CFMK-FM

CFMK-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 96.3 FM in Kingston, Ontario owned by Corus Entertainment. The station airs a classic rock format branded as 96.3 Big FM.

History

The station was launched in 1947 as CKWR-FM, an FM simulcast of CKWS. Both stations were owned by Allied Broadcasting, in which the Kingston Whig-Standard was the primary partner. The station's call sign was changed to CKWS-FM in the same year, and Allied changed its name to Frontenac Broadcasting in 1954. The station adopted its current CFMK call sign in 1976.

In 1977, Paul Desmarais and Claude Pratte purchased Frontenac Broadcasting. In 1987, ownership was transferred directly to Desmarais' Power Corporation, and in 1989, Frontenac and another Power subsidiary, Kawartha Broadcasting, were merged to form Power Broadcasting.

In 1998, both the AM and FM stations were knocked off the air for a week by the Ice Storm of 1998.

The stations were purchased by Corus Entertainment in 2000. CFMK adopted an adult hits format branded as Joe FM in 2004, and switched to a mainstream rock format and the "FM 96" branding in 2007. On February 13, 2015, CFMK-FM dropped its "Greatest Rock & Roll of All Time" slogan and changed it to "Kingston's Best Rock", retaining its FM96 branding and featured rock music from the 1970s to today. The "Kingston's Best Rock" slogan is also being currently used on CIKR-FM (105.7 K-Rock) in the same city. CFMK-FM's sister station, CKWS-FM rebranded its station to "104.3 Fresh Radio" the same day.