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{{Short description|Sports radio station in Toronto}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name                = CJCL
| logo                = SN590TheFan.svg
| logo_size           = 250px
| city                = [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]]
| area                = [[Greater Toronto Area]]<br>[[Southern Ontario]]
| branding            = [[Sportsnet Radio|Sportsnet]] 590 The Fan
| frequency           = 590 [[Hertz|kHz]]
| repeater            = 92.5 [[CKIS-FM|CKIS-HD3]] (Toronto)
| airdate             = {{start date and age|1951|02|21|p=y|br=yes}}
| language            = [[English language|English]]
| format              = [[Sports radio|Sports]]
| licensing_authority = [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission|CRTC]]
| power               = 50,000 [[watt]]s
| class               = B
| former_callsigns    = '''CKFH''' (1951–1981)
| former_frequencies  = 1400 [[Hertz|kHz]] (1951–1960)<br>1430 kHz (1960–1995)
| affiliations        = [[Sportsnet Ontario]]<br>[[Toronto Raptors]] Radio Network<br>[[Toronto Maple Leafs]] Radio Network<br>[[Toronto Blue Jays Radio Network]]<br>[[Buffalo Bisons]] Radio Network<br>[[Buffalo Bills Radio Network]]<br>[[Infinity Sports Network]]
| owner               = [[Foster Hewitt]] (1951–1981)<br>[[Telemedia]] (1981–2002)<br>[[Rogers Radio]] (2002–present)
| licensee            = Rogers Media, Inc.
| sister_stations     = [[CFTR (AM)|CFTR]], [[CHFI-FM]], [[CKIS-FM]], [[CFMT-DT]], [[CITY-DT]], [[CJMT-DT]]
| webcast             = {{listenlive|http://player.rogersradio.ca/cjcl}}
| website             = {{URL|http://www.sportsnet.ca/590|sportsnet.ca/590}}
| coordinates = {{coord|43|9|10|N|79|32|3|W|type:landmark_region:CA}}
}}

'''CJCL''' (590 [[AM broadcasting|AM]], ''[[Sportsnet Radio|Sportsnet]] 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian [[sports radio]] [[radio station|station]] in [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]]. Owned and operated by [[Rogers Radio]], a division of [[Rogers Sports & Media]] since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the [[Rogers Building (Toronto)|Rogers Building]] at [[Bloor Street|Bloor]] and [[Jarvis Street|Jarvis]] in [[downtown Toronto]], while its transmitters are located near [[Grimsby, Ontario|Grimsby]] atop the [[Niagara Escarpment]]. It is the flagship station for the [[Toronto Blue Jays]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/schedule/blue-jays-radio-network|title = Blue Jays Radio Network| website=[[MLB.com]] }}</ref> and also airs games from the [[Toronto Raptors]], [[Toronto Maple Leafs]], [[Buffalo Bisons]] and [[Buffalo Bills]]. CJCL is a Infinity Sports Network affiliate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/590/|title = Sportsnet 590 the Fan - Sportsnet.ca}}</ref>

The station was originally owned by longtime sportscaster [[Foster Hewitt]] and began broadcasting on February 21, 1951, as '''CKFH''' 1400 before moving to 1430 AM in 1960. [[Telemedia]] acquired the station in 1981 and relaunched it as CJCL. During its early life, the station aired news and sports, [[Top 40]], [[country music]], [[adult contemporary]] and [[talk radio]] formats. It adopted the current sports format on September 4, 1992, as ''The Fan 1430'' as Canada's first all-sports radio station before swapping frequencies with [[CHKT|CKYC]] 590, acquired in 1994 by Telemedia, on February 6, 1995, adopting ''The Fan 590'' branding. After Telemedia was sold to [[Slaight Communications|Standard Broadcasting]], Rogers acquired CJCL in 2002.

