CKBD-FM (98.1 FM, ''98.1 The Ranch'') is a radio station in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

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

Vista Radio Vista Radio Ltd. (also formerly known as Vista Broadcast Group) is a Courtenay, British Columbia-based media company. Owned by Westerkirk Capital, Vista is the second-largest owner of radio stations in Canada. The company only owned stations in ...

, it 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.

History

The station signed on in December 2000 as CJTS-FM, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

station broadcasting at 97.1 FM, initially owned by Spirit Broadcasting. In 2006, the station was sold to

Golden West Broadcasting Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. is a Canadian radio and digital media company based in Altona, Manitoba. It is the largest independent radio broadcaster in Canada. The company primarily operates small-market radio stations and internet portals in ...

. In addition, the CRTC approved a re-location to 98.1 FM, and an increase in power to 20,000 watts. Golden West stated that the owner's health, as well as the station's financial performance, were factors in the decision to sell. In April 2007, the station switched frequencies and adopted the new call letters CKVN-FM. The station maintained its

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

format (with branding modelled upon then-sister station

CHVN-FM CHVN-FM (95.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It broadcasts a Contemporary Christian music format and is owned by Golden West Broadcasting. CHVN's studios are located on St. Mary's Road in south Winnipeg, while its tran ...

in Winnipeg). In 2014, Lethbridge-based

Clear Sky Radio Clear Sky Radio was a Canadian broadcasting company that owned radio stations in Alberta and British Columbia. The company, headquartered in Lethbridge, Alberta, was incorporated in 2006 after it was granted its first radio license. In January ...

, who owns

CJOC-FM CJOC-FM (94.1 FM) is a radio station in Lethbridge, Alberta. Owned by Vista Radio, it broadcasts a classic hits format. History The station was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on August 2, 2006, and ...

, acquired CKVN from Golden West. Clear Sky also received permission from the CRTC to remove the license conditions requiring CKVN to operate as a religious station; Clear Sky and Golden West argued that the station had accumulated financial losses under its existing Christian format. In September 2014, the station flipped to

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

as ''98.1 The Bridge'', with the new call letters CKBD-FM. In 2017, the station segued to

modern 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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

, still branding as ''The Bridge''. In December 2018, Clear Sky Radio announced the sale of its three remaining stations to

. In June 2019, both CKBD and sister station CJOC were rebranded under Vista's standard station brands, with CKBD becoming ''98.1 2day FM''. On February 2, 2024, CKBD-FM flipped to country as ''98.1 The Ranch''.

References

External links

*
CKBD-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* Kbd Kbd Radio stations established in 2000 2000 establishments in Alberta KBD {{Alberta-radio-station-stub