Broadcast History - May 20

Broadcast History - May 20

Postby jon » Fri May 19, 2023 8:56 pm

In 1851, the inventor of records as we know them, Emile Berliner, was born in Germany. Everybody talks about Thomas Edison, but his Phonograph used cylinders. Berliner's Gramophone used flat discs. He lived long enough to see their use in commercial Radio, passing away after a heart attack, on August 3, 1929.

In 1920, what many consider the world's first "real" radio program was broadcast by the Marconi company's XWA in Montreal, complete with records, News and weather forecasts. XWA became CFCF on November 4, 1922, broadcasting on 440 meters with 500 watts.

In 1977, CKAC Montreal finally got an FM station, launching this day as CITE-FM on 107.3 MHz with 100,000 watts. Despite receiving one of the first commercial licenses in Canada in April 1922, CKAC seemed forever suffering setbacks. It was not their first application when they applied for 50,000 watts on May 14, 1930, but the reality never happened until March 13, 1958. But the ultimate setback came on May 30, 2005, when the station's 80 year old Newsroom was shut down by new owner Corus. Today, the station runs an all sports format.

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In 2005, the CRTC approved Rogers' purchase of the CIIT-TV Winnipeg and Fraser Valley's CHNU-TV. Approval was also given for the addition of a CHNU rebroadcast transmitter in Victoria on channel 21 with 720 watts. Cable providers were forced to carry CHNU in Greater Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley.

In 2006, Annis Stukus died at age 91 in his home in Canmore (Alberta). Depending on your age, he is best remembered as a football player, coach or commentator. But he began as a sportswriter, getting his first newspaper job at age 15. At 21, he played for the Toronto Argos, and was there for two Grey Cup victories. He created and then coached the Edmonton Eskimos in 1949 and the B.C. Lions in 1953. Switching to hockey, he was General Manager for the Vancouver Canucks beginning in 1967 and the Winnipeg Jets in 1971. While at CFTO-TV Toronto, he is credited with inventing the style of TV News based on a single set containing News anchor(s), Weather and Sports hosts. All the while, he continued to write, including stints at the Toronto Star and Telegram. His last work was at CFUN as sports announcer and commentator. His CCF bio is at http://broadcasting-history.ca/personal ... nnis-stuke

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Also in 2006, CKAY-FM officially signed on at 12:01 p.m. After formal introductions, "Making Our Dreams Come True" by Cyndi Greco was played. Jim Fraser was announced as the host of AM Drive. The station had been approved by the CRTC exactly 13 months earlier, licensed to Gibsons on the B.C. mainland, but transmitting from Mount Benson on Vancouver Island with an average effective radiated power of 600 watts (ERP, peak was approved as 2100 watts) on 91.7 MHz. The CKAY call letters became available in 2000 when Duncan's AM station switched to FM.

Listen to CKAY launch
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