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49-553: CFAC broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watts 24 hours a day on the regional frequency of 960 AM. The daytime signal is non-directional, and the nighttime signal is directional using a three-tower array located on Rainbow Road just east of the Calgary city limits. Organized radio broadcasting began to gain prominence in Canada in early 1922. Initially there wasn't a formal licence category for stations providing entertainment broadcasts intended for

98-626: A PPM data report released by Numeris . CFAC is the flagship station for live broadcasts of the Calgary Flames , and the Calgary Hitmen . It also carries live coverage of the Toronto Raptors Toronto Blue Jays , and is an affiliate of CBS Sports Radio . 50°59′21″N 113°50′24″W  /  50.98917°N 113.84000°W  / 50.98917; -113.84000 RCAF Station High River RCAF Station High River

147-403: A Var. 23 degrees E and elevation of 3,400 feet (1,036 m). The field was listed as "Irregular all-way turf field" and had three runways listed as follows: In approximately 1942 the relief aerodrome was listed at 50°33′N 113°43′W  /  50.550°N 113.717°W  / 50.550; -113.717 with a Var. 23 degrees E and elevation of 3,295 feet (1,004 m). The field

196-670: A company which would eventually become Selkirk Communications , became a minority partner in CFAC in 1934. The station was a private affiliate of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission , which became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1936. The station lost its CBC affiliation in 1948, when the CBC launched CBX to serve both Edmonton and Calgary from a Lacombe transmitter site. Selkirk became

245-460: A longtime associate of Lee de Forest , had a broadcasting career that dated back to 1916, over experimental station 2XG in New York City). The Herald commonly posted its daily broadcasting schedule on its front page. Until December 13, 1922 both CFAC and CHCQ were listed, but beginning the next day only CFAC appeared. Information on CHCQ's fate is limited, although one later review stated that

294-533: A practice that continued until 1992. In 2001, CFAC dropped the country music format which had been the station's staple for decades and adopted its current sports format, initially as an affiliate of CHUM Limited 's The Team sports network. When the Team network was discontinued in 2002, CFAC retained sports programming but was rebranded as The Fan. Mike Richards in the Morning , running from 6am-10am local time weekdays,

343-738: A private radio station in Quebec City and Lieutenant Colonel William Arthur Steel (1890–1968) former Chief Radio Officer with the Canadian Corps during World War I . In addition to being a creator of programming and a broadcaster, the CRBC was responsible under the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act for regulating and controlling all broadcasting in Canada, including privately owned radio stations that did not carry CRBC programming. The CRBC's regulatory responsibilities included determining

392-459: A second Calgary station, licensed to George M. Bell and transmitting on 430 meters (698 kHz), with the randomly assigned call sign of CFAC . On August 26 it was announced that the Herald was taking over operation of CFAC as a second, more powerful station. This was in addition to CHCQ, as the announcement noted "The set used during the past four months will not be discarded but is bring installed in

441-560: A weekly program originating from Toronto late Saturday nights but aimed at Canadians living in the far north including personal messages to RCMP officers, missionaries, trappers and others from family and friends, began in December 1933. The show was made up of listener letters, important messages from family and friends in other parts of the country, news and recorded music, and would run from November to May on CRBC's stations as well as several Canadian shortwave stations. During its first season,

490-522: A western Canadian farm. One of the best known national drama series was Radio Theatre Guild produced in Montreal by Rupert Caplan. Under program director Ernie Bushnell , CRBC increased the number of weekly English language series being broadcast over the network to 17 by the time of the network's demise. Another CRBC program, one which originated on the CNR's network in 1931, was Hockey Night in Canada under

539-591: The Canadian Radio Commission ( CRC ), was Canada's first public broadcaster and the immediate precursor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . The CRBC was established in 1932 by the government of R.B. Bennett based on the recommendations of the 1929 Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting and as a result of the lobbying efforts of the Canadian Radio League . The network was created on May 26, 1932 and existed until November 2, 1936 when it

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588-463: The 1920s by Canadian National Railways to provide broadcasting for railway passengers but were also heard by the general public and functioned, along with up two dozen stations across the country on which CNR Radio leased time, as an early national radio network. The CRBC also hired private stations across the country to carry at least three hours a day of CRBC programming. These affiliates were known as "basic stations". CRBC-owned or leased stations had

637-537: The 1930 flying season. Other activities such as aircraft testing continued until the station closed on 31 March 1931, with its facilities transferred to the Winnipeg Air Station for care and maintenance. The station did, however, remain as an aircraft storage facility until the beginning of the Second World War when the station was reactivated to train pilots for wartime service. RCAF Station High River

