CHNO-FM
Encyclopedia
CHNO-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 103.9 on the FM dial in Sudbury, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. Airing a classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...

 format, the station is branded as Rewind 103.9.

History of CHNO

The station began broadcasting on June 24, 1947 on AM 1440. It was a bilingual radio station, airing programming in both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, and was an affiliate of both CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to 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 are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

's Dominion Network
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 radio station in Toronto and a series of 34 privately owned affiliates from coast-to-coast...

 and Radio-Canada. It was operated by Sudbury Broadcasting, a company owned by F. Baxter Ricard
F. Baxter Ricard
F. Baxter Ricard was a pioneering Canadian media proprietor.In 1947, Ricard obtained a radio licence to establish CHNO in Sudbury, Ontario, the first bilingual radio station in Canada outside of Quebec. Ten years later, in 1957, he became the first commercial radio broadcaster in Canada licensed...

, and was the first bilingual radio station in Canada outside of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. On November 9, 1954, CHNO moved to AM 900.

In 1957, Ricard opened CFBR
CHYC-FM
CHYC-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at FM 98.9 in Sudbury, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's franco-ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as Le Loup 98.9....

 on AM 550 as a full-time French language station, and CHNO switched to full-time English. The licensing of CFBR, which took over the Radio-Canada affiliation from CHNO, made Ricard the first commercial broadcaster in Canada licensed to operate two AM radio stations in the same city. On December 31, 1969, CFBR and CHNO swapped frequencies, CHNO moving to 550 and CFBR taking over the 900 slot. On May 14, 1976, the CRTC denied an application by Sudbury Broadcasting Co. Ltd. to change CHNO's frequency from 550 kHz to 570 kHz.

In 1980, Ricard launched a new FM station CJMX
CJMX-FM
CJMX-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 105.3 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand EZ Rock. The station is owned by Rogers Media.-History:...

. That same year, CHNO received approval to increase daytime power from 10,000 watts to 50,000 watts with the nighttime power to remain at 10,000 watts and would remain on 550 kHz. Also in 1980, Ricard also became a major shareholder in Mid-Canada Communications
Mid-Canada Communications
Mid-Canada Communications was a Canadian media company, which operated from 1980 to 1990. The company, a division of Northern Cable, had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario.-MCTV:...

. Sudbury Broadcasting continued to operate independently, although it was eventually merged into Mid-Canada Radio in 1985. In 1990, Mid-Canada sold the stations to Pelmorex
Pelmorex Radio Network
The Pelmorex Radio Network was a system of Canadian radio stations in Northern Ontario, owned and operated by Pelmorex.-History:In 1989, Pierre Morrissette founded his own communications company, Pelmorex Media Inc., and acquired several french and english-language radio stations that were serving...

. Following this sale, CFBR adopted the new call letters CHYC
CHYC-FM
CHYC-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at FM 98.9 in Sudbury, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's franco-ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as Le Loup 98.9....

.

In the 1970s and 1980s, CHNO was Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...

's most listened-to and most influential radio station, broadcasting a Top 40 format branded as "55 CHNO", "Rock Radio CHNO 55", "Sudbury's Best Rock", and "Sudbury's Hit Music Leader, NO55" . However, the 1990 launch of CJRQ
CJRQ-FM
CJRQ-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts in Sudbury, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand Q92, and airs at 92.7 MHz on the FM band. The station airs a mainstream/active rock format....

 ended CHNO's dominance, and in July 1992, CHNO flipped to an oldies format as "Oldies 55". After struggling through a variety of formats, including classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...

 as "AM 55 The Crusher" in 1994, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 and talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

 in 1995 and 1996, the station reverted back to oldies in 1997. Former program director Scott Jackson, now the manager of CJLF-FM
CJLF-FM
-Expansion:Trust Communications applied for a transmitter to serve the Inuit residents of Iqaluit, Nunavut with the first Christian station in the territory ; however, this application was rejected. Trust also applied twice for a new station in Kitchener-Waterloo with its own schedule and studios,...

 in Barrie
Barrie
Barrie may refer to:* Barrie, city in Ontario, Canada* Barrie , Canadian federal electoral district* Barrie , provincial electoral district* Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, former Canadian electoral district...

