View source for CJAX-FM

{{short description|Radio station in Vancouver}}
{{For|the old CKLG-FM|CFOX-FM}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name               = CJAX-FM
| logo               = Jack 96.9 logo.svg
| city               = [[Vancouver|Vancouver, British Columbia]]
| area               = [[Greater Vancouver]]
| branding           = [[Jack FM|Jack]] 96.9
| airdate            = {{Start date and age|1980|3|1}}
| frequency          = 96.9 [[Hertz|MHz]] {{HD Radio}}
| repeater           = '''CJAX-FM-1''' 96.9 ([[Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler]])
| format             = [[Adult hits]]<br>HD2: [[CKWX]] [[All-news radio|All-News]] simulcast<br>HD3: [[CISL (AM)|CISL]] [[Sports radio|Sports]] simulcast
| haat               = {{Convert|707.4|m|ft}}
| erp                = 32,000 [[watt]]s <BR>70,000 watts maximum
| class              = C
| former_frequencies = 92.1 [[Hertz|MHz]] (1980–1984)
| coordinates        = {{coord|49.357365|N|122.953776|W|region:CA-BC_type:landmark|display=inline,title|name=CKLG-FM Tower}}
| callsign_meaning   = Sounds like "Jack"
| former_callsigns   = CJAZ-FM (1980–1985)<br>CKKS-FM (1985–2002)<br>CKLG-FM (2002–2014)
| owner              = [[Rogers Radio]]
| licensee           = Rogers Media, Inc.
| sister_stations    = [[CISL (AM)|CISL]], [[CKWX]], [[CKKS-FM]], [[CKVU-DT]], [[CHNM-DT]]
| webcast            = [http://www.jack969.com/ Listen Live]
| website            = [http://www.jack969.com/ jack969.com]
}}

'''CJAX-FM''' (96.9 [[Hertz|MHz]]) is a [[commercial radio|commercial]] [[radio station]] in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]].  Owned by [[Rogers Radio]], a division of [[Rogers Sports & Media]], it broadcasts an [[adult hits]] [[radio format]] branded as '''[[Jack FM|Jack]] 96.9'''.  Its studios are at 2440 Ash Street in the [[Fairview, Vancouver|Fairview]] neighbourhood of Vancouver.  CJAX was the first conventional radio station in [[North America]] to adopt the "[[Jack FM|Jack]]" branding, officially classified as "[[variety hits]]" or "[[adult hits]]".  Most "Jack" stations play a wide mix of music from the late 60s through the 90s, as well as some current and recent [[adult contemporary]] and [[hot adult contemporary]] singles.

CJAX-FM is a [[list of broadcast station classes|Class C]] station with an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 32,000 [[watt]]s (70,000 watts maximum).<REF>[https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&canfm=CJAX-FM FCCdata.org/CJAX-FM]</REF>  The [[transmitter]] is atop [[Mount Seymour]] in the [[North Vancouver (district municipality)|District of North Vancouver]].  Programming is [[simulcast]] on a 1,430-watt [[broadcast relay station|repeater]], 96.9 '''CJAX-FM-1''' in [[Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler]].<ref>[http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2000/DB2000-405.htm Decision CRTC 2000-405]</ref> 

==History==
===Jazz and Urban AC===
The station [[sign-on|signed on]] the air on {{Start date and age|1980|3|1}}.  Its original [[call sign]] was '''CJAZ-FM''' and it broadcast on 92.1 FM in Vancouver.  It was owned by [[Selkirk Communications]], airing an all-[[jazz music|jazz]] format.  It transmitted from [[Salt Spring Island]] at 100,000 watts. Although overall regional coverage was very good, poor [[FM stereo|stereo]] reception in the key Vancouver area led the station to make some changes in 1984.  It switched its frequency to 96.9&nbsp;MHz and it relocated its transmitter to Mount Seymour.  

Low ratings for its jazz format led to a format change on September 15, 1985, when the station adopted an [[urban adult contemporary]] format, the first in Canada. It rebranded as ''FM 97'' and the call sign was changed to '''CKKS-FM'''. 

===Adult contemporary===
In 1986, CKKS began playing [[adult contemporary music]] with an on-air rebranding to ''97 [[KISS-FM (brand)|Kiss FM]]''.  Four years later, the station was sold to Maclean-Hunter Ltd., and in [[1994 in radio|1994]], it became a part of Rogers Broadcasting.  Rival station [[CHQM-FM]] dropped its [[easy listening]] format in [[1992 in radio|1992]], also switching to an adult contemporary format.  Its ratings surpassed CKKS as Vancouver's leading AC station, becoming Vancouver's most-listened-to FM station later on.

In 1988, the West Coast Community T.V. Association received CRTC approval to add a low-power transmitter at 102.7&nbsp;MHz in [[Ucluelet, British Columbia|Ucluelet]] to rebroadcast the programming of CKKS-FM.<ref>[http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1988/DB88-18.HTM Decision CRTC 88-18]</ref> The call sign for the Ucluelet transmitter (currently [[dark (broadcasting)|dark]]) is CIWC-FM.

