Another blast from the past makes up today’s ‘Do You Remember’
CKAN Radio was Newmarket’s first locally licensed commercial radio station, and I would submit represented a significant milestone in the town’s history.
CKAN 1480 AM first went on the air at 6:00 a.m. on February 28, 1980, broadcasting on 1480 AM from studios located in the Newmarket Plaza on Davis Drive. The station was created specifically to serve Newmarket and York Region with local programming, news, weather, sports, and community information. Broadcasting.
The station’s call letters were CKAN-AM 1480 Newmarket and broadcasted with 10,000 watts day and night, a substantial signal for a local station. Its transmitter site was located near Oak Ridges, allowing strong coverage throughout York Region and northward toward Bradford. Broadcasting.
I am often asked why the arrival of CKAN was important to the Newmarket community. Before its arrival, Newmarket residents primarily listened to stations from Toronto, Barrie or Richmond Hill.
CKAN provided something new for our community, a station focused on local issues and local personalities. The CRTC approved the station as at that time Newmarket was considered to have a growing need for its own radio service.
For those who do not remember, the station originally featured the following programming:
- Adult contemporary (“middle of the road”) music
- Local news
- Community announcements
- Open line talk programs
- Coverage of York Region events
- Promotion of local musical talent
Many residents will remember tuning in to listen for:
- School announcements
- Storm information
- Community events
- Local business advertising
The station’s launch would coincide with Newmarket’s Centennial Celebrations as a town on February 29, 1980 (during the leap year centennial period, generating quite a bit of excitement that Newmarket finally had its own radio voice.
Like most media resources, CKAN underwent several format changes over the years. during the 1980s:
- Adult contemporary
- Country music
- Top 40 contemporary music
By the late 1980s it was broadcasting 24 hours per day. However, like many small-market radio stations, CKAN struggled financially. It briefly ceased operations in March 1992 before returning to the air later that year. Around this period the station changed its call letters from CKAN to CKDX.
In 1994 the station moved from AM to FM and became CKDX-FM Evolving into today’s station (yes, it is still around).
Over the years it has operated under several brands including:
- The Phoenix
- Power 88.5
- The Kat
- Foxy 88.5
- The Jewel
- Hot Country 88.5 (current branding)
For me, CKAN is important because it was:
- Newmarket’s first commercial radio station.
- A voice for York Region during a period of rapid growth.
- A source of local news and community identity.
- Part of the town’s 1980 centennial era.
Are you one of the many longtime residents who still remember hearing the station sign on for the first time and feeling that Newmarket had finally made it, joining the ranks of communities with its own local broadcaster?
This is just one of thousands of tiny memories we jointly hold of Newmarket’s history, each one representing just a tiny branch of this community’s cultural fabric.
I hope that you enjoyed this brief look back in time.
Enjoy your weekend!
The History Hound
