CFCY-FM

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CFCY-FM
City of license Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Branding 95.1 FM CFCY
Slogan The Island's Country
Frequency 95.1 MHz (FM)
First air date 1925 (experimental as 10AS 1924-1925)
Format Country music
ERP 100 kWs
Horizontal polarization only
HAAT 253 meters (830 ft)
Class C1
Callsign meaning randomly assigned
Owner Maritime Broadcasting System
Sister stations CHLQ-FM, CJRW-FM
Webcast Listen Live
Website www.cfcy.fm

CFCY-FM is a country music radio station in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, broadcasting at 95.1 FM. The station is owned by the Maritime Broadcasting System. It was first launched by radio pioneer Keith Rogers on August 15, 1924 as 10AS on 250 meters. In 1925, the station was granted a full license as CFCY, broadcasting at 960 kHz. It is the Maritimes' oldest radio station. In 1931, it moved to 580 kHz, and then to 630 in 1933.

Known as "The Friendly Voice of the Maritime", the location in the centre of the Gulf of St. Lawrence allowed CFCY's 5,000-watt daytime signal to reach portions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and New England as well as most of the Maritimes.

Rogers wanted to expand into television, but died in 1954. His company, Island Broadcasting, passed to his widow Flora, daughter Betty Rogers Large and son-in-law Bob Large. They fulfilled his dream of bringing television to the Island when CFCY-TV launched on July 1, 1956.

The CFCY stations were both CBC affiliates. However, in 1969, CFCY-TV was sold directly to the CBC as CBCT. The radio station remained a CBC affiliate until 1977, when the CBC opened CBCT-FM in Charlottetown. Island Broadcasting was renamed Eastern Broadcasting. The Rogerses sold the station to Maritime Broadcasting in 1986, earning a handsome return on their original investment of 62 years earlier.

The station has deep roots in traditional country music, bringing "Don Messer and His Islanders" to national recognition through the 1940s and 1950s. National broadcasts over the CBC network from CFCY lead to the Messer group gaining stature as the "most popular group in Canada during the mid-20th century", eventually helping the group make the successful jump from radio to television. The station's varied mix of music saw little competition until the arrival of FM radio which led to rebranding in a country music format since 1996.

Loman McAulay was one of many who had lengthy careers with the station, from the 1940s until his death in 1987. Betty Rogers Large spent over 60 years at the station in various capacities--one of the longest careers in Canadian broadcasting history. She first appeared on-air in 1925 at age 12. Her history of broadcasting on PEI, "Out of Thin Air", was published in 1989.

On March 24, 2006, approval was given for CFCY to switch over to the FM band.[1] In September, CFCY made its switch to FM with permission to simulcast the new station on the old 630 AM signal for 90 days and cease operation of the AM signal afterwards.

In December 2006, the audio feed for CFCY-AM on 630 kHz ceased. However, an open carrier remained on the air on 630 kHz which had some wondering if it was CFCY-AM or a pirate taking over the frequency. No link was established between this open carrier on 630 kHz and the mysterious "tone" stations widely heard throughout North America on the MW [standard broadcast band] in late November 2006. In January 2007 it was realized that the CFCY AM transmitter simply had not been turned off.

Notable Long Term On-Air Personalities

Some notable long term on-air personalities; Loman McAulay, Colin McAulay (son), Jim "Jimbo" Cross, JP Gaudet, Dave Holland, Rick Green, Bill MacEwen, Gregg MacEwen (son), Paul Alan, Mike Brooks, Lee Drake, Chris "Punch" Andrews.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-89

External links

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