CFHK-FM
| City of license | St. Thomas, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Southwestern Ontario |
| Branding | 103.1 Fresh Radio |
| Slogan | Today's Best Mix |
| Frequency | 103.1 MHz (FM) |
| First air date | May 14, 1948 |
| Format | Hot adult contemporary |
| Audience share |  7.4% [1] |
| ERP | 16,700 watts |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | Canada's FresH Kind or The HawK (the former branding now used on sister station CKDK-FM) |
| Owner | Corus Entertainment (Corus Premium Television Ltd.) |
| Website | www.1031freshradio.ca |
CFHK-FM is a radio station serving St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada that transmits at 16.7 kW on a 492-foot (150 m)-high transmitter at 103.1 FM. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format branded as 103.1 Fresh Radio. Although licensed to St. Thomas, the station's studios and offices are located in nearby London, with the other Corus Radio London stations.
History
CFHK was originally CHLO, an AM station broadcasting on 680 kHz and with studios in St. Thomas, Ontario. Rogers Radio Broadcasting Limited wanted to establish broadcasting on the frequency 680 kHz in Toronto, which at that time was occupied by CHLO. An "agreement" was reached whereby CHLO relocated to 1570 kHz in the 1970s. CHLO had a Top 40 music format during the 1960s into the 70s, and was a Music of Your Life station in the mid-1980s.[2] After a number of years as a country station, CHLO moved to the FM band in 1994, changing its calls to CFHK-FM. CFHK, known on-air as "The Hawk", had a modern rock format, which later evolved into classic rock. The station continued to operate out of St. Thomas until the late 1990s.
On January 12, 2000, CFHK joined the "Energy Radio" network, while The Hawk moved to co-owned CKDK in Woodstock. The Energy Radio network was unstable and station branding changed frequently. In 2002, the network was pulled. CFHK became local again as "Energy 103", serving only London and surrounding area. In August 2004, Energy Radio changed formats to its current adult top 40 format to go up against adult contemporary station CIQM-FM and adult hits station CHST-FM. The flip to hot AC was caused by previous hot AC station CHST-FM flipping to its current Bob FM format in July 2003. In August 2005, the Energy Radio brand was folded completely, and CFHK rebranded as "103-1 Fresh FM", due to the fact it could match the current CFHK calls. The morning program featuring "D, Mindy & Gord" moved from co-owned CFPL-FM (FM96) to launch the new station format.
In February 2011, Mindy Williamson was let go from Fresh Mornings, as the radio station apparently indicated they were moving in another 'direction'. D (Darrin Laidman) and Gord remained as morning show hosts for a while longer. Fresh Mornings hosts are now Ian Sterling and Kim Woodbridge. Williamson is now with CHST-FM in London, and D. is now morning host at 95.3 Fresh FM in Hamilton.[3]
By September 2010, CIQM-FM flipped to hot adult contemporary from its longtime adult contemporary format, competing with CFHK. By August 2012, CIQM-FM flipped to top 40, leaving CFHK as the only hot AC station again in London. This was to fill the void left by the pre-2004 CFHK.
On December 11, 2013, Corus Radio received CRTC approval to change the authorized contours of CFHK-FM, as well as its class from B to C1, plus increasing the average effective radiated power (ERP) from 16,700 watts to 22,000 watts (maximum ERP from 50,000 watts to 60,000 watts), increasing the effective height of the antenna above average terrain (HAAT) from 150 metres to 179.6 metres, and relocating the transmission site from its current location, on Elgin County Road 30 at Truman Line north of St. Thomas, to its new location on CFPL-DT's tower on Tower Road in South Bruce.[4][5] The station will broadcast directionally towards the north and south, to protect other stations on or first-adjacent to CFHK-FM, including WQUS Lapeer, Michigan (also on 103.1), CKCI-FM 103.3 Sarnia, and CKLH-FM 102.9 in Hamilton.[5]
References
- ↑ "Spring 2013 BBM Canada Survey"
- ↑ Decision CRTC 93-672
- ↑ http://www.corusent.com/home/Corporate/PressReleases/tabid/1697/Default.aspx?Id=2171
- ↑ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2013-676, CFHK-FM St. Thomas –Technical change, CRTC, December 11, 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/DocWebBroker/OpenDocument.aspx?AppNo=201309584
External links
- 1031 Fresh Radio
- CFHK-FM history - Canadian Communications Foundation
- Query the REC's Canadian station database for CFHK-FM
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