CHOK (1070 AM) is a Canadian radio station, licensed to

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron f ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and owned by

Blackburn Radio Blackburn Radio, Inc. is a Canadian radio broadcasting group, which owns several radio stations in Southwestern Ontario. Headquartered in London, Ontario, the company is owned by 2061302 Ontario Limited, which is majority owned by Cogent Invest ...

. The station broadcasts a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

format with local

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

, talk and

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. CHOK also has an FM translator, CHOK-1-FM, broadcasting at 103.9 MHz. The station is the radio home of the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, as well as the

Sarnia Sting Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

History

The station was launched on July 26, 1946, by Sarnia Broadcasting. In 1947, Sarnia Broadcasting Co. was granted a licence to operate an FM station at 97.5 MHz (as CHOK-FM), which left the air sometime between 1948 and 1953 after being damaged from the Sarnia tornado. That station was never rebuilt. It was acquired by IWC Communications, a corporate precursor of

Standard Broadcasting Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

, in 1970, and went through a variety of sales to local owners until being acquired by its current owner,

, in 1998. Blackburn also owns both of the city's other commercial radio stations,

CFGX-FM CFGX-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 99.9 FM in Sarnia, Ontario. The station broadcasts an adult contemporary format with the brand name ''The Fox''. Its main competitors are WGRT and WBTI. CFGX-FM can be heard in the east ...

and

CHKS-FM CHKS-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 106.3 FM in Sarnia, Ontario. The station broadcasts a classic hits format with the brand name ''Cool 106.3'' and it also serves Port Huron, Michigan. CHKS-FM broadcasts in HD. Range CHK ...

CHOK-1-FM

In April 2007, CHOK applied to add an FM transmitter (CHOK-1-FM) at Sarnia to broadcast at 103.3 MHz and simulcast the programming of CHOK, due to AM reception problems from metal and steel associated with the operations from

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewabl ...

plants. Another company, Points Eagle Radio, had applied at the same time to use the 103.3 MHz frequency to broadcast Aboriginal programing. Points Eagle Radio was given approval by the CRTC to use the 103.3 FM frequency on August 7, 2007. On July 20, 2007, CHOK was given approval in part to broadcast at 100.9 MHz. On October 10, 2007, Blackburn Radio applied to use the frequency 103.9 MHz instead. On January 18, 2008, CHOK was given approval to use the 103.9 frequency with 200 watts power. CHOK began testing of its 103.9 FM transmitter atop the Kenwick Building in downtown Sarnia, on June 18, 2008. On the morning of July 23, 2008, CHOK signed on as ''Country 103.9 FM'' and would continue to simulcast its signal on 1070 AM. The station also has a low-power

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

-exempt repeater on 101.5 FM at the

Progressive Auto Sales Arena The Progressive Auto Sales Arena is a 5,500-capacity (4,118-seated) multi-purpose arena in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the campus of Lambton College and opened in September 1998. The Progressive Auto Sales Arena is currently home to ...

. The 101.5 FM frequency is reserved for use by the CBC, should they choose to broadcast on that frequency in the future.

References

External links

CHOK 103.9 FM & 1070 AM
* * {{coord, 42, 53, 30, N, 82, 19, 20, W, type:landmark_region:CA, display=title Hok Hok Hok Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Ontario