686-691: The Air Board restructured its flying operations, merging the Flying Operations Branch into the Canadian Air Force in June. Changes to the organization of the air stations were deferred to the fall to avoid administrative issues during the flying season. On 25 November 1922, the High River Air Station was renamed CAF Unit High River and the civilian personnel were commissioned or enlisted into

735-691: The CBC while the role of licensing stations and allocating wavelengths was assumed by the newly created Department of Transport . In 1958, the Board of Broadcast Governors assumed responsibilities for regulating public and private broadcasters from the CBC and the Department of Transport and in 1968, with the adoption of the Broadcasting Act , regulation became the responsibility of the Canadian Radio-television Commission (CRTC). All but

784-554: The Canadian Air Force. The name changed again when the Canadian Air Force was granted the "Royal" prefix effective 13 March 1923, becoming RCAF Unit High River , then RCAF Station High River in early October. None of these changes, nor the official formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force on 1 April 1924, substantially altered the role of the station. Late in 1924, five Avro 552 Vipers were delivered to replace

833-516: The Canadian government announced the formal creation of a radio broadcast service, which included the establishment of a "Private Commercial Broadcasting" licence. In late April 1922 an initial group of twenty-three commercial broadcasting station licences was announced, including one issued to the Herald for operation on 400 meters (750 kHz), with the randomly assigned call letters of CHCQ . CHCQ's transmitter and studio were located in room 1006 on

882-628: The DH.4s and the Avro 552s. That same year, a sub-station was established at Grande Prairie to enable the patrolling of the Peace River Country . After jurisdiction for natural resource management was transferred to the Province of Alberta in 1930, fire towers were built and spotting aircraft were no longer necessary. Fire-spotting patrols gradually ceased. No. 1 Photographic Detachment moved to Vancouver for

931-541: The DH.4s on forestry patrol, with two of the latter type retained for the station's mobile photographic flight. In July 1925, retroactive to 1 April, all the RCAF's civil operations stations were re-designated as numbered squadrons, with High River becoming No. 2 (Operations) Squadron . The northern refueling field moved from Eckville to Rocky Mountain House in 1926, though Eckville was used again temporarily in 1927. On 1 July 1927,

980-464: The High River Air Station in 1922. In 1922, sub-bases were established at Eckville and Pincher Creek at the northern and southern ends of the patrol routes. Patrols were flown outbound in each direction in the morning, refuelled at the sub-bases, and returned in the afternoon. Aerial photography operations were also begun in 1922, using modified DH.4 aircraft. Following the cancellation of part-time training for military pilots on 31 March 1922,

1029-549: The Moncton station later became CBC Radio or Radio Canada stations. The CRBC also leased and operated shortwave radio station CRCX (formerly VE9GW) in Bowmanville, Ontario , broadcasting on 6095 kHz. The station was leased from Gooderham & Worts with Toronto station CRCT (formerly CKGW), which transmitted from the same Bowmanville site. CBC bought CRCX and CRCT from Gooderham & Worts in 1937, after leasing them for

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1078-790: The RCAF's civil operations were transferred to the new Directorate of Civil Government Air Operations, and No. 2 (Operations) Squadron again became the High River Air Station . This directorate was nominally civilian, the director reporting directly to the Deputy Minister of National Defence, but was still staffed almost entirely by attached or seconded RCAF personnel. The following year, all photographic operations were re-organized as independent detachments reporting directly to Ottawa, and High River provided support to No. 1 Photographic Detachment instead of fielding its own photographic flight. In 1928, De Havilland DH. 60 Cirrus Moths replaced both

1127-629: The clock coverage of the Moose River Mine Disaster in Nova Scotia with announcer J. Frank Willis broadcasting live reports from the mine head every half hour for five days as rescue crews attempted to recover the lost miners. The reports were broadcast throughout Canada as well as to 650 stations in the United States and the BBC . In July 1936, the network broadcast live coverage from France of

1176-587: The election. New legislation was introduced creating the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a crown corporation with an arm's length relationship with the government. The management of the CRBC, including Charlesworth, were dismissed and the new CBC was launched on November 2, 1936 with a new management team. At its demise, the CRBC was made up of eight network owned-and-operated stations and 14 privately owned network affiliates . The CRBC's regulatory powers were largely transferred to

1225-475: The first aircraft used. They were later replaced by Fairchild Cornells . An unprepared emergency and practice landing field, also known as a relief landing field, was located on the then dry lakebed of nearby Frank Lake . More than 4000 pilots were trained at No. 5 EFTS. The school closed on 15 December 1944. In approximately 1942, the aerodrome was listed at 50°36′N 113°51′W  /  50.600°N 113.850°W  / 50.600; -113.850 with

