CKST
| File:TSN 1040 Logo.png | |
| Broadcast area | Metro Vancouver |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1040 kHz (AM) 103.5 MHz HD2 |
| Branding | TSN Radio 1040 |
| Programming | |
| Format | sports |
| Affiliations | TSN Radio ESPN Radio Fox Sports Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| CFTE, CFBT-FM, CHQM-FM, CIVT-DT | |
| History | |
First air date | January 19, 1963 |
Former call signs | CJJC (1963-1985) CJUP (1985-1988) |
Former frequencies | 850 kHz (1963-1975) 800 kHz (1975-1992) |
Call sign meaning | C(K)oaST (reference to old branding of Coast 1040) |
| Technical information | |
| Class | B |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 49°05′33″N 122°55′57″W / 49.092431°N 122.932388°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | TSN Radio 1040 |
CKST is a radio station located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Owned by Bell Media, the station broadcasts a sports talk format branded as TSN Radio 1040. It is the flagship station of a two-station sports talk cluster with CFTE, TSN Radio 1410. CKST's studios are located on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver, while its transmitters are located in Delta.
History
CKST went on the air for the first time on January 19, 1963 in Langley, British Columbia as CJJC, broadcasting on its original frequency of 850 AM with 1000 watts of power and offering a country music format. The station's original owner was City & Country Radio Ltd., headed by former CJAV and CKNW personality Joe Chesney.
CJJC was given approval by the CRTC on December 15, 1970 to change its frequency and transmission power from 850 AM and 1000 watts to 800 AM and 10,000 watts, but the station waited until June 1975 to put the change into effect. In 1977, CJJC (which had been dealing with financial trouble for some time) rehired 23 of 32 staff members who were given 30 days notice on New Year's Eve. Parent company City & Country Radio was authorized to transfer all of the station's shares to a company run by Joe Chesney and Ernie Mykyte; Mykyte would become sole owner of CJJC in 1978 when he bought out Chesney's half-interest in the station.
CJJC and parent City & Country Radio were purchased on June 26, 1985 (following CRTC approval) by an ownership consortium of Saskatoon Telecable Ltd. (72%), Sam Folstad (18%) and L.M. McDonald (10%); later in the year, CJJC changed its call letters to CJUP and dropped its country format for Top 40 with "Up Radio, AM 800" as its on-air name. In 1987, CJUP majority shareholder Saskatoon Telecable was purchased by Clint Forster and his family, and the station changed call letters again to the present CKST in 1988. On July 7, 1989, CKST increased its power to 25,000 watts and began broadcasting in stereo.
CKST switched formats to modern rock and adopted the on-air name "Coast 800" on November 9, 1990. The station underwent major changes during the early part of 1992; on January 30, the CRTC authorized station owner Western World Communications (the former Saskatoon Telecable) to buy Vancouver station CIMA 1040 (which had begun operations on September 12, 1986[1] as CIOF, then CKXY, then CIMA) from Monarch Broadcasting Ltd., also granting permission to CKST to switch frequencies (from 800 to 1040), increase transmission power (from 25,000 watts to 50,000), relocate its transmitter from Aldergrove to Delta and move its operations from Langley to Vancouver.[2] CIMA 1040 signed off for the final time on February 4, and CKST moved into CIMA's facilities and became "Coast 1040" on March 9.
Plans were made to move CKST to the FM band (at 94.5 FM with 38,000 watts of power) in 1993, but were denied by the CRTC.[3] CKST ended its modern rock format at Midnight on September 30, relaunching with an adult standards format under the new on-air name "Q104" (which was later dropped in favour of using the CKST calls). The station was purchased by Ronald Dixon and Gary Mathiesen in 1994.
CKST was in the process of being sold when Dixon was killed in a car accident in Mexico on September 15, 2000; the station would be sold to Grand Slam Radio Inc., which assumed ownership on February 1, 2001, switched CKST to its present all-sports format and adopted its current on-air name "The TEAM 1040" on April 25, and joined CHUM's TEAM all-sports network on May 7. Station founder Joe Chesney died in Langley on November 10, 2001, at the age of 82, and CHUM would purchase CKST on February 10, 2003, adding to the company's ownership of CFUN, CHQM-FM and CKVU-TV in Vancouver.
It was a member of CHUM Limited's short-lived "The Team" sports radio network in 2001-2002 and remains loosely affiliated with those stations that retained the sports format. It competed heavily with CHMJ 730 AM ("MOJO Sports Radio"), an all-sports station in Vancouver owned by Corus Entertainment, until that station dropped its sports format in May 2006.
The station made headlines in 2003 when host John Conners made comments about Vancouver Canucks player Todd Bertuzzi's wife on the air. Conners was fired by CKST after the Canucks revoked their accreditation of its reporters and pulled their advertising from the station in response to the incident.
