CKWD-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 95.3 FM in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

owned by

Jim Pattison Group The Jim Pattison Group is a Canadian conglomerate based in Vancouver. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur, is the chairman, CEO, and sole owner of the company. The Jim Pattison Group, Canada's second largest privately held company, h ...

. The station broadcasts a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

format branded as ''Wild 95.3''. CKWD's studios are located on 58th Avenue Southwest in Calgary, while its transmitter is located on Old Banff Coach Road. The station is owned and operated by

who also owns sister station

CKCE-FM CKCE-FM (101.5 FM, ''101.5 Today Radio'') is a radio station in Calgary. Owned by the Jim Pattison Group, it broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format with some segments of hot talk and listener interaction. CKCE's studios are located on 58th ...

. As of Winter 2020, CKWD is the 15th-most-listened-to radio station in the Calgary market according to a PPM data report released by Numeris.

History

CKWD-FM's license was granted by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

on May 24, 2012. On May 16, 2013, the Jim Pattison Group acquired

from

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

, as part of divestments from its purchase of

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channel ...

; CKCE would move to the studio being built for the new station. The station officially launched as CHPK-FM on April 25, 2014 with an

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

format as ''95.3 The Peak''. On February 29, 2016, CHPK flipped to

branded as ''Wild 95.3''; the station's general manager Eric Stafford cited low interest and ratings for the station's AAA format as an impetus for the switch. He believed that ''The Peak'' was unable to fully distinguish itself from its main competitor, CFEX-FM, in order to remain competitive. The new ''Wild'' format would compete mainly against the dominant CKRY-FM; Stafford stated that ''Wild'' would target a younger audience, and have a focus on newer material and fewer "throwback" songs. In October 2022, Pattison began to extend the ''Wild'' brand to some of its other country stations, including Alberta's CHAT-FM and CHLB-FM, as well as CHBZ-FM in Cranbrook,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

References

External links

Wild 95.3

CKWD-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation * KWD KWD KWD Radio stations established in 2014 2014 establishments in Alberta {{Alberta-radio-station-stub