1274-611: The flying operations consisted of fire-spotting forestry patrols over the mountains and foothills to the west. Two patrols were made daily, to the Clearwater, Bow and Crowsnest Forest Reserves. One patrol flew north as far as the Clearwater River , and one south to the International Boundary. Of the early Canadian air stations, High River was the most active, with 215 flights flown on forest patrols. Other responsibilities of

1323-726: The forestry work, began to make a series of experimental entertainment broadcasts, believed to be the first in western Canada, that were audible approximately 50 miles (80 km) away in Calgary. (In May 1922 Grant founded CFCN (now CKMX) in Calgary.) In the spring of 1922 the Calgary Herald began to publicize the topic of radio, including Grant's broadcasts. In late April the newspaper installed what it called "the most complete receiving set in Western Canada" at its headquarters, and reported that it had successfully picked up High River concerts on April 27 and April 28. During this same time

1372-548: The general public, so the earliest stations operated under a mixture of Experimental, Amateur, and governmental authorizations. One of the most prominent pioneer broadcasters was William Walter Westover Grant, who during this time installed radio communication equipment for the Canadian Air Board's Forestry patrol. In 1921 these operations were established at the High River Air Station in southern Alberta. Grant constructed government station VAW at this site, and, in addition to

1421-527: The move came as part of a co-branding initiative with its television counterpart Rogers Sportsnet , amid indications that rival TSN was preparing to launch a competing sports radio network, which launched shortly after in Toronto. The station's on-air identity was then changed to "Sportsnet 960 The Fan" in October 2011. As of Winter 2020, CFAC is the 17th-most-listened-to radio station in the Calgary market according to

1470-451: The names Saturday Night Hockey , General Motors Hockey Broadcast and then, starting in 1934, The Imperial Oil Hockey Broadcast . Other programming including fare such as Bible Dramas from CRCM Montreal, Canadian Press News - a 15-minute nightly newscast from CRCT Toronto presented by Charles Jennings (the father of Peter Jennings ), Western Radio Players a weekly dramatic half-hour from CKY. Winnipeg The Northern Messenger ,

1519-577: The network of being biased towards the governing Conservatives. During the election campaign, the CRBC broadcast a series of 15 minutes soap operas called Mr. Sage which were critical of Opposition leader William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Liberal Party. Decried as political propaganda, the incident was one factor in King's decision to replace the CRBC with a new entity when the Liberals took office following

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1568-543: The new quarters and will be used in case of accident with the larger machine, thus assuring a continuity of service." CFAC's broadcast debut under Herald oversight took place at 7.45 p.m. on August 29. Charles Logwood, radio engineer of the Canadian Independent Telephone Co. of Toronto, was credited with installing the CFAC transmitter for the Radio Corporation of Calgary and the Herald . (Logwood,

1617-604: The number, location and transmitting power of radio stations as well as the amount of time spent carrying local and national programming. The CRBC acquired radio stations in Ottawa , Vancouver and Moncton from the CNR Radio network for $ 50,000 as well as CNR Radio studios in various other cities and leased or established additional stations in Montreal , Chicoutimi , Quebec City , Toronto and Windsor . The stations had been created in

1666-520: The playing of a violin by Margaret King of the Palace theatre orchestra. The Herald announced the formal station opening would take place at 8:30 the evening of May 2, beginning with a speech by Frank Freeze, president of the Calgary Board of Trade. This formal debut closed with Margaret King singing "God Save the King". The April 1922 initial list of commercial broadcasting station grants had also included

1715-788: The prefix "CRC" in their call-letters. E. Austin Weir , formerly of the CNR radio network, became the CRBC's program director. He was terminated, however, for not providing enough programming. Weir was replaced by Ernie Bushnell who became director of CRBC programming in Ontario and Western Canada and Arthur Dupont who was responsible for Quebec and the Maritimes. Network programming included orchestral music, live Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts from NBC and New York Philharmonic Orchestra broadcasts from CBS , dramatized informational programs such as The Youngbloods of Beaver Band which serialized life on

1764-509: The program relayed 1,745 messages; a figure that increased sixfold within four years. The program would be continued by the CBC into the 1970s. CRBC's national radio coverage of the 1935 federal election was the first time Canadian election results were broadcast nationwide. All programs were live as there were no recording facilities. The network had six stations of its own and relied largely on private affiliates to provide studios, equipment and staff. In April 1936, CRBC provided round