In 2004, it acquired the radio broadcast rights for BC Lions football games, beating longtime broadcaster CKNW. Veteran play-by-play man J. Paul McConnell stayed with CKNW, while colour analyst Giulio Caravatta moved to CKST and joined new play-by-play announcer Rick Ball.
In the spring of 2006, in what was seen as a major gain for the station, it acquired the broadcasting rights for the Canucks, which had long been the staple of rival CKNW. The play-by-play team of John Shorthouse and Tom Larscheid also moved stations from CKNW to CKST.
CTVglobemedia purchased CKST and its sister radio stations in Vancouver as part of the acquisition of CHUM Limited on June 22, 2007, following its approval by the CRTC, while former co-owned CKVU was sold to Rogers Communications on October 31, 2007.
Starting in October 2008, the station began splitting Canucks play-by-play duties between John Shorthouse and new announcer's Joey Kenward and Rick Ball. Kenward calls the Canucks broadcasts when the team is on the road, Ball calls the show for the home games. Both new hosts fill in only when Shorthouse does the television play-by-play for Rogers Sportsnet. After one season of this arrangement, from October 2009 until present, Ball handles all play-by-play duties while Shorthouse is calling games on Sportsnet. Kenward only calls games when Shorthouse is on Sportsnet and Ball is away calling BC Lions CFL football games.
TSN Radio 1040's secondary station
On November 5, 2009, station management announced the immediate discontinuation of CFUN's talk format and its replacement with sports radio.[4] CFUN, rebranded "Team 1410", would henceforth serve as CTVglobemedia's secondary sports radio station for the city, primarily featuring ESPN Radio and other syndicated sports talk shows, BC Lions football coverage, replays of Vancouver Canucks games, and coverage of various American or overseas sports events not previously available on Vancouver radio. TSN Radio 1410 is also the home of the Major League Soccer team Vancouver Whitecaps FC. During the annual IIHF U20 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, TSN Radio 1410 also broadcasts Team Canada's games.
CKST continues to air its current locally focused sports format, although the announcement implied that BC Lions games which were previously aired on that station would henceforth air exclusively on 1410.
Re-branding as TSN Radio
On August 28, 2014, it was announced that both Team stations in Vancouver would rebrand as TSN Radio stations on September 8, 2014. The move coincides with Don Taylor's full-time return to the station after being released from rival Sportsnet.[5][6]
Programming
The station offers a mixture of live sports broadcasting, with talk shows featuring either local personalities or simulcasts of syndicated sports radio shows.
CKST broadcasts all games of the Vancouver Canucks and occasional Vancouver Canadians games and other local sports events. It carries most Seattle Mariners games from KIRO in Seattle, most Seattle Seahawks games from KIRO in Seattle, ESPN Radio's Sunday Night Baseball, and Westwood One's Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football. It was the official broadcaster of the BC Lions until November 2009 when coverage was moved to sister station Team 1410.
It is a Fox Sports Radio affiliate and former ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio affiliate. It also carries content such as Prime Time Sports, occasional Toronto Blue Jays games, and annual events such as the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships from The FAN 590 in Toronto.
Live Sports
TSN Radio 1040 is the flagship station and exclusive broadcaster of the following teams:
- BC Lions (CFL football)
- Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
- Vancouver Canadians (Minor League Baseball)
TSN Radio 1040 also features live coverage of the following:
- NFL Football (select games)
- Seattle Mariners (MLB baseball) (most games)
- Seattle Seahawks (NFL football) (most games)
References
- ^ Decision CRTC 85-1054
- ^ Decision CRTC 92-27
- ^ Decision CRTC 93-75
- ^ A message from James Stuart - Vice President & General Manager of CHUM Radio Vancouver, CFUN website, 2009-11-05, accessed 2009-11-05
- ^ Douglas, Greg (August 8, 2014). "Don Taylor, Craig MacEwen out as Sportsnet moves away from Vancouver". Georgia Straight. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- ^ "TEAM RADIO SWITCHES TO TSN1040 & TSN1410". teamradio.ca. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Houston, William. "Mojo says goodbye to all-sports format," The Globe and Mail, May 30, 2006.
- Pap, Elliot. "Sports radio stations brimming with hockey coverage," The Vancouver Sun, September 23, 2005.
- Schecter, Brian. "Radio's Jock Talk Wars," The Tyee, April 19, 2004.
- Yu, Karl. "Jock Talk," Vancouver Courier, April 14, 2005.
- "Radio Station Fires Announcer For Comments Made About Vancouver Player's Wife," Associated Press, February 5, 2003.
External links
- TSN Radio 1040
- CJJC/CJUP/CKST history - Canadian Communications Foundation
- Biography of CJJC founder Joe Chesney
- CKST in the REC Canadian station database