, has stated that CHNO and CJMX were the most neglected stations in the entire Pelmorex corporate family during the time that he worked there, despite being the network's nominal flagships.

In 1998, Pelmorex sold CJMX to Telemedia
Telemedia
Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....

. The following year, Pelmorex sold CHNO and CHYC to Haliburton Broadcasting Group
Haliburton Broadcasting Group
The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...

.

Switch to FM

Haliburton applied to the CRTC to move both CHNO and CHYC to FM, which was approved on August 31, 1999. In November 1999, CHNO dropped its oldies format and adopted its new contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...

 format and Z103 branding on the old AM frequency a few months before the station made its official move to FM. CHNO began testing its 103.9 FM signal just days before officially launching on February 3, 2000. The FM and AM signals aired simultaneously for a few weeks, and on February 29, the AM signal was closed permanently.

The station was originally licensed to broadcast at 100 kilowatts, but because of transmitter interference to the Greater Sudbury Airport
Greater Sudbury Airport
Sudbury Airport or Greater Sudbury Airport, , is an airport in the Canadian city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario and is located northeast of the downtown area, on Municipal Road 86 between the communities of Garson and Skead...

 the station's license was permanently amended to 11 kilowatts.

As a CHR station, Z103 hosted live-to-air programs from area nightclubs in the city, as well as syndicated shows such as the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
Rick Dees Weekly Top 40
Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40 is an internationally-syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide and the American Forces Network. It is distributed domestically by Citadel Media Networks and...

, American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...

and Canadian Hit 30 Countdown
Canadian Hit 30 Countdown
The Canadian Hit 30 Countdown, often abbreviated CH30, is a Canadian radio countdown show. It launched on November 6, 2004, on stations owned by Newcap Broadcasting. It is currently Canada's only CHR hit countdown.The show can be heard on CKIX-FM in St...

. Positioning slogans during the CHR period included "Sudbury's Best Music", "Today's Best Music" and "Sudbury's #1 Hit Music Station."

On November 9, 2001, Haliburton sold CHNO to Newcap Broadcasting
Newcap Broadcasting
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited is a major Canadian broadcasting company, majority-owned by Harold R. Steele. Newfoundland Capital is the parent company of Newcap Inc. . It is currently the number two private-sector radio broadcaster in Canada, just behind Astral Media...

. Despite no longer having common ownership, however, CHYC and CHNO continued to operate from the same studio facility at 493 Barrydowne Road in Sudbury until 2009.

Newcap and Rogers Media
Rogers Media
Rogers Media Inc is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., which owns Canada's largest publishing company, Rogers Publishing Limited, which has more than 70 consumer and business publications. Rogers Media Inc...

 soon entered into a joint sales agreement, under which Rogers held responsibility for advertising sales on CHNO as well as on its own CJRQ
CJRQ-FM
CJRQ-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts in Sudbury, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand Q92, and airs at 92.7 MHz on the FM band. The station airs a mainstream/active rock format....

, CIGM and CJMX
CJMX-FM
CJMX-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 105.3 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand EZ Rock. The station is owned by Rogers Media.-History:...

. In 2002, however, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is a Canadian public interest group.The group monitors developments in the Canadian television and radio broadcasting industries, and organizes action campaigns when broadcasters engage in activities which are deemed contrary to the public interest.FRIENDS is...

 filed a brief with the CRTC opposing the station's license renewal — FCB took the position that in practice, the agreement was extending well beyond advertising sales and into both program production and news gathering, and thus constituted an illegal de facto local management agreement. On January 31, 2005, the CRTC disallowed the agreement, ruling in its license renewals for the four stations that the agreement must be terminated no later than May 31 of that year.

Big Daddy arrives

At 12:00 AM on January 1, 2006, with little or no warning, the station flipped to a variety hits format of 1980s, 1990s and current rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 as "Big Daddy 103.9", ending another era of Top 40 music in the Sudbury market. The stations slogan during the Big Daddy period was "Playing Anything". Prior to the change to variety hits, the very last song played on the old Top 40 format as Z103 was "Lose Yourself
Lose Yourself
"Lose Yourself" is an Academy Award winning song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, released as the first single from the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile on October 22, 2002. It was written and produced by Eminem himself, along with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the...

