City | London, Ontario |
---|---|
Branding | Newstalk 1290 CJBK |
Slogan | "Get to Know London" |
Frequency | 1290 kHz (AM) |
First air date | 1967 |
Format | news / talk / sports |
Audience share | 3.4% |
Power | 10 kW |
Class | B |
Callsign meaning | Christ Jesus, Be Kind (in reference to Detroit radio station WJBK, now WLQV) |
Owner |
Bell Media (Bell Media Radio) |
Sister stations | CFPL-DT, CIQM-FM, CJBX-FM |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | www.cjbk.com |
CJBK is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting in London, Ontario at 1290 kHz. The station, owned by Bell Media, has an antenna system input power of 10,000 watts, as a class B station. The station airs a news, talk and sports format. It broadcasts all home and away games of the London Knights hockey team as well as the Western Ontario Mustangs college football team, serving as both squads' flagship station.
Minor co-channel interference is common on CJBK at night from WHIO in Dayton, Ohio, which also broadcasts on 1290 AM (1290 kHz).
CJBK went on the air January 25, 1967 as CJOE. "JOE" in the call letters stood for H. J. McManus, the founder of the station (under the banner of Middlesex Broadcasters, Ltd.). The station originally featured a Beautiful Music format. Eventually CJOE began to supplement the easy listening music with soft rock and then Top 40 music during the evening hours, but the station remained unprofitable.
In 1972, McManus sold the station to Rick Richardson (two-thirds Baron Communications, Ltd. and one-third Bruce Communications, Ltd.). On September 6, 1972, Richardson took control of CJOE and changed the call letters to CJBK and the format to full-time Top 40 hit music. Richardson wanted a "CJ" call sign to distinguish the new AM 1290 from its competitors CFPL and CKSL, but it has also been suggested (by who?) that the CJBK calls were a personal tribute to former Detroit Top 40 station WJBK-AM, which had been a favourite station of Richardson's while he lived and worked in Windsor. CJBK's main catchphrase in the 1970s was "Have a Good Day!" In 1980, CJBK added an FM sister with country-formatted CJBX-FM 92.7.