CFRB - History

History

Founded in 1927, CFRB was not Toronto's very first broadcaster, but it is Toronto's oldest broadcaster still operating today. It has also retained its original call letters from 1927 to the present. (Toronto station CKYC was on the air from to 1925 to 1996, but it had changed call letters on numerous occasions. Furthermore, CKYC is no longer on the air. CHKT is not really the same radio station as former CKYC; CHKT is merely a station that took over the frequency formerly occupied by CKYC.) CFRB station was founded by the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company (the precursor of Rogers Communications) to promote Edward S. Rogers, Sr.'s invention of a batteryless radio receiver that could be operated using alternating current and therefore did not need the cumbersome battery that had previously been required. The station itself was a demonstration of Rogers' application of his invention to radio transmitters as well as receivers, a development that allowed for a signal that reproduced voices and music more clearly. The new type of transmitter also made CFRB the world's first all-electric radio station. The letters "RB" in the station's callsign stand for "Rogers' Batteryless" (the letters "CF" form one of Canada's ITU prefixes). The station began transmitting on an experimental basis in January 1927 as 9RB until March when it began functioning as commercial radio station CFRB with the transmission of a live symphony orchestra concert conducted by Jack Arthur.

CFRB leased time for several hours a day to "phantom station" CNRX, carrying programming of the Canadian National Railway radio network, Canada's first radio network, until 1932 when the network disbanded. From 1930 until 1935 CFRB also leased time to phantom station CPRY of the rival Canadian Pacific Railway radio service.

CFRB's first studios were in a mansion on Jarvis Street north of Wellesley built by the Hart Massey family. In 1929 the station became an affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System.

In the 1930s, CFRB began airing what became Hockey Night in Canada and continued to air the program for decades even though it was also aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's CBL for most of that time.

From the 1930s to 1950s, CFRB was the radio broadcaster for the Toronto Santa Claus Parade.

CFRB has been broadcast at 1010 kHz on AM radio since 1947. Since 1937, the station has been simulcast on shortwave on CFRX at 6070 kHz.

Following the death of Edward S. Rogers, Sr., Rogers Majestic Corporation Limited was sold in 1941 and became Standard Radio Limited.

Wally Crouter joined the station in 1946 eventually becoming its morning man, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1996. Also in 1946, Standard Radio Limited was purchased by Argus Corporation.

Another long-lasting show was Calling All Britons featuring news, sports scores and music from Britain. It was hosted by Ray Sonin from 1965 until his death in 1991. In 1965, CFRB moved its studios from 37 Bloor Street West, where they had been since 1929, to its current location at St. Clair Avenue and Yonge Street.

In 1978, Argus Corporation was acquired by Conrad Black and his brother, thus also giving them ownership of Standard Broadcasting which they sold to Allan Slaight in 1985. In November 2007, Standard Broadcasting was sold to Astral Media.

CFRB was the number one station in the Toronto market for many decades according to the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement's ratings. However, it has declined in recent years and in 2006 was rated fifth.

Ted Rogers, the communications mogul and son of CFRB's founder, had vowed to re-acquire the station that his family had lost after his father's death, and considered his failure to do so his greatest disappointment. Reports indicate he was continuing to pressure Astral, CFRB's current owner, to sell the station right up until his death in 2008. (It is not clear how this would have occurred under current CRTC regulations, as Rogers already owns two AM stations in Toronto, CFTR and CJCL, the maximum permitted in a single market.)