" by Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...

. After the flip, the first song of the new variety hits format was "Start Me Up
Start Me Up
"Start Me Up" is a song by The Rolling Stones featured on the 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's lead single, it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the UK Singles Chart.-Writing and recording:...

", by the Rolling Stones. General manager Darlene Palmer said the station wanted to offer Sudbury "music you can dance to, sing to, date to, divorce to." Some promotional bumpers
Commercial bumper
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper or break-bumper is a brief announcement, usually two to 15 seconds that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa...

 for the station feature a stiff-voiced character representing "Big Daddy" himself. The stiff-voiced character was replaced by a new one around the middle of 2008.

In the first quarter BBM
Bureau of Broadcast Measurement
BBM Canada, also known as BBM, is an audience measurement organization for Canadian television and radio broadcasting.BBM was established on May 11, 1944 as a division of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. The organization was originally known as the "Bureau of Broadcast Measurement", and...

 ratings for 2006, CHNO's first ratings book under the Big Daddy format, the station regained the #1 status in the Sudbury market for the first time since 1990. However, the move was controversial with some of the station's prior listeners, and in July 2006, just seven months after flipping CHNO to the adult hits format, Newcap applied to the CRTC for a new contemporary hit radio station in the Sudbury market. In the application, Newcap stated that its market research found that a contemporary hit radio station could only be profitable in the market as one station within an ownership cluster, and not as a standalone entity. However, the application was denied by the CRTC on July 12, 2007.

The denial of the proposed contemporary hit radio station also became controversial, in part because the station that was licensed, CICS-FM
CICS-FM
CICS-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 91.7 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. The station airs a country music format, branded as KICX 91.7. The studio and offices are located at 60 Elm Street, and the station transmits a 50,000 watt signal from the CBC tower.-History:Owned by Larche...

, duplicated the format of an existing station in the market, Rogers' CIGM. In July 2008, however, Newcap announced a deal to acquire CIGM from Rogers in exchange for CFDR
CFDR (AM)
CFLT-FM is an FM radio station licensed to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada and serving the Halifax area. The station is owned by Rogers Radio and broadcasts at 92.9 MHz....

 in Halifax. Both CIGM and CFDR were the sole remaining AM stations in their respective markets, and in both cases the current owner already had the maximum permitted number of FM stations in the applicable market, whereas the acquirer only had a single FM station. Both companies applied to move the stations to FM as part of the trade. This deal was approved on November 24, 2008.

On June 25, 2009, Newcap received approval from the CRTC to increase CHNO-FM's effected radiated power from 11,000 watts to 100,000 watts, to increase the station's antenna height and to relocate the transmitter. On August 17, 2009, the station increased their power to 100,000 watts the same day CHNO-FM's sister station CIGM-FM began on-air tests at 93.5 FM.

2010 format change

On May 21, 2010, at 12:00 AM without warning, the station dropped adult hits
Adult hits
Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...

 and switched to its current classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...

 format as "Rewind 103.9", playing 60s, 70s and 80s music with its current slogan "Sudbury's Greatest Hits". The first song after the change was Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...

's "Old Time Rock and Roll
Old Time Rock and Roll
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is the title of a song by Bob Seger featured on his 1978 album Stranger in Town and released as a single in 1979. It is a nostalgic look at the music of a previous generation. The song was featured in the Tom Cruise film Risky Business and gained widespread fame because of...

". As of 2011, CHNO-FM now airs syndicated programs such as the 70s reruns of American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...

with Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...

, the Classic Countdown with Dick Bartley
Dick Bartley
Dick Bartley, a popular American radio disc jockey since 21 June 1969, hosts several popular syndicated radio shows of the oldies/classic hits genre, including the current Classic Countdown since 1991 and the Saturday night call-in request show Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits since 1982...

and the Donny Osmond show
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...

.

External links

  • Rewind 103.9
  • CHNO history at Canadian Communications Foundation
    Canadian Communications Foundation
    The Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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