On weekdays, CKGL has all-news blocks in morning and afternoon drive times. In late mornings, Mike Farwell hosts a local talk and interview show, followed by the nationally syndicatedNow You Know with Rob Snow. On weekday evenings, daytime shows are repeated and the Infinity Sports Network runs overnight.[3]
For the history of the 570 AM frequency in Kitchener prior to 1993 (and its predecessors dating back to 1929), see CHYM-FM.
Early years
The station was launched in 1949 on the FM dial. It was heard on 96.7 MHz and its call sign was CKCR-FM. Few people owned FM receivers in that era, so it mostly simulcast the programming of sister station 1490 CKCR.
CKGL 96.7 logo
In 1965, the stations were acquired by Great Lakes Broadcasting, a consortium that included the publishing company Maclean-Hunter. Both stations changed their call signs to CHYM (pronounced as "chime") that year. Among the disc jockeys heard on CHYM were Gene Scott, Vic Thomas, Sandy Hoyt, Keith Sterling, and Larry Shannon.
Original CKGL 570 logo
Easy listening
In the late 1960s, the Canadian government was encouraging FM stations to offer distinct programming from their AM counterparts. An easy listening format was launched on CHYM-FM in 1968.[7]
In 1972, the FM outlet's call letters changed again, to the current CKGL (evidently for "Kitchener, Great Lakes"). In 1982, Maclean-Hunter took over full ownership of the stations. The format on the FM station flipped to country music. The AM station remained full serviceadult contemporary.[8]
Original 570 News logo
AM-FM switch
Management decided the country music programming should be on the AM station and the AC format should go on the FM station. The CHYM and CKGL intellectual units (call signs, branding, and programming, but not the licences themselves) swapped frequencies on September 4, 1992, at 8:00 a.m. CKGL moved to the AM band and CHYM moved to the FM band.
CRTC approval was required. But it was treated as only a format swap between the existing stations at 570 and 96.7, not a formal exchange of frequencies.[9]
Rogers Communications
The stations became part of Rogers Communications in 1994 when that company acquired Maclean-Hunter. Through the 1990s, CKGL had been adding more talk programming and reducing the amount of music it played. On June 19, 1997, CKGL completed its transition and became a news-talk station. In late 2005, CKGL adopted an all-news format for the morning and afternoon drive time slots.
In 2007, CKGL won the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for "Best Newscast". The winning newscast aired Friday October 6, 2006 at 7 AM and highlighted RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie's intent to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins. CKGL had a reporter live in Pittsburgh when Balsillie made the announcement.
Logo from 2021 until 2024
In June 2021, Rogers announced that it would rebrand CKGL and its other all-news and news-talk radio stations under the CityNews brand beginning October 18, 2021.[10] The broadcast signal of Citytv's Toronto flagship station reaches Waterloo Region and is also available on cable, satellite, and fibre TV services, but Citytv Toronto does not cover local news in the Kitchener-Waterloo market.
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