History
The station was launched in 1950 as CJON and was owned by the Newfoundland Broadcasting Company (Geoff Stirling and Don Jamieson), which launched CJON-TV in 1955. The company later launched additional AM stations throughout the province.
In 1978, Jamieson transferred his interest in Newfoundland Broadcasting to Stirling in exchange for the AM stations. As part of the deal, the stations changed call signs, in CJON's case to CJYQ. All the new call signs ended in "Q", so the group became known as the Q Radio Network.
In 1983, Jamieson sold the stations to CHUM Limited. During CHUM's ownership, the Q Radio stations became oldies stations, while a new co-owned country FM station, CKIX-FM, was launched. In 1990, the stations were sold again to Newcap Broadcasting, which quickly converted the AM stations outside St. John's to country (fed from CKIX). Two of the stations were closed soon after, while the others eventually converted to FM.
CJYQ, or Classic Hits Q93 as it was known under Newcap, continued to be an apparently viable station until the late 1990s, when the station was quietly switched to full-time automation, dropping all but a bare minimum of announcers (shared with CKIX and later VOCM) to read weather forecasts and other brief segments. In 2000, when Newcap proposed to purchase the VOCM group, the longtime rival of CJYQ, it proposed to keep the latter station, which it would not have normally been entitled to do in a market the size of St. John's (where the maximum number of stations per ownership group is three). In exchange the station would air a greater amount of Canadian content than required (40% instead of 35%), of which at least half (or 20% overall) would have to be Newfoundland music.
The CRTC permitted this, and at noon on September 8, 2000, the station became Radio Newfoundland. This may have caused some minor confusion as VOCM had occasionally used that name for group branding in prior years. Since the changeover, CJYQ has in fact even exceeded its higher requirements, with almost 80% Newfoundland content. However, it continues to be a largely automated station with few regular on-air staff, although the station does air some long-form magazine programs on the weekend.
As Radio Newfoundland, the station occasionally played station IDs recorded by Newfoundland musicians that opted to call the station Radio Newfoundland and Labrador, as a result of the province's official name change in 2001. However, this was not a reflection of the station's actual brand at the time; in fact, the station's signal does not reach Labrador, and little if any of the station's programming or music originated there. (Newcap did have a separate operation branded as Radio Labrador (now known as Big Land FM) however, this station is part of the main VOCM network, and airs a mix of adult contemporary music outside of network programming.)
The station adopted its This is Newfoundland and Labrador branding in April 2010 to coincide with the launch of a new Newcap-owned tourism portal of the same name. On January 28, 2014, a fire destroyed CJYQ's broadcasting tower, knocking the station of off the air. It transmitted over the Internet until repairs were completed in February. On April 14, 2015, the country music format that had previously aired on VOCM moved to CJYQ, which coincidentally rebranded as 930 KIXX Country.
On April 30, 2021, CJYQ was rebranded as New Country 930 to align with other country-formatted stations owned by Stingray.
CJON-DT, branded on-air as NTV, is an independent television station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, owned by Newfoundland Broadcasting Company Ltd. The station's studios are located on Logy Bay Road in St. John's, and its transmitter is located in the city's Shea Heights section.
VOCM is an AM radio station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, broadcasting at 590 kHz. Owned by Stingray Group, VOCM first went on the air on October 19, 1936. Through the "VOCM/Big Land FM Radio Network" of stations owned by Stingray, VOCM programming is carried throughout the province.
CFXJ-FM is a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned by the Stingray Group, it broadcasts an adult hits format. Its studios are located on Yonge Street at St. Clair Avenue in Toronto's Deer Park neighbourhood. CFXJ was Canada's first Black-owned radio station. From its launch through 2022, the station aired various urban and rhythmic formats.
VOWR is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The station is operated by the Wesley United Church of Canada with studios and offices at 101 Patrick Street.
Stingray Radio is a Canadian radio broadcasting conglomerate owned by Stingray Group. It owns and operates 101 radio stations in Canada—making it the second-largest radio conglomerate in Canada behind Bell Media. It also owns two television stations in Lloydminster. The majority of its stations are situated in Atlantic and Western Canada, with its largest presences being in the provinces of Alberta and Newfoundland.
VOCM-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 97.5 MHz from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Owned by Stingray Group, the station is branded as 97.5 K-Rock and broadcasts a classic rock format, although some 1990s and 2000s rock songs have become part of the mix.
CHOZ-FM is a Canadian radio station based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its main St. John's transmitter broadcasts at 94.7 MHz, with additional transmitters located throughout the island. The station, known as OZ FM, is one of the various media properties of the Stirling family; this includes local television station CJON-DT.
CIOK-FM, is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 100.5 FM in Saint John, New Brunswick, owned by the Maritime Broadcasting System. The station currently offers an adult contemporary format branded on-air as K100. Prior to July 2009, it had an adult contemporary format before changing to CHR/Top 40. As of September 2015, the station moved back to AC.
CKIX-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting on 99.1 FM in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The station currently broadcasts a Top 40/CHR format branded as Hot 99.1. The station is owned by Stingray Group.
CKEC-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 94.1 FM in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, owned by the Stingray Group. The station airs a soft adult contemporary format branded as 94.1 The Breeze. The transmitter tower is situated on Mount Thom.
CFCB is an AM radio station in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It broadcasts at a power of 10,000 watts by day and 1,000 watts at night. Owned by Stingray Group, CFCB first went on the air on October 3, 1960. The station was founded by Dr. Noel Murphy.
CFSX is an AM radio station in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, broadcasting at 870 kHz. Originally launched as a repeater on November 13, 1964, it opened its own studios in 1970. The station is owned by Stingray Group. It is an affiliate of VOCM.
CFGN-FM is an FM radio station in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, broadcasting at 96.7 MHz. Originally launched as a repeater on August 7, 1971 at 1230 kHz, it opened its own studios in 1973. In 1996, it became a repeater of CFSX. The station is owned by Stingray Group.
CKXX-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting from Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador on 103.9 MHz with a classic rock format branded on-air as 97.5 K-Rock. It is currently owned by Stingray Group.
CKXD-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting from Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, at 98.7 MHz with a classic rock format branded on-air as 97.5 K-Rock.
CKXG-FM is a radio station in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador. Owned by Stingray Group, it broadcasts a classic rock format, although some 1990s and 2000s rock songs have become part of the mix.
CHCM-FM is an FM radio station located in Marystown, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada broadcasting at 88.3 MHz. Owned by Stingray Group, CHCM first went on the air on May 23, 1962. It is an affiliate of VOCM. CHCM was originally broadcast on 560 AM before moving to 740 in 1990.
CHVO-FM is a Canadian radio station in Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador, broadcasting at 103.9 FM. Owned by Stingray Group, the station currently broadcasts a country format branded as New Country 103.9.
CKVO is an AM radio station in Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, broadcasting at 710 kHz. Owned by Stingray Group, CKVO first went on the air in 1974. It is an affiliate of VOCM.
CFLN-FM is a Canadian radio station in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador broadcasting at 97.9 FM. Owned by Stingray Group, CFLN first went on the air on September 28, 1974 at 1230 AM before converting to its current frequency in 2009. The station's format primarily consists of country music with some News/Talk programming. The station was formerly branded Radio Labrador but is now branded Big Land – Labrador's FM.
