CFWC-FM (93.9 MHz, Hot Country 93.9) is a radio station in Brantford, Ontario. Owned by Evanov Communications, the station broadcasts a country format. The studios are located at 325 West St in Brantford while its transmitter is located atop a church steeple at Dundas St and Sydenham St in Brantford.
 | |
| Broadcast area | Southern Ontario |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 93.9 MHz (FM) |
| Branding | Hot Country 93.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Evanov Communications |
| CKPC (defunct), CKPC-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | Early 2002 |
| Technical information | |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 1,700 watts |
| Repeater(s) | 92.1 CKPC-HD2 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | hotcountry939.com |
History
editOn October 11, 2001, Anthony Schleifer, on behalf of a company to be incorporated, received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to operate an English-language specialty FM radio programming undertaking at Brantford.[1] The station's original frequency was 99.5 FM and was branded as Freshwind 99.5 when it began broadcasting in early 2002. Its transmitter located atop a church steeple, with its studios and offices at 271 Greenwich Street in Brantford. The station has also been given permission to increase power to 250 watts, but was not carried out at the time it was granted.
On May 20, 2004, CFWC-FM was given CRTC approval to change frequency to 93.9 MHz and to increase effective radiated power from 50 to 250 watts. Antenna height remained 23.9 metres EHAAT.[2] When CFWC moved to 93.9 MHz, it adopted the name Power 93.9.
In 2010, Durham Radio filed an application to acquire CFWC, pursuant to the approval of a separate application to remove license conditions requiring it to primarily broadcast "non-classic religious music" (which would allow it to drop its Christian format in favour of a mainstream format). On February 10, 2011, the CRTC denied the application, noting that it appeared to be an attempt to undermine the normal competitive licensing process.[3]
On February 17, 2012, an application was filed with the CRTC under which the station would be sold to Sound of Faith Broadcasting Inc. The deal was subsequently approved by the CRTC on June 28, 2012,[4] with Sound of Faith Broadcasting officially taking ownership on August 24, 2012. The station was subsequently renamed FaithFM.
On July 20, 2017, the CRTC approved the sale of the station to Evanov Radio Group. The sale was completed August 31, 2017.[5] The station was renamed Arise Brantford 93.9.
In February 2020, the CRTC approved a request to swap the license conditions of CFWC and sister AM station CKPC, in order to allow CKPC's country format to be moved to FM in exchange for CFWC's Christian format. Evanov stated that both stations had been unprofitable for several years, the country music format would have a larger audience and be more profitable on an FM signal, and that the swap would improve their ability to compete with out-of-market stations.[6] The CRTC also approved a power increase for the station, increasing its effective radiated power from 250 watts to a 1,700 watt Class A signal.[6]
The switch took effect on-air on September 4, 2020, with CFWC flipping to country as Hot Country 93.9, and the previous Arise Brantford programming moving to AM 1380. In comparison to the previous AM country format, "Hot Country" has a larger focus on current artists.[7] CKPC later shut down on August 4, 2023.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ Decision CRTC 2001-642, New Christian music FM radio station, CRTC, October 11, 2001
- ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2004-187, CFWC-FM Brantford - Technical change, CRTC, May 20, 2004
- ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-85, CFWC-FM Brantford – Change in effective control and amendments to conditions of licence, CRTC, February 10, 2011.
- ^ Broadcasting Information Bulletin CRTC 2012-353, Applications processed pursuant to streamlined procedures, CRTC, June 28, 2012
- ^ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-260". CRTC. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
- ^ a b "CFWC-FM Brantford and CKPC Brantford – Technical changes and licence amendments". CRTC. 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (2020-08-31). "Evanov's Brantford country station gets FM relaunch this week". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ Ruby, Michelle (August 4, 2023). "CKPC AM 1380 signs off the air". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "CKPC-A (Arise Christian Radio AM 1380)/Brantford, ON Shuts Down". All Access. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
External links
edit- Hot Country 93.9
- CFWC-FM at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation
- CFWC-FM in the REC Canadian station database