CHTT-FM: Difference between revisions

| city = [[Victoria, British Columbia]]

| area = [[Greater Victoria]]

| airdate = AM: {{Start date and age|1923|4|1}}<BR>FM: {{start date and age|2000|9|2}}

| frequency = 103.1 [[Hertz|MHz]]

| haat = {{convert|147.4|m|ft}}

| callsign_meaning = '''C H'''o'''TT''' (previous branding)

| former_callsigns = CFCL (1923–1925)<br>CFCT (1925–1941)<br>CJVI (1941–2000)

| former_frequencies = 410 metres (1923–1925)<br>910 [[Hertz|kHz]] ([[AM broadcasting|AM]]) (1925–1928)<br>630 kHz (1928–1933)<br>1430 kHz (1933–1935)<br>1450 kHz (1935–1941)<br>1480 kHz (1941–1945)<br>900 kHz (1945–2000)

| owner = [[Rogers Radio]]

'''CHTT-FM''' (103.1 [[Hertz|MHz]]) is a [[commercial radio|commercial]] [[radio station]] in [[Victoria, British Columbia]]. The station is owned by [[Rogers Radio]], a division of [[Rogers Sports & Media]], and airs an [[adult hits]] [[radio format]]. It subscribes to the [[JACKFM]] radio service and is branded as ''Jack 103.1''. Its [[radio studio|studio]]s are at 817 Fort Street in [[Downtown Victoria]]. While some JACK FM stations are [[broadcast automation|automated]], CHTT-FM has [[disc jockey|DJ]]s on weekdays.

CHTT-FM has an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 20,000 [[watt]]s. The [[transmitter]] is on Fulton Road in the [[Colwood, British Columbia|Colwood]].<ref>[https://fccdata.org/?call=chtt&ccode=2&city=&state=&country=CA&cansvc=B&party=&party_type=CDN&lang=en FCCdata.org/CHTT-FM]</ref> The signal can be heard around lower [[Vancouver Island]] and in some sections of [[Washington state]].

===CFCL, CFCT, CJVI===

The station began broadcasting on {{Start date and age|April 1, 1923}}. It was originally on the AM band and had the [[call sign]] '''CFCL'''. It aired on 410 meters (later on 910&nbsp;kHz) with 500 watts of power. It was owned by the Centennial Methodist Church and offered [[Christian radio]] programming. In 1924, the CFCL studios relocated from the church to the Fletcher Brothers store on [[Douglas Street (Victoria, British Columbia)|Douglas Street]] in [[Downtown Victoria]]. CFCL dropped its religious programming in 1925 when George Deauville bought the station and acquired a new licence for it. He changed its call letters to '''CFCT''' and moved its studios to the [[Bank of Toronto]] (now part of [[Toronto-Dominion Bank]]) building on Douglas Street.

CFCT moved around on the AM band several times during the next 16 years as it switched to 630&nbsp;kHz in 1928, to 1430 (with a power reduction to 50 watts) in 1933, and then to 1450 in 1935. It increased power back to 500 watts in 1939. With the enactment of the [[North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement]] (NARBA) in 1941, it switched to 1480 kHz on March 29, 1941. The ''[[Victoria Times-Colonist]]'' bought CFCT on October 1, 1941 and sold a half-interest in the station to Taylor, Pearson & Carson Ltd. The two entities formed the Island Broadcasting Co. as CFCT's parent company and changed its call letters to '''CJVI'''. It became a charter [[network affiliate|affiliate]] of the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]'s [[Dominion Network]] shortly after its formation in January 1944. When the Dominion Network dissolved in 1962, the station transferred its affiliation to the main [[CBC Radio One|CBC radio]] network.

===900 AM===

CJVI moved to 900 AM on May 15, 1945. Taylor, Pearson & Carson acquired majority ownership of CJVI in 1951, and its studios relocated to its present location at 817 Fort Street in downtown Victoria in 1952. CJVI increased its power to 5,000 watts on July 28, 1954 at 2:26 PM. The boost increased its coverage on [[Vancouver Island]] to north of [[Nanaimo]], south to [[Seattle]] and east to the [[Lower Mainland]] as far as [[Chilliwack]]. Power was further increased to 10,000 watts in April 1957. Harold Carson, part of the Taylor, Pearson & Carson firm that owned CJVI, died in 1959, and his company became [[Selkirk Communications]] that year.

In 1970, Selkirk acquired 100% ownership of CJVI. It switched to a [[country music|country]] format in November 1972 and began branding as ''VI 90'' on January 22, 1979.<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977/C%20Section%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201977%20P-6.pdf ''Broadcasting Yearbook 1977''] page C-244, [[Broadcasting & Cable]]</ref> The country format was dropped for a mix of [[soft adult contemporary]] and [[adult standards]] music in January 1984 as CJVI began broadcasting in [[AM stereo]]. The format switched to [[full service radio|full service]] [[adult contemporary]] about a year later. More [[oldies]] music was gradually brought into the programming until CJVI had an all-oldies format by 1988. Maclean-Hunter Ltd. bought CJVI parent Selkirk Communications in 1989 and transferred the ownership to [[Rogers Media]] immediately afterward. CJVI dropped its CBC affiliation in 1991 (one of the last privately owned former affiliates to do so).

On September 1, 1995, CFMS-FM was purchased by Rogers from then-owner Capital Broadcasting, paired up with CJVI and renamed [[CIOC-FM]] on December 11. On April 1, 1997, CJVI dropped its oldies format for a [[talk radio]] format, identifying on-air as "AM 900, Victoria's Information Superstation." It dropped that format and returned to oldies music on July 10, 1999.

===Move to FM===

On September 2, 2000, CJVI moved to theFM dial.<ref>[http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2000/DB2000-215.htm Decision CRTC 2000-215]</ref> It exchanged frequencies and bands with [[Camosun College]] station [[CKMO (AM)|CKMO]]. It began broadcasting on 103.1&nbsp;MHz and became '''CHTT-FM'''. At the same time, [[college radio]] station CKMO began broadcasting on 900 AM. In 2012, CKMO went [[dark (broadcasting)|dark]] and the licence was handed in.

CHTT-FM played a [[contemporary hit radio|Top 40/CHR]] format branded as "Hot 103." The first song heard on Hot 103 was "[[Bye, Bye, Bye]]" by [[N'Sync]]. In [[2003 in radio|2003]], the format shifted to [[hot adult contemporary]].

===Jack FM twice===

On February 24, 2015, CHTT flipped back to [[contemporary hit radio|Top 40/CHR]] as ''KiSS 103.1''. The last song played on "JackFM" was "[[Hit the Road, Jack]]" by [[The Stampeders]], while the first song on "KiSS" was "[[Uptown Funk]]" by [[Mark Ronson]] and [[Bruno Mars]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/2015/02/24/victorias-jack-fm-flips-kiss/|title = Victoria's Jack FM Flips to KiSS 103.1, then back to Jack!|date = 25 February 2015}}</ref>

On August 7, 2019, all of the "KiSS" on-air staff were let go, and the station began promoting a major change to come the following week. On August 15, after playing a block of "goodbye"-themed songs ending with "[[Bye, Bye, Bye]]" by [[N'Sync]], CHTT changed its format back to [[adult hits]] and returned to its former "[[Jack FM|Jack]]" branding. The first song on the newly relaunched "Jack" was "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" by [[Queen (band)|Queen]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/Kiss1031FinalMinutes The Final Minutes of KISS 103.1 Victoria]</ref>

* [https://broadcasting-history.ca/radio/radio-stations/british-columbia/british-columbia-vancouver-island/CHTT-FM CHTT-FM] at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the [[Canadian Communications Foundation]]

[[Category:Adult hits radio stations in Canada|Htt]]

[[Category:Jack FM stations]]