About KX96 (CJKX)

KX96 (CJKX)

KX96, broadcasting on 95.9 MHz as CJKX-FM, is a country music radio station licensed to Ajax, Ontario, and owned by Durham Radio Inc. Serving the Durham Region from studios in Oshawa shared with sister stations CKDO and CKGE-FM, the station traces its roots to 1967, when it signed on as AM station CHOO — "the Country Heart of Ontario" — and became one of the first voices of the then-new town of Ajax. Today it broadcasts in HD Radio, with its HD2 subchannel carrying the smooth jazz service Wave.FM and its HD3 subchannel simulcasting CKDO.

Overview

CJKX-FM operates at 95.9 MHz as a Class B station with an average effective radiated power of 19,940 watts (50,000 watts peak) from a tower 96 metres above average terrain. Its broadcast area is the Durham Region, and its branding as KX96 reflects a callsign meaning derived from "Ajax" and the KX brand. The country format positions the station as Durham's dedicated country outlet, and its studios at 1200 Airport Boulevard in Oshawa place it at the centre of Durham Radio's local cluster.

The station's signal architecture extends beyond its main transmitter. In 1999 it added a 5,000-watt rebroadcaster, CJKX-FM-1, in Sunderland on 89.9 FM, covering areas that receive interference from first-adjacent CFJB-FM. In 2006 the CRTC approved a second rebroadcaster, CJKX-FM-2, in downtown Toronto on 95.9 FM — the same frequency as the main station — with its transmitter atop First Canadian Place.

History

The station's story begins with the birth of Ajax itself. William Jones was granted a licence by the Board of Broadcast Governors on February 8, 1967, and CHOO began broadcasting on November 21, 1967, on AM 1390. The original shareholders of Radio CHOO 1390 Ltd. included Jones, Walter Staskow, Donald Meek, J. Bart Gibb, Lt. Gen. G. G. Simonds, and Transonic Ltd. Studios and offices were located in an industrial park at 97 McMaster Avenue, and the transmitter stood at Richardson Point along Lake Ontario, operating at 10,000 watts full time with a five-mast array, each mast 185 feet tall. The CHOO call letters stood for "Country Heart of Ontario."

The station embedded itself quickly in community life. In 1968, Ajax named a street after CHOO in recognition of its contribution to the area's growth and community service. The station operated around the clock and built a substantial news operation for a station of its size: by 1969 it was airing approximately 160 minutes of news per day, with major newscasts on the hour and headlines on the half hour, staffed by three permanent newspeople and five stringers — and it was the only area station giving shift workers a major newscast at 3 a.m.

The early 1970s were turbulent behind the scenes. In 1971 a share restructuring brought the station into compliance with foreign ownership regulations, and in 1972 Barrie Broadcasting's bid to buy the station was turned down. In 1973 the licence was renewed for only one year, with the licensee expected to resolve financing, technical, and management problems — and on July 18 of that year Community Communications Inc., headed by Justin H. McCarthy, was authorized to purchase CHOO. The new owners changed the format to 60 percent soft rock and 40 percent country. In 1977, Southern Manitoba Broadcasting Co. Ltd. — owned by Elmer Hildebrand, operator of Manitoba stations CFAM Altona, CJRB Boissevain, and CHSM Steinbach — bought Community Communications outright, and at the CRTC hearing a request was made to alter the station's daytime antenna pattern.

The Golden West years brought technical investment and national recognition. On December 21, 1981, CHOO began broadcasting from upgraded transmitter facilities: a new Continental 10,000-watt transmitter, two new towers added to the existing five-tower array, and a new studio-transmitter link installed to offset rising phone-loop costs, in a project directed by Golden West's Jack Hoeppner. In 1986 the station added in-house radar to track developing weather within a 100-kilometre radius. In 1990 CHOO was named Country Music Station of the Year in Canada at the Canadian Country Music Association's annual convention and awards show — an honour that arrived just as the station prepared to move into new facilities. On October 20, 1990, at 12:30 a.m., CHOO began broadcasting from Broadcast Square at 339 Westney Road in Ajax, leaving behind its old "machine shop" premises in the former munitions warehouse district; Golden West's Jack Hoeppner pushed the button for the switch. The decisive transition came in 1994. On June 29, the CRTC approved the sale of CHOO by Golden West Media Consultants Ltd. to Durham Radio Inc. — then led by Robert Marshall and Douglas Kirk — and also approved converting the station to the FM band. It would continue its country format on 95.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 3,440 watts from a transmitter near Claremont. Durham Radio told the commission that replacing the AM facilities was necessary to overcome technical problems that had eroded the audience and created financial hardship, and that the greater range and quality of FM — plus more locally oriented programming — would reverse the decline by repatriating listeners from out-of-market country stations and drawing younger listeners moving from AM to FM. CJKX-FM began test broadcasts in October and officially signed on November 1 at 7:00 a.m., continuing CHOO's country format as "KX96." On November 28 the CRTC approved a power increase from 3,440 to 5,110 watts.

The FM years added their own milestones. In 1999 the station began streaming on the internet with Real Audio — early days for online radio. In 2001, former Global-TV anchor and reporter Loretta Sullivan became news director. In 2010 the CRTC denied a Durham application to modify the Toronto rebroadcaster's contours in a way that would have grown its potential listenership severalfold, finding no demonstrated technical or economic need. In 2013, broadcaster Bob Saye — formerly of Vancouver's JRfm — joined as afternoon drive host, while longtime country music historian Bill MacEwen, who had begun his part-time radio career at CHOO in 1971 with his "Country Collection" program, was remembered after his death that February. Through the 2010s the station's on-air lineup and Durham Radio's engineering and sales teams continued to turn over, with the company investing in the cluster's technical operations.

The FM era brought signal expansion. The Sunderland rebroadcaster followed in 1999 under CRTC Decision 99-154, and the downtown Toronto rebroadcaster in 2006 under CRTC Decision 2006-107. But expansion had limits: on August 1, 2016, the CRTC denied Durham Radio's application to increase the Toronto rebroadcaster's effective radiated power, ruling that the company had presented no meaningful justification beyond a stated intent to use it as a "back door" to expand coverage into Toronto and Mississauga — including to appeal to commuters — which would have compromised its licensed commitment to serve the Durham Region.

Programming

KX96's country format serves the Durham Region with a mix of current country hits and established country titles. As the market's dedicated country station, its programming is built around the genre's core audience in the eastern GTA, with music-intensive dayparts and local personality programming. The station's HD Radio multicast adds two further services: HD2 carries Wave.FM, a smooth jazz format, while HD3 simulcasts sister station CKDO's classic hits programming. Specific current on-air personalities are not independently confirmed.

Coverage and audience

As a Class B station with nearly 20,000 watts average power from a 96-metre tower, CJKX-FM's 95.9 signal is engineered for the Durham Region, covering Ajax, Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, and surrounding communities. The Sunderland rebroadcaster on 89.9 FM fills coverage gaps to the north, while the downtown Toronto rebroadcaster on 95.9 FM extends the station's reach into the city — though the CRTC's 2016 denial of a power increase for that transmitter underscored that the station's licensed service area remains Durham. The station's studios at 1200 Airport Boulevard in Oshawa co-locate it with Durham Radio's other local stations. Current audience ratings are not publicly confirmed.

Ownership

CJKX-FM is owned by Durham Radio Inc., the private Oshawa-based broadcaster founded in 1994 by Douglas Kirk. Durham Radio acquired the station — then CHOO on AM 1390 — in 1994 and has operated it ever since, moving it to FM and building out its rebroadcaster network. The company's twelve stations and repeaters are concentrated in Ontario's Golden Horseshoe, with expansion to Vancouver in 2021 and to Lindsay and Peterborough through Bell Media's 2024 divestiture. In the Durham market the company operates CJKX alongside CKDO and CKGE-FM from shared Oshawa studios. The station's ownership lineage runs from Radio CHOO 1390 Ltd. (1967) through Community Communications (1973) and Golden West Broadcasting (1977) to Durham Radio (1994–present).

Digital presence

KX96 streams live through its official website, kx96.fm, which carries the station's webcast along with station information and promotional content. The station maintains social media profiles under the KX96 branding. Its HD Radio subchannels — Wave.FM on HD2 and the CKDO simulcast on HD3 — extend the digital multicast offering. The stream is also available through third-party radio aggregators. A dedicated standalone mobile app for the station is not publicly confirmed.