1813-486: The station closed sometime in 1924. On May 1, 1923 the Herald presented a special program "in celebration of the first anniversary of CFAC", and its historical review combined the earlier broadcasts of CHCQ with those of CFAC that started in August, with a sidebar noting "Before the present radio station of The Herald was built, this set, that was known then as CHCQ, was used to entertain the fans." Taylor, Pearson & Carson,

1862-498: The station included aerial photography , parachute experimentation, aircraft testing, and aerial pesticide spraying. In the early 1920s the station became involved with experimenting with radio. Wireless equipment was developed in cooperation with the Canadian Corps of Signals to develop radio signals to be broadcast over distances greater than 300 km. The most powerful radio transmitter in North America began operating from

1911-578: The station's sole owner in 1971, and was acquired by Maclean-Hunter in 1989, which in turn was bought out by Rogers Radio in 1994. Like most early radio stations, CFAC changed frequencies a number of times. Under the provisions of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement it moved to its current frequency assignment of 960 kHz in early 1941. In 1983, CFAC launched CFHC in Canmore to re-broadcast its programs,

1960-522: The summer of 1920. From experience gained during the 1920 flying season, the weather at Morley was determined to be too erratic and dangerous for flying. In the early days, the station had an entirely civil function and was the largest in Canada with ten war-surplus Airco DH.4 aircraft that were part of the Imperial Gift provided to Canada by Britain after the First World War . Initially, most of

2009-478: The tenth floor of The Herald Building. The primary technical work was performed by G. J. J. Jermain and S. H. Sturrork, assisted by W. W. Grant at the High River station. The first test transmission began at 2 o'clock on May 1, after the transmitter vacuum tubes had arrived that morning, and the next day's paper reported that "very gratifying success was obtained". Programming included phonograph records plus singing and

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2058-545: The unveiling by King Edward VIII of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial , which was relayed across the ocean by shortwave radio . The CRBC turned to radio advertising in order to make up a shortfall between government grants and the amount of money needed to run the network. The network was criticized by the Canadian Radio League for having poor programming while the Liberal Party opposition accused

2107-601: Was a major participant in British Commonwealth Air Training Plan aircrew training during the Second World War. No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) was established at High River on 28 June 1941 after having moved from RCAF Station Lethbridge because of wind problems at Lethbridge. Training was provided by civilian instructors from the Calgary Aero Club. De Havilland Tiger Moths were

2156-591: Was a station of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) located at High River , Alberta, Canada. The High River Air Station commenced flying operations on 6 May 1921 when the Flying Operations Branch of the Canadian Air Board relocated the Morley Air Station to High River over the winter of 1920–21. The Morley Air Station was one of the initial five stations established for civil operations in

2205-444: Was listed as "Dry Lake Bed" and was located at Frank Lake, east of High River, and was marked as a square measuring: The High River aerodrome closed in December 1944. The site is no longer a functioning airport and is used for private commercial purposes. I Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission ( CRBC/CCR ; French : Commission canadienne de radiodiffusion ), also referred to as

2254-519: Was one of the most popular shows on Calgary radio. It often featured fake phone calls, skits and songs (all performed by Richards) from or about local and international sports celebrities. As of 2010, according to BBM's recently introduced PPM ratings, the program became the highest rated sports morning show in the country. However, in January 2011 Richards left The Fan to pursue a job as morning host with TSN Radio 1050 back in his native Ontario . His program

2303-595: Was reorganized as a Crown corporation becoming the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Daily national broadcasting began in May 1933 with an hour's programming a day which was increased over time. At its creation, Prime Minister Bennett spoke of the need for public control of radio saying: The three-man commission had a mandate to regulate, control all broadcasting in Canada as well as to create and transmit its own programming and to lease, purchase or construct stations for its dissemination. Its ability to carry out its mandate

2352-473: Was replaced with a show co-hosted by ex- Calgary Flames player Rhett Warrener . As of August 2008, The Fan was ranked 15th among Calgary radio stations with only a %1.9 share of the audience, arguably due to the niche market of the all-sports AM format. As of the Fall 2011 BBM Radio PPM Data, CFAC was still ranked #15, but increased its share to 3.1. In January 2011, CFAC became known as "Sportsnet Radio Fan 960",

2401-530: Was severely restricted by the financial constraints of the Great Depression and it was forced to rely on private stations to carry its programs to much of the country. Bennett named Hector Charlesworth , editor of Saturday Night magazine, as chairman of the CRBC. The other members of the Commission were Thomas Maher, an unsuccessful Quebec Conservative candidate in 1930 federal election and director of

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