[[Image:jackfmcklg.png|thumb|left|Former Jack FM logo, used from 2002-2012.]]
===Jack-FM===
In early December of [[2002 in radio|2002]], the station switched to [[Christmas music]] for the holidays.  On [[Boxing Day]], at 8 a.m., CKKS flipped to [[adult hits]] as ''[[Jack FM]]''. The first song on "Jack" was "[[You Shook Me All Night Long]]" by [[AC/DC]]. The change ended the ten-year AC war in Vancouver, which meant that [[CHQM-FM]] became the only mainstream AC station in the Vancouver market.<ref>Steve Burgess, "Our own way to rock," ''The Vancouver Sun'', March 29, 2003.</ref> 

Given the "attitude" inherent in the "Jack" brand, management felt that the call letters "CKKS" would maintain an undesirable association with Kiss-FM's "soft favourites" identity. As it turned out, in 2001, Corus Entertainment had abandoned the old CKLG call sign formerly assigned to one of its Vancouver AM stations ([[CHMJ|Mojo AM 730]]). Rogers applied to transfer these letters to Jack FM, and the station's call sign became '''CKLG-FM''' shortly thereafter. This was in part an attempt to trade on [[CHMJ|CKLG-AM]]'s history as a popular Vancouver music station in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The move was successful, as Jack-FM's ratings increased dramatically, at one point briefly surpassing traditional market leader [[CKNW]] before settling into the upper rankings in the Vancouver market. (The CKKS call sign was subsequently given to a [[Sechelt, British Columbia|Sechelt]] rebroadcaster of [[CISQ-FM]] in [[Squamish, British Columbia]].)<ref>"CKLG moves to the FM dial," ''The Vancouver Sun'', May 3, 2003.</ref>
[[Image:CJAX 96.9 Jack FM logo 2012.png|thumb|right|Former Jack FM logo, used from 2012-2017.]]

In July 2012, the station adopted the "Playing Whatever! Whenever!" slogan. The station also added in more recent [[adult contemporary]] and [[hot adult contemporary]] songs.  In 2014, the call letters were changed again, this time to '''CJAX-FM''' to reflect the "Jack" branding.

In January 2025, Ronnie Stanton joined the team as lead music director and has driven the ratings from a #13 to #5. 

===Controversy===
In 2005, some members of Vancouver's [[Indo-Canadian]] community accused the station of racial insensitivity.  They objected to 96.9 Jack-FM's advertising strategy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.voiceonline.com/voice/050402/headline2.php |title=Archived copy |access-date=2006-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524113924/http://www.voiceonline.com/voice/050402/headline2.php |archive-date=2006-05-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>http://www.voiceonline.com/voice/050416/headline7.php{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 

The ads in question featured Vijay Chandra, a [[Fiji]]an radio engineer for the station with a strong [[South Asia]]n accent, singing to promote Jack-FM's "Larry and Willy show".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jackfm.com/jacktv/ |title=96.9 jackfm.com<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2006-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902043703/http://www.jackfm.com/jacktv/ |archive-date=2006-09-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The complaints stemmed from a perception that viewers are intended to laugh at Chandra's accent, rather than at the ad copy itself, and that similar lyrics performed without an accent would not be considered humorous.

===HD Radio===
In May 2016, CJAX began broadcasting using [[HD Radio]] technology.<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited  |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/191081700931187/1107072279332120 |archive-date = 2022-04-27| url = https://www.facebook.com/rwcrn/posts/1107072279332120:0 |title = Canadian Radio News on Facebook  |website=[[Facebook]]}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref> On June 23, 2016, CJAX added a simulcast of all-news [[sister station]] [[CKWX]] on its HD2 [[digital subchannel]].<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited  |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/191081700931187/1119722014733813 |archive-date = 2022-04-27| url = https://www.facebook.com/rwcrn/photos/a.191085784264112.41586.191081700931187/1119722014733813/?type=3&theater |title = Canadian Radio News on Facebook  |website=[[Facebook]]}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>http://hdradio.com/canada/find-hd-radio-canadian-station HD Radio Stations in Canada</ref> On August 28, 2017, CJAX added a simulcast of co-owned [[sports radio]] station [[CISL (AM)|CISL]] to its HD3 subchannel.

In 2020 the station added [[Justin Wilcomes|Justin "Drex" Wilcomes]] as its morning host.<ref>Connie Thiessen, [https://broadcastdialogue.com/drex-assumes-helm-of-jack-96-9-vancouver-morning-show/ "Drex assumes helm of Jack 96.9 Vancouver morning show"]. ''Broadcast Dialogue'', December 9, 2020.</ref> In fall 2022 he had to take several weeks off from CJAQ after suffering a [[heart attack]] and undergoing surgery.<ref name=hearattack>Cheryl Chan, [https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/drex-heart-attack-twitter "Vancouver radio host Drex off the air until 2023 after heart attack"]. ''[[Vancouver Sun]]'', November 22, 2022.</ref> but was back on air by spring 2023.<ref>Amir Ali, [https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/lisa-laflamme-vancouver-radio "Lisa LaFlamme makes Vancouver radio host crack up"]. ''[[Daily Hive]]'', May 3, 2023.</ref> His Jack FM show was cancelled in April 2024.<ref>Connie Thiessen, [https://broadcastdialogue.com/drex-rutzer-out-at-jack-fm-vancouver/ "Drex, Rutzer out at JACK FM Vancouver"]. ''Broadcast Dialogue'', April 17, 2024.</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.jack969.com/|Jack 96.9}}
*[https://broadcasting-history.ca/radio/radio-stations/british-columbia/british-columbia-vancouver/CJAX-FM CJAX-FM] at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the [[Canadian Communications Foundation]]
*{{RecnetCanada|CKLG-FM}}
*{{RecnetCanada|CIWC-FM}}
*{{RecnetCanada|CJAX-FM}}
{{Vancouver Radio}}
{{Rogers Communications}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cklg-Fm}}
[[Category:Radio stations in Vancouver|Klg]]
[[Category:Rogers Communications radio stations|Klg]]
[[Category:Jack FM stations]]
[[Category:Adult hits radio stations in Canada|Klg]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1980]]
[[Category:1980 establishments in British Columbia]]