CHYK-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 104.1 FM in
Timmins
Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ext ...
,
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 ...
. It broadcasts a
francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
format for the city's
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians (french: Franco-Ontariens or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of O ...
community. It is owned by
Le5 Communications
Le5 Communications is a Canadian media company. Based in Sudbury, Ontario, the company operates radio stations and newspapers in the Northeastern Ontario region. The company operates the only francophone commercial radio stations in Ontario which ...
, and branded as ''Le Loup 104.1''.
CHYK and its sister stations
CHYC-FM
CHYC-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 98.9 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's Franco-Ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as ''Le Lou ...
in
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes)
** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal el ...
and
CHYQ-FM
CHYQ-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 97.1 FM in West Nipissing, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the local Franco-Ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as ...
in
West Nipissing
West Nipissing is a municipality in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, on Lake Nipissing in the Nipissing District. It was formed on January 1, 1999, with the amalgamation of seventeen and a half former town, villages, townships and unorganized communi ...
are the only francophone commercial stations programmed entirely in Ontario. Apart from commercials and local weather updates, the three stations now simulcast the same programming at virtually all times; although all three stations formerly produced their own individual morning shows and then each hosted a later daypart within a shared broadcast schedule for the remainder of the day, all of the stations are now programmed from Sudbury.
History
The station was originally established on December 23, 1951 by
J. Conrad Lavigne J. Conrad Lavigne, CM, O.Ont (November 2, 1916 – April 16, 2003) was a pioneering Canadian media proprietor.
Born in Chénéville, Quebec, Lavigne was raised in Cochrane, Ontario. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1942 and fought in World War I ...
, with the callsign CFCL at 580 kHz. It operated as a private affiliate of Radio-Canada's French radio network. CFLH in Hearst began broadcasting the same year. In 1956, Lavigne also established
CFCL-TV
CFCL-TV was a television station in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1956 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television.
History
The station was established on June 21, 1956 by J. Conrad Lavigne. It was originally es ...
, a private
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...
affiliate, in the city.
In 1957, CFLK began broadcasting at 1230 kHz in
Kapuskasing
Kapuskasing is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst. The town was known as MacPherson until 1917, when the name was changed so as not to conflict with another rail ...
. In 1960, CFCL in Timmins moved from 580 kHz to 620 kHz.
On July 28, 1975, Lavigne was denied an application to change CFCL's frequency from 620 to 850 kHz with an increase in night-time power from 5,000 to 10,000 watts, with daytime power remaining at 10,000 watts. The station would have switched from different day and night patterns to directional at night only, to protect Class-A clear-channel station
KOA
KOA (short for Kampgrounds of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded in ...
in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. The partner application to use the 620 kHz frequency in Sudbury with 10,000 watts day and 5,000 watts night (single directional pattern) was also denied.
In 1979, Lavigne again attempted to change CFCL's frequency and launch a new station in Sudbury. The application, which was identical to the one filed in 1975, was yet again denied. That year, competing broadcasters CKAP Kapuskasing (which had proposed a rebroadcast station in Timmins on 1450 kHz with 10,000 watts day and 5,000 watts at night) and Lavigne and Cambrian Broadcasting (competing for a license for a new AM station at 730 kHz with 10,000 watts in North Bay) also had their applications denied on April 12, 1979.
In 1980, Lavigne's broadcast holdings were eventually merged into the
Mid-Canada Communications
Mid-Canada Communications was a Canadian media company, which operated from 1980 to 1990. The company, a division of Northern Cable, had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario.
MCTV
Mid-Canada Television, or MCTV, was created in 1 ...
system. When that company acquired several other radio stations in 1985, CFCL became a commercial station as part of the
Mid-Canada Radio
Mid-Canada Communications was a Canadian media company, which operated from 1980 to 1990. The company, a division of Northern Cable, had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario.
MCTV
Mid-Canada Television, or MCTV, was created in 1 ...
network, and disaffiliated from Radio-Canada.
Mid-Canada Radio was sold to the
Pelmorex Radio Network
The Pelmorex Radio Network was a system of Canadian radio stations in Northern Ontario, owned and operated by Pelmorex.
History
In 1989, Pierre Morrissette founded his own communications company, Pelmorex Media Inc., and acquired several French a ...
in 1990. Because the radio and television station no longer had common ownership, the radio station's callsign was subsequently changed to CKOY. CFLH (1340 kHz) in Hearst later adopted the call sign CHOH, and was converted to 92.9 MHz in 1995, while CFLK in Kapuskasing adopted the call sign CHYK.
Pelmorex, in turn, sold its stations to the
Haliburton Broadcasting Group
The Haliburton Broadcasting Group was a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario. The company was purchased by Vista Broadcast Group in 2012.Paul Lefebvre. This deal was approved by the
CRTC
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
on October 31, 2008. Le5 Communications rebranded the station as Le Loup in early 2009.
In 2010, Le5 Communications also launched the weekly community newspaper ''
L'Express de Timmins
''Le Voyageur'' is a weekly community newspaper in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, serving the city's Franco-Ontarian community. The newspaper was launched on June 12, 1968, shortly after the demise of the region's earlier francophone community news ...
''."Sudbury's French newspaper
Le Voyageur
''Le Voyageur'' is a weekly community newspaper in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, serving the city's Franco-Ontarian community. The newspaper was launched on June 12, 1968, shortly after the demise of the region's earlier francophone community newspap ...
sold". ''Points North'' (
CBCS-FM
CBCS-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One station in Sudbury, Ontario, broadcasting at 99.9 FM, and serves all of Northeastern Ontario through its network of relay transmitters. The station's studio is located at the CBC/Ra ...
), May 20, 2011.
On March 2, 2012, Le5 Communications received approval from the CRTC to change the authorized contours of the station's rebroadcaster in Hearst, by changing the antenna radiation pattern from directional to non-directional, increasing the average
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...
(ERP) from 140 to 172 watts (maximum ERP from 140 to 221 watts), decreasing the effective height of antenna above average terrain from 56.6 to 43 metres and relocating the antenna site.
In 2016, Le5 Communications announced that it was closing the station's transmitters in Hearst and Kapuskasing.
A historical plaque in the city's Mattagami Park commemorates the station's historic role in the local Franco-Ontarian community.CFCL Radio Plaque Ontarioplaques.com.
Transmitters
Former rebroadcasters of CHYK-FM Timmins that were shutdown in 2016.