CICS-FM is a Canadian

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

, which broadcasts at 91.7 FM in Sudbury,

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 C ...

. The station airs 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, while ...

format, branded as ''

Pure Country ''Pure Country'' is a 1992 American drama musical western film directed by Christopher Cain and starring George Strait in his acting debut, with Lesley Ann Warren, Isabel Glasser and Kyle Chandler. The film, while profitable with box office rece ...

91.7''. The studio and offices are located at 699 Frood Road in Sudbury, and the station transmits a 50,000 watt signal from the CBC tower.

History

Originally owned by

Larche Communications Larche Communications was a Canadian media company, which operated four radio stations in the province of Ontario. The company was named for its president, Paul Larche. Based in Midland, Ontario, Midland, the company began in 1997 when it acquired ...

, the station was licensed 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 July 12, 2007. The format and ''KICX 91.7'' branding were patterned on Larche's existing CICZ-FM in Midland, although CICZ's format and brand were moved to sister station CICX-FM in

Orillia Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is in Simcoe County between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a single-tier municipality. It is part of the Huronia region of ...

before CICS was launched. The station began on-air testing periods without audio in late spring 2008, and officially began testing with

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

on the morning of July 28. On August 18 at 7 a.m. ET, the station officially launched as ''KICX 91.7''. The KICX-FM morning show hosts Luke and Shannon kicked it off that morning with the song "

Play Something Country "Play Something Country" is a song recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, co-written by Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride. It was released in June 2005, as the first single from the duo's album '' Hillbilly Deluxe''. In September of t ...

" by

Brooks and Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...

. On August 10, 2017,

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

announced that it would acquire CICS. Bell Media received approval from the CRTC on February 14, 2018. On May 28, 2019, as part of a country-wide format reorganization by Bell, CICS rebranded as ''

91.7''. In May 2022, CICS-FM moved from its 60 Elm Street studios in downtown Sudbury where it was launched in 2008 to its new location at 699 Frood Road in the

CTV Northern Ontario CTV Northern Ontario, formerly known as MCTV, is a system of four television stations in Northern Ontario, Canada, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media. These stations are: * CICI - Greater Sudbury (flag ...

building with television sister station

CICI-TV CICI-TV ( analogue channel 5) is a television station in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, and has studios on Frood Road (near Lasalle Boulevard) in Sudb ...

Technical issues

CICS-FM may receive some interference from a 100 kW FM signal, WCML-FM in

Alpena, Michigan Alpena ( ') is the only city in and county seat of Alpena County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census. After Traverse City, it is the second most populated city in the Northern Michigan region. The city ...

. Although Sudbury is well outside of WCML's normal broadcast range, due to

tropospheric ducting Tropospheric propagation describes electromagnetic propagation in relation to the troposphere. The service area from a VHF or UHF radio transmitter extends to just beyond the optical horizon, at which point signals start to rapidly reduce in str ...

over Lake Huron the signal has sometimes reached the Sudbury area strongly enough to be in almost crystal clear FM stereo.WCML-FM from recnet
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Former logos

Image:Kicxsudbury.jpg, Logo used for CICS-FM from 2008 to August 2016

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cics-Fm Ics Ics Radio stations established in 2008 2008 establishments in Ontario ICS