CJCL operates at 50,000 watts, the highest power permitted for AM stations, around the clock. The station's signal is directional from north to south to protect various lower-powered radio stations east and west of the station. Even with this restriction, due to its location near the bottom of the AM dial, as well as its transmitter power and height, CJCL covers most of southern Ontario during the day. Although it is not a [[clear-channel station]], at night it can be heard across most of eastern Canada with a good radio.

CJCL is simulcast across Canada on [[Bell Satellite TV]] channel 959,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bell.ca/Styles/tv/all_languages/all_regions/pdfs/U3753%20WHS%20Prog%20Channel-DTH%20ON%20FEB%202016%20E.pdf|title=WHS Program Channel|access-date=2020-05-06|archive-date=2020-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730124653/https://www.bell.ca/Styles/tv/all_languages/all_regions/pdfs/U3753%20WHS%20Prog%20Channel-DTH%20ON%20FEB%202016%20E.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and on [[Shaw Direct]] channel 868.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvchannellists.com/List_of_Shaw_Direct_Channels|title=List of Shaw Direct Channels – TVCL – TV Channel Lists|access-date=2020-11-28|archive-date=2020-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209103849/https://www.tvchannellists.com/List_of_Shaw_Direct_Channels|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is also carried on the 3rd [[HD Radio|HD]] [[digital subchannel]] of CKIS-FM.

==History==
The station first aired on February 21, 1951, as CKFH; operating at 1400 [[Hertz|kHz]]. It was a news and sports station owned by legendary Canadian broadcaster [[Foster Hewitt]] (the "'''FH'''" of the [[call sign]]), who was best known as the first and long-time play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Maple Leafs on what became ''[[Hockey Night in Canada]]''.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=February 21, 1951|title=Only the best for CKFH (ad.)|page=5}}</ref> The station moved to 1430 kHz in 1960, increasing power first to 5,000, then 10,000 and finally 50,000 watts. In its first years, CKFH was a [[Full-service radio|full service]] station with news, drama, and variety programs, but specialized in sports broadcasting [[Road (sports)|away games]] of the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] as well as "reconstructed" play-by-play broadcasts of the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]].<ref>[https://broadcasting-history.ca/radio/radio-stations/ontario/ontario-city-of-toronto/CJCL-AM CJCL-AM] at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the [[Canadian Communications Foundation]]</ref> The station also carried a number of foreign-language programs produced by ethnic broadcasters such as [[Sam Yuchtman]]'s [[Yiddish]]-language ''Jewish Hour'' and Italian-language programs produced by [[Johnny Lombardi]] until Lombardi launched his own station, [[CHIN (AM)|CHIN]], in 1966. CKFH adopted a [[Top 40]] format that same year. It then moved to a [[country music|country]] format in 1975.
[[Image:CJCL1430-AM.png|left|thumb|Fan 1430 logo (1992–1995)]]
[[Image:CJCL-AM.png|left|thumb|Fan 590 logo (1995– January 2011)]]
[[Image:Sportsnet Radio Fan 590.png|left|thumb|Logo from January to October 2011]] 
The station was subsequently sold to [[Telemedia]] in 1981 when it adopted its current '''CJCL''' call sign and switched to an [[adult contemporary]] format.<ref>"CKFH goes off the air," ''The Toronto Star'', March 21, 1981.</ref> In 1983, the station briefly adopted [[talk radio|talk]] programming, but returned to its music format within a few months, with increased emphasis on [[oldies]].<ref>"CFNY ties CHUM in FM raido ratings," ''The Toronto Star'', February 21, 1984.</ref> CJCL was the flagship of the [[Telemedia]] network, and as such, broadcast [[Toronto Blue Jays]] baseball games (with [[Tom Cheek]] and [[Jerry Howarth]] calling the action) followed by hours of talk after the game. The station has been flagship radio station of the Blue Jays for most of their history since their inception in 1977 (with exception of a hiatus when [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] was the flagship from 1998 to 2002). As the 1980s progressed, and the winning Blue Jays became more popular, the sports features became CJCL's profit centre. Encouraged by the newfound success of sports radio in the [[United States]], in 1992, the year the Blue Jays won their first [[World Series]], CJCL would drop non-sports programming altogether on September 4, and became ''The Fan 1430'', the first all-sports station in Canada. The station's nickname may have been inspired by [[WFAN (AM)|WFAN]] in New York City, the first sports radio station in the world that led to the creation of sports radio stations everywhere.<ref>Greg Quill, "CJCL ready to make leap to full-time sports," ''The Toronto Star'', August 12, 1992.</ref><ref>Rob Grant, "All-sports radio station aims at rock 'n' roll beat," ''The Toronto Star'', August 14, 1992.</ref><ref>Ken McKee, "Expanded radio, TV coverage has sports junkies on new high," ''The Toronto Star'', September 4, 1992.</ref>

