About CISN 103.9

CISN 103.9

103.9 CISN Country (CISN-FM) is Edmonton's heritage country music radio station — a Corus Entertainment outlet broadcasting on 103.9 MHz with 98,000 watts. It signed on June 5, 1982, founded by former Edmonton announcer Robert McCord, and is one of the longest-broadcasting FM stations in the city. With the call letters pronounced like "kissin'," the station plays current country hits and past favourites, and has won the Canadian Country Music Association's Country Station of the Year (major market) five times since the award's 2000 creation — in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2016.

Overview

CISN-FM is a commercial FM station licensed to Edmonton, Alberta, owned by Corus Entertainment. It broadcasts on 103.9 MHz with 98,000 watts (Class C), with studios on 84th Street in Edmonton and a transmitter near Anthony Henday Drive in eastern Edmonton.

The station's format is country music, affiliated with Premiere Networks and Westwood One. Its broadcast area covers the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. Sister stations in the Corus Edmonton cluster include CHED (news/talk) and CKNG-FM. The station also operates low-power FM rebroadcast transmitters in Alberta and British Columbia, including Luscar (90.1), Rainbow Lake (103.9), Donald Station (100.1), Chetwynd (103.9), and Fort St. James (97.9).

History

Former Edmonton radio announcer Robert McCord applied for an FM licence in 1978 with a proposed rock station, but the application was denied. He tried again in 1981 and was granted approval on October 29, amid strong competition for a new FM signal. Two applications were approved — McCord's and CFCN's — both proposing country formats. McCord's station would use 103.9 MHz with 100,000 watts, targeting the 25–49 age group with a more traditional country sound.

CISN Radio Ltd. opened CISN-FM on June 5, 1982. Bob McCord was president and general manager; Gerry Siemens (formerly of CIRK-FM) was program director and Manny Buzunis was news director. The call letters CISN were pronounced "Kissin'." The station operated from the 707-foot CKRA-FM tower.

In 1988, CISN was acquired by Shaw Cablesystems; Shaw's broadcasting division became Corus Entertainment in 1999. As of 2021, CISN was the seventh-most-listened-to radio station in the Edmonton market per Numeris PPM data, and in December 2014 it was fifth. The station's on-air lineup has included Chris Scheetz, Jacqueline Greenly, and Matt DeBeurs on mornings, Steph Hansen middays, Gregg Reynolds afternoons, and Scott Hackman evenings.

CISN has been country since before country was cool — and one of Edmonton's longest-running FM stations. It began as the idea of former Edmonton radio announcer Robert N. McCord, whose first 1978 bid for an FM licence (a rock station under the CKIS-FM calls) was denied. In 1981 McCord tried again and was granted approval on October 29 after a competitive hearing with applications from CHQT, Rogers, CFCN, Redmond, Slaight, and Moffat. Two licences were approved — CFCN's and McCord's — both proposing country music, with McCord's targeting 25-to-49-year-olds with a traditional sound. On June 5, 1982, CISN Radio Ltd. opened CISN-FM on 103.9 with 100,000 watts; McCord was president and general manager, Gerry Siemens (ex-CIRK-FM) programmed it, and the call letters were pronounced "kissin'."

Ownership moved in 1988 to Shaw Cablesystems and in 1999 to Corus Entertainment, which paired the station with CHED and CKNG-FM. The station has extended its reach with low-power rebroadcasters across Alberta and British Columbia — Luscar, Rainbow Lake, Chetwynd, Donald Station, Fort St. James, and more — carrying 103.9 into resource and remote communities. And the format never wavered: for over four decades CISN has been Edmonton's country station, the city's longest consistent format in the genre.

That consistency earned industry recognition: CISN-FM won the Canadian Country Music Association's Country Station of the Year (major market) in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2016 — six wins since the award's 2000 creation, making it one of the most-honoured stations in the format. The station has presented sold-out concerts featuring George Strait and Keith Urban and promoted the Canadian Country Music Awards and the Canadian Finals Rodeo each November. In Numeris PPM reports it ranked fifth in the Edmonton market in December 2014 and seventh as of February 28, 2021 — durable numbers for a heritage format in a competitive market.

Programming

CISN plays today's country hits and past favourites, with the slogan "Today's Country." The station's programming includes morning and drive-time shows, community events, and concerts. Its personalities are fixtures of Edmonton's country music scene, and the station is deeply involved in the local country community.

Coverage and Audience

CISN's 98,000-watt signal covers the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, with low-power rebroadcasters extending coverage into northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. The station competes with Rogers' and Stingray's country outlets and streaming services for country listeners.

The 1988 Shaw sale reveals why a successful independent sold: on May 27 the CRTC approved the sale of CISN by Robert McCord to Shaw Cablesystems, with CISN Holdings (84.2% of voting shares, controlled indirectly by McCord) as the controlling shareholder. McCord — who stayed on as president — said that for the station to reach its potential, major steps and expenditures were required, and as an independent operator his resources were limited; through Shaw, CISN could reach a higher plateau in service to Edmonton and the Canadian broadcasting system. Shaw, an Edmonton-based company, had focused on cable television until 1987, when it began buying Alberta radio stations. The Shaw era deepened CISN's Edmonton cluster: in 1993 Shaw Radio bought CHQT-AM and moved its operations into CISN's studios, and in 1990 Dave Shannon joined CISN after five years at Regina's Z99 and CKCK-AM. When Corus Entertainment was formed on September 1, 1999, from Shaw's media assets, CISN came along.

The station's original identity was "Kissin' Country" — the calls pronounced like the phrase — when it signed on June 5, 1982, with 100,000 watts on 103.9 MHz. And its morning institution endured: after 35 years on air, CISN's Chris Scheetz said goodbye in May 2024 with an on-air party at the Cook County Saloon — the very venue the station had launched from in 1982 — with guests including Dallas Smith, Brett Kissel, Clayton Bellamy, Martin Kerr, Chad Klinger, and the Oilers' anthem singer Robert Clark. The City of Edmonton declared May 10, 2024, "Chris Scheetz Day." The new morning show, Jack & Matt — Jacqueline (Jack) Sweeney and Matt DeBeurs — started May 21, 2024.

Ownership

CISN-FM is owned and operated by Corus Entertainment. Corus's predecessