CFCO

Infobox Radio Station
name = CFCO


area = Chatham-Kent, Ontario
branding = Country 92-9 & AM 630, CFCO
slogan = Today's FRESH Country
frequency = 630 kHz (AM) / 92.9 (MHz)
airdate = 1926
format = Country
erp = AM: 10,000 watts Daytime, 6,000 watts Nighttime
FM: 250 watts
class = AM Class B / FM Class A1
callsign_meaning = Coming From Chatham Ontario
owner = Blackburn Radio
sister_stations = CKSY-FM, CKUE-FM
former_callsigns = 10BT
website = [http://www.country929.com http://www.country929.com ]
webcast = [http://www.barakastreaming.com:8088/cfco.asf Listen Live!]

CFCO (630 AM and 92.9 FM) is a news, sports, and country music radio station located in Chatham, Ontario. The station, owned by London, Ontario-based Blackburn Radio, features a heavy local news commitment, and some sports play-by-play. The AM station broadcasts in C-QUAM AM Stereo and has a daytime signal that reaches as far northwest as Saginaw, Michigan and as far south as Toledo, Ohio (as well as a signal that reaches as far east Metro Toronto). CFCO is owned by Blackburn Radio.

History

Classic Gold 630

The AM radio station has been on the air since 1926. CFCO, which stands for "Coming From Chatham Ontario", featured middle of the road and adult contemporary formats through much of its history, moving to an oldies format around 1992, as Classic Gold 630.

Midday host George Brooks has been at the station since 1976 and was the station's morning personality for years, moving to middays upon the format change in March 2008.

The station made several upgrades during the previous ownership of BeaVer Broadcasting, including an increase in nighttime power from 1,000 to 6,000 watts (the station broadcasts with 10,000 watts by day). The high quality of the stereo AM audio of CFCO was for a time even featured on a tuner manufacturer's website.

In 2000, the station added its FM signal at 92.9 (CFCO-1-FM) to improve reception of the station's programming in office buildings in Chatham. The FM simulcasts the AM 100% and initially broadcast with only 50 watts of power (later quintupled to 250 watts).

Country 92.9 & AM 630

On March 3, 2008 at 9AM, After sixteen years as an oldies station. "Classic Gold 630" came to an end with the song "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny and Cher. After which CFCO signed on the new country format with "Play Something Country" by Brooks & Dunn. This is the first time Chatham-Kent has had its own country music station, although now-sister station CHYR in nearby Leamington was a country station for most of the 1990s and sister station CJSP, also in Leamington, debuted its own country format prior to CFCO's change. Besides CFCO and CJSP, other country stations owned by Blackburn Radio are CHOK in Sarnia-Lambton and CKNX in Wingham.

Logo Gallery

External links

* [http://www.fanfarefm.com/soundbites.html Listen to actual audio soundbites of CFCO AM Stereo ]
* [http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listings_and_histories/radio/histories.php?id=342&historyID=1034 CFCO history at Canadian Communications Foundation]
* [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2000/DB2000-253.htm Decision CRTC 2000-253] - Addition of a low-power FM transmitter of CFCO
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