In 1994, Telemedia acquired CKYC from Rogers, and on February 6, 1995, at noon, the two stations switched frequencies, with "The Fan" moving to 590 AM (subsequently becoming ''The Fan 590'') and CKYC moving to 1430 AM (where it operates today as [[multilingual]] station [[CHKT]]).<ref>Peter Goddard, "Foster, Jack wouldn't be Fans of this drama on the AM dial," ''The Toronto Star'', February 4, 1995.</ref><ref>Peter Goddard, "Chinese shows aim at 'underserved' market," ''The Toronto Star'', September 30, 1995.</ref><ref>[https://retrontario.com/2013/10/11/that-time-when-ckey590-was-toronto-am-gold/ That time when CKEY/590 was Toronto AM gold], retrontario.com</ref> Telemedia was acquired in 2002 by [[Slaight Communications|Standard Broadcasting]], who resold CJCL to Rogers Media.

In January 2011, CJCL became known as ''Sportsnet Radio The Fan 590'', the move coming as part of a co-branding initiative with its television counterpart [[Sportsnet]],<ref name="gm-snradio">{{cite news|title=Change is the operative word in sports radio|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/bruce-dowbiggin/change-is-the-operative-word-in-sports-radio/article1867040/|publisher=The Globe and Mail|access-date=13 January 2011}}</ref> amid indications that rival [[The Sports Network|TSN]] was preparing to launch a competing sports radio station, [[CHUM (AM)|TSN Radio 1050]].<ref name=reality>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/bruce-dowbiggin/tsn-radio-a-reality/article1878887/ "TSN Radio a reality"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', January 21, 2011.</ref> The station's on-air identity was then changed to ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'' in October 2011.

The station also provides sports news updates for its [[sister station]], all-news radio [[CFTR (AM)|CFTR]].

==Live sports==
CJCL is the [[Flagship (broadcasting)#Sports|flagship station]] for the following teams' radio broadcasts:

*[[Toronto Blue Jays]] ([[Major League Baseball|MLB]] baseball)
*[[Toronto Raptors]] ([[National Basketball Association|NBA]] basketball)♠
*[[Toronto Maple Leafs]] ([[National Hockey League|NHL]] hockey)♠

♠-In case of conflicts with other sports broadcasts, one of the games will air on another station in the Toronto area. As Rogers owns the Blue Jays outright but only shares ownership (through [[Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment]]) of the Raptors and Maple Leafs, the Blue Jays games have first priority on CJCL. [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] shares rights to the other two teams, including all games that are played at the same time as the Blue Jays. In contrast, because of an [[CFL on TSN|exclusive CFL-wide multimedia deal with TSN]] that ensures all [[Toronto Argonauts]] games air on CHUM, any Raptors or Maple Leaf games that conflict with the Argonauts will air on CJCL. The two stations split the broadcasts of games that do not conflict with each other.

Roughly 11 [[Buffalo Bisons]] games (as of 2018) air on evening dates between June and August that do not conflict with Blue Jays games. The Bisons are the [[International League]] affiliate of the Blue Jays, and broadcasts originate from [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]-based [[WWKB]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/milb/sportsnet-590-to-air-eight-bisons-games/ |title=Sportsnet 590 To Air Eight Bisons Games |website=Sportsnet.ca |date=2013-06-27 |access-date=2016-08-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-69547952 |title=Buffalo Bisons |website=[[Minor League Baseball]] |date=2014-03-18 |access-date=2016-08-07}}</ref>

The Fan 590 also features live coverage of the following:
*[[Buffalo Bills]] ([[National Football League|NFL]] [[American football|football]])
*[[NBA All-Star Game]]
*[[Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio]] ([[Sunday Night Baseball|Sunday nights]], [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] & [[Major League Baseball postseason|postseason]]; when not conflicting with Blue Jays games & weekday afternoon sports talk radio programming)
*[[Memorial Cup]] [[ice hockey|hockey]] (championship game)
*[[NFL Football]] (Sunday afternoons)

Previous live sports events on CJCL included:
*[[Toronto Argonauts]] ([[Canadian Football League|CFL]] football) (2000–2001, 2007–2010)
*[[Toronto FC]] ([[Major League Soccer|MLS]] soccer)
*[[Ice Hockey World Championships]] ([[Canada national men's ice hockey team|Team Canada]] games)
*[[IIHF World Junior Championship]] ([[Canada national junior men's ice hockey team|Team Canada]] games)
*[[Toronto Rock]] ([[National Lacrosse League|NLL]] lacrosse) (2006)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.torontorock.com/article/rock_games_return_to_radio_with_the_fan_590 |title=Rock games return to radio with The Fan 590 – Toronto Rock |website=Torontorock.com |access-date=2016-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025090835/http://www.torontorock.com/article/rock_games_return_to_radio_with_the_fan_590 |archive-date=2015-10-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Ontario Hockey League history#All-Star Games|OHL All-Star Classic]] ([[Ontario Hockey League|OHL]] hockey) (2007)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canoe.ca/OHLNews0607/0125.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721094617/http://www.canoe.ca/OHLNews0607/0125.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 21, 2012 |title=OHL News |website=Canoe.ca |access-date=2016-08-07}}</ref>
*[[International Bowl]] ([[NCAA]] [[college football]]) (2007–2010)
*[[Premier League]] ([[Association football|soccer]]) (Saturday mornings, 2007–2010)
*[[Grey Cup]] ([[Canadian Football League|CFL]] football) (2007–2009)
*[[Toronto Marlies]] ([[American Hockey League|AHL]] hockey) (2008–2010)
*[[2009 World Baseball Classic]] (All [[Canada national baseball team]] games and the final four)
*[[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament]] (All [[Canada men's national ice hockey team|Team Canada]] games, plus the quarter-final game determining Team Canada's semi-final opponent, both semi-finals, and both the bronze medal and gold medal games)
* [[Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament]] (gold medal game)

==Notable on-air staff==
{{unreferenced section|date=September 2021}}

===Current===
{{main|Sportsnet#On-air staff}}
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[David Amber]]
* [[Kevin Barker]]
* [[Jeff Blair]]
* [[Joe Bowen]] (Maple Leafs)
* [[Stephen Brunt]]
* [[Hugh Burrill]]
* [[Sam Cosentino]]
* [[Richard Deitsch]]
* [[Rob Faulds]]
* Ailish Forfar
* [[Elliotte Friedman]]
* [[Paul Jones (sportscaster)|Paul Jones]] 
* [[Ian Leggatt]]
* [[Scott Metcalfe]]
* [[Tim Micallef]]
* [[Sid Seixeiro]]
* [[Gord Stellick]]
* [[Anthony Stewart (ice hockey)|Anthony Stewart]]
* [[Dan Shulman]] (Blue Jays)
* [[Eric Smith (sportscaster)|Eric Smith]]
* [[Mike Zigomanis]]
{{Div col end}}

===Former===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Sandy Annunziata]]
* [[Jack Armstrong (sportscaster)|Jack Armstrong]]
* [[Alan Ashby]] (Blue Jays)
* [[Bill Berg (ice hockey)|Bill Berg]]
* [[Howard Berger]]
* [[Dean Blundell]]
* [[Greg Brady (broadcaster)|Greg Brady]]
* [[Tom Cheek]]
* [[Don Cherry (ice hockey)|Don Cherry]]
* [[Damien Cox]]
* [[Ken Daniels]]<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSports/2007/09/04/4469022-sun.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115095600/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/OtherSports/2007/09/04/4469022-sun.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |title=The Fan 590 turns 15 today |website=Slam.canoe.ca |date=2007-09-04 |access-date=2016-08-07}}</ref>
* [[John Derringer]]
* [[Cal Gardner]] (Leafs 1970s).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://rockradioscrapbook.ca/ckfh-people.html | title=CKFH Ttribute Page: People }}</ref>
* [[Dirk Hayhurst]]
* [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]]
* [[Jerry Howarth]] (Blue Jays)
* [[Jim Hunt (columnist)|Jim Hunt]]
* [[Rob Iarusci]]
* [[Mike Inglis]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
* [[Peter Irvine]]
* [[Spider Jones]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nsb.com/speakers/view/spider-jones |title=Spider Jones &#124; Speaker &#124; National Speakers Bureau |website=Nsb.com |access-date=2016-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814101640/http://nsb.com/speakers/view/spider-jones |archive-date=2013-08-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Jim Kelley]]
* [[Andrew Krystal]]
* [[Nick Kypreos]]
* [[Don Landry]]
* [[Jim Lang (sportscaster)|Jim Lang]]
* [[Johnny Lombardi]]
* [[Jeff Lumby]]
* [[Jeff Marek]]
* [[Pat Marsden]]
* [[Doug MacLean]]
* [[Bob McCown]]
* [[Daren Millard]]
* [[Rick Moranis]] (using the stage name Rick Allan)
* [[Jack Morris]] (Blue Jays)
* [[Mark Osborne (ice hockey)|Mark Osborne]]
* [[Steve Paikin]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
* [[Dan Pollard]]
* [[Elliott Price]]
* [[Paul Rimstead]]
* [[Jim Richards (Canadian broadcaster)|Jim Richards]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
* [[Mike Richards (broadcaster)|Mike Richards]]
* [[Greg Sansone]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
* [[Chris Schultz]]
* [[John Shannon (sportscaster)|John Shannon]]
* [[James Sharman]]
* [[Joe Siddall]] (Blue Jays; moved to [[Sportsnet]] television coverage)
* [[Steve Simmons]]
* [[Chuck Swirsky]]<ref name=autogenerated1 />
* [[Mike Toth]]
* [[Ben Wagner]] (Blue Jays)
* [[Bob Weeks]]
* [[John Wells (sportscaster)|John Wells]]
* [[Brian Williams (sportscaster)|Brian Williams]]
* [[Mike Wilner]]
* [[Sam Yuchtman]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.sportsnet.ca/590|Sportsnet 590 The Fan}}
* [https://broadcasting-history.ca/radio/radio-stations/ontario/ontario-city-of-toronto/CJCL-AM CJCL-AM] at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the [[Canadian Communications Foundation]]
* {{RecnetCanada|CJCL}}
* [https://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/252780 "FAN 590 an experiment gone right" (Toronto Star article)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/FAN590Toronto Fan 590 Toronto's YouTube channel]

{{Rogers Communications}}
{{Toronto AM}}
{{Toronto Maple Leafs}}
{{Toronto Raptors}}

[[Category:Radio stations in Toronto|Jcl]]
[[Category:Rogers Communications radio stations|Jcl]]
[[Category:Sports radio stations in Canada|Jcl]]
[[Category:Sports in Toronto]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1951]]
[[Category:1951 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:Sportsnet]]