Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who writes:
Thomas
You might have seen the news that Bell Media (Canada) is shutting down six major market AM stations and selling off some others.
This has a shortwave angle… One station shuttered is “Funny 1060” CKMX in Calgary. This station has the 100-watt shortwave relay CFVP on 6030 kHz.
A check of a Montana–based KiwiSDR indeed shows CFVP is carrying CKMX’s loop ID announcing the immediate end of programming on CKMX.
Who will step in to buy CKMX and save CFVP?
Great question, Tracy. This station has been on the air since 1922, originally as CFCN. These days, it has a pretty unique format and it would be a shame for it to disappear entirely. There are also so very few low-power shortwave relays left in Canada.
We will follow this story. Readers, we welcome any news tips about the future of CKMX and CFVP.
CFVP 6030 kHz was always big points for me in an annual SWL contest because of the low power. From only 850 km south, it still could be a challenging log. Long live Voice of the Prairie.
I tried for over 50 years to hear CFVP. Then about six years ago my wife and I were vacationing in Alberta and I dragged my Grundig Yacht Boy with a roll-out antenna up to the top of Stony Squaw Mountain outside Banff and managed to barely hear them [while at the same time CKZU was like a local] in the middle of the day.
CFVP became my last Canadian domestic QSL going back to 1967. The only one I missed was the little 10 watt [I believe] station in Vancouver.
As of 16 June both CKMX and CFVP have left the air. No audio, no carrier.
Never heard of the “Funny” format on AM radio. They are all talk, news, or oldies near me.
As far as potential shortwave impact; as I understand it, Bell Media owns one shortwave broadcast station. News 1010 in Toronto (CFRB) is re-transmitted as CFRX on 6.07 at 1kw. No news on that station, but it’s worth noting. I can’t imagine it’s too expensive to run, heck, that’s amateur radio power levels!
I have always enjoyed listening to CFRX to hear what our friends across the lake are up to. Scott Fybush recently had a great article on his website regarding Toronto & Hamilton stations. He said that the engineers at CFRB considered CFRX just their hobby. I’m sure the folks way up north beyond the 1010 signal appreciate the SW service. I hope it sticks around.
One of the Hamilton stations being sold to an “undisclosed party” is the same format -Funny 820. Hopefully they can keep that format, as it is a nice break from the relatively “downer” talk on most of the AM dial. It has excellent coverage. I’ve listened to it in the car up to the south shore of Georgian bay in the evening.
Of course, the bigger issue buried in this is that Bell/CTV is pretty much entirely eliminating local and regional journalism and news coverage across approximately 1/2 of the broadcast media landscape in Canada. There really needs to be a business model for locally owned broadcast stations again.
blogTO reported this in some detail. https://www.blogto.com/city/2023/06/bell-media-closes-six-stations-canada/