CFPL-FM

Infobox Radio station
name = CFPL-FM


city = London, Ontario
area = Southwestern Ontario
branding = FM96
slogan = London's Best Rock
airdate = 1948
frequency = 95.9MHz (FM)
format = modern rock
power =
erp = 179 kW [http://www.fm96.com/home/images/ImageLibrary/RealImage/2007/8/e18a2d75-ac77-4fff-92f9-8069f69eb64f.jpgCoverage Map ]
class = C
callsign_meaning = Canadian Free
Press London
former_callsigns =
owner = Corus Entertainment
webcast = [http://www.fm96.com/shared/player/?id=cfplfm @ fm96.com]
website = [http://www.fm96.com/ www.fm96.com]
affiliations =

CFPL-FM, or FM96, is a radio station owned by Corus Entertainment and based in London, Ontario, Canada that transmits at 179,000 watts at 95.9 MHz on the FM dial. Due to the strength of FM96's signal, on some days under clear atmospheric conditions it can be heard as far west as Whitmore Lake, Michigan as far south as Ashtabula, Ohio or as far north as Northern Ontario on a typical car radio. The station even showed with a 1.0 Share in fall 06' Arbiton ratings book in Erie, Pennsylvania, where the station can be heard clearly just about anywhere in the metro area. The station primarily plays a modern rock format similar to local sister stations Y-108 and 102.1 the Edge, the latter of which FM96 carries "The Ongoing History of New Music" from.

History

Canada's third-oldest FM station, originally signed on in 1948 at 93.5 MHz as a simulcast station of CFPL-AM. The FM station started airing separate programming in 1949, the same year it started broadcasting at 95.9 MHz at 4,440 watts. The "FPL" call sign letters stand for its original owner, the "London Free Press" newspaper.

In 1961, CFPL-FM boosted its signal strength to [http://www.fm96.com/home/images/ImageLibrary/RealImage/2007/8/e18a2d75-ac77-4fff-92f9-8069f69eb64f.jpg179,000 watts] , which is currently the most powerful signal strength output in Canada. During the 1960s and early 70s, CFPL-FM broadcast classical music as a CBC affiliate. In 1972, the station disaffiliated from the CBC, and adopted a variety format under the name "Stereo 96", which included various music formats and some talk programming. In 1979, the station became known as FM96 and the format changed to adult contemporary under the "Rock 'n' Easy" moniker. FM96 had the slogan "Music above all" during part of the 1980s.

In 2006, FM96 was named Station of The Year and won the BDS Cutting Edge Award.

On Monday, August 14, 2006, FM96 "pulled the plug". They played all acoustic songs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to remember the Northeast Blackout of 2003, and raise awareness on power conservation.

On August 24, 2007, FM96 re-launched their website to give it a more modern layout, similar to other Corus owned stations, Q107 and The Hawk.

FM96 Rocks

FM96 Rocks was a concert held in downtown London by FM96. It was held at the corner of King and Clarence Street. Bands that performed included:

*Metric
*Yellowcard
*Wintersleep
*The Reason
*The Trews
*Danko Jones
*Pilot Speed
*The Marble Index
*Tokyo Police Club
*Neverending White Lights
*Bobnoxious

On June 14, 2007, FM96 announced the bands participating in FM96 Rocks 2. The shows were held on August 4 and 5 at the Libro London Balloon Festival, and featured the following acts:

*Finger Eleven (Saturday)
*Bobnoxious (Saturday)
*Sam Roberts (Sunday)
*Priestess (Sunday)

External links

* [http://www.fm96.com FM96 Homepage]
* [http://www.fm96rocks.com FM96 Rocks Website]
* [http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listings_and_histories/radio/histories.php?id=348&historyID=137 CFPL-FM History at Canadian Communications Foundation]
*