In 2001, The Team, CHUM's all sports radio network, debuted. Although it included mostly CHUM-owned AM stations, there were others.
In 2001, Roger-owned (since 1989) CFAC Calgary became The Team 960. Today, CFAC is Sportsnet 960 The Fan, affiliated with Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto. The Calgary Daily Herald first signed the station on in May 1922, switching to the CFAC call letters later that year. That makes them one of the longest continuous holders of a set of call letters in Canada.
In 2001, CFST Winnipeg became The Team 1290. The station began its life as CJQM on November 1, 1963, using what was rumoured to be Bellingham-based International Good Music's (IGM) Serial #000000005 automation machine. The machine ran tapes of music and voice-tracks produced by CHQM in Vancouver, in an attempt to clone CHQM's success. Failure came quickly, and IGM #5 was sent to Vancouver to eliminate the costs of Operators while providing most non-simulcast programming for CHQM-FM. Failure came even more quickly, and an Operator was assigned 5 minutes into the first day. As for CJQM, it was sold, became CFRW but later went bankrupt. Jim Pattison bought the station on March 30, 1970, and sold it to CHUM on July 31, 1974. The CFRW call letters were restored in 2003, but the station calls itself TSN 1290 today.
In 2002, J. Fred Weber died in West Vancouver of pneumonia as a complication of prostate cancer. He started at CKOV Kelowna in 1940, becoming Chief Engineer in 1945. He installed the first low-power TV station in North America, in Kamloops, and founded CKCQ-AM in Quesnel. In 1960, he founded CFTK-AM in Terrace under the name Skeena Broadcasters, soon expanding to include CKTK Kitimat, CHTK Prince Rupert and CJFW-FM Terrace.
But Fred's greatest achievement was bringing television to a quarter million square miles of Northwestern B.C. in 1962. He built propane-powered translators on numerous mountain tops accessible only by helicopter. And he funded it all with $25 TV gift certificates. Each gift certificate was purchased at a local CFTK-TV advertiser, and reduced the price of a television set by $25. CFTK accepted the certificates as payment for advertising on the station. In 1971, Fred brought cable television to Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat, later expanding to Hazelton and the Bulkley Valley. A CCF biography includes a picture and details of his many other accomplishments at http://broadcasting-history.ca/personal ... drick-fred
Also in 2002, the CRTC approved the CBC's request for Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton FM transmitters for Radio-Canada's La Chaine culturelle network. On 90.9, 89.7 and 90.1 MHz, respectively, though Edmonton swapped with CHFA-AM's nested FM repeater when the AM transmitter was silenced.
In 2003, the CRTC approved a rebroadcast transmitter on 99.7 MHz with 160 watts in Victoria for CBUF-FM in Vancouver. CBUF first signed on at 5 p.m. on December 1, 1967 with 100,000 watts on 97.7 MHz. Programming was in French and the station was part of the Radio-Canada's AM network.
In 2005, Robert ("Bob") E. Redmond passed away. He was co-owner of CFUN from 1955 until 1968. Bob later founded CKRY-FM Calgary in 1982, CHSC AM & FM in St. Catharines in 1967 and CJEZ-FM in Toronto in 1986.
