13 at 9 pm.
July 22 6 am: CKVU signs off the air and City TV signs on to channel 10, cable 13. It is branded after Toronto’s City TV with an emphasis on local programming-over 27 hours/week. Its first program was a live 3-hour program called “Breakfast Television.”
July 25: A second radio station operated by “Radio Punjab” starts broadcasting from Washington State into the Vancouver area. Its studios are in Surrey.The signal is picked up over the internet and broadcast from the KCCF 1550 transmitter near Ferndale. This means that both AM 1550 & 1600 are different Radio Punjab services.
Aug. 6: 6 am: After being off the air for over a month and stunting with modern rock, MOJO RADIO debuted in Vancouver on AM 730 with “talk radio for guys.”
Aug. 23 1:07 pm: CFEX (Extreme 107.3) Victoria drops it’s modern rock format for hits of the 80s, 90s and today and becomes CHBE B107.3.
Sept. 5 6 am: CBUX FM 90.9 Vancouver signs on bringing classical music, jazz & the arts in French to Vancouver. It’s called “La chaine culturelle.”
Nov. 29 6 pm: CKKS (97 KISS FM) begins Vancouver radio’s longest ever Christmas music format.
Dec. 27 8 am: After a month of all Christmas music, CKKS signs off with Bob Hope’s “Thanks for the Memories” then launches 96.9 JACK FM which “plays what it wants” with classic hits of the 70s to today. First song played was AC/DC: “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
2003
Jan. 17: Shaw Cable introduces High Definition Television (HDTV) and Video on Demand to its digital cable subscribers.
Feb. 13 7 pm: CJSF FM 90.1 signs-on on the FM dial. For the past 20 years, the station has been heard on AM 940 in two residences on campus and on cable FM only since 1985. It is Simon Fraser University’s radio station broadcasting non-mainstream news, public affairs and music to the community. It has 450 watts and its coverage is spotty throughout the Lower Mainland. CJSF station history.
March: 96.9 JACK FM officially changes its call letters from CKKS and brings the “CKLG” call letters back to Vancouver.
June 27 7 pm: Channel M signs-on on channel 42, cable 8. It is Vancouver’s first over-the-air multilingual TV station. Although half of its programming is in English, its programming does feature 24 other languages. It’s opening night programming included a 1-hour preview, then a “Pavarotti & Friends” concert from Italy. It’s English language programming includes the popular Simpsons, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy in the early evening with David Letterman, Taxi and Hawaii Five-0 late night.
Aug. 29 3 pm Mountain FM serving Squamish, Whistler and the Sunshine Coast changed from a soft rock to a Hot Adult Contemporary format with more local programming.
Oct. 7: CBUX-1 FM 88.9 signs on in Victoria, 13 months after its originating station at FM 90.9 signs on in Vancouver bringing "La Chaine Culturelle" to Victoria and southern Vancouver Island. In South Surrey, White Rock and South Langley, it is interfering with the Tourist/Border info station on the same frequency.
Nov. 19 11 am: X-FM 104.9 Vancouver drops its modern rock format to become 104.9 Christmas FM with all-Christmas music until Dec. 26 noon.
Nov. 30 1 pm: It's not even December yet and Vancouver has its 2nd Christmas music station 650 CISL becomes Christmas Hits 650. Regular programming resumed late Christmas night.
KBAI 930 Bellingham offered Christmas music programming from Nov. 27-Dec. 25.
CIBH FM 88.5 Parksville Dec. 1-25. CIOC FM 98.5 Victoria's "12 Days of Christmas" was aired from Dec. 12 at noon-Dec. 26 1 pm.
Dec. 26 noon:
CKVX FM (Christmas FM)
104.9 Vancouver drops its marathon all-Christmas
format to become 104.9 Clear FM
with a mix of light adult contemporary music and smooth jazz.
First song played was by "Don't Know
Why" by Norah Jones.
2004
Jan. 29 4 pm: Based on the
success of JACK FM in other
cities,
Rogers switches its Victoria station CHTT (HOT 103) FM from a Top 40
station to JACK FM "playing
what we want." First song played: ZZ
Top's "Sharp
Dressed Man."
Feb.
9 5 am: MOJO RADIO AM 730 drops
its "Talk
Radio for Guys" to become Vancouver's 2nd all-sports radio station with
the slogan "Just Sports". For the next 6 months most of its
programming
will originate from ESPN Sports Radio.
March 1: New era on CKZZ FM (Z95-3)
started at 6 am. Z95 3 has shifted to a "hot adult contemporary" format
with a greater variety of music and less repitition. The station has
also promised shorter commercial breaks, random commercial-free hours
and commercial-free Sundays. First song: "Clocks" by Coldplay followed by
Bryan Adams rock classic "Summer of 69."
April 8: CKVX FM 104.9 changes
its call letters to CKCL to match it's "Clear" name.
Sept.
6: The Beat 94.5 FM shifts from an all
urban format to a "CHR--contemporary hit radio" format calling
themselves "Vancouver's hit music station."
Nov.
19 9 am: CHBE (B107.3)
CHUM's new FM station in
Victoria has changed formats from "All Hits of the 80s, 90s and more"
to all Christmas.
First song: Brenda
Lee's "Rockin'
Around
the Christmas Tree."
Nov.
25: KBAI 930 Bellingham
made it usual switch to
all-Christmas music from Thanksgiving Day-Christmas Day.
Just
before midnight Christmas Day, CHBE
FM 107.3 Victoria played Bing
Crosby's "White
Christmas", then launched
107-3 KOOL FM playing Black Eyed
Peas: "Let's
Get it Started" with a hot
adult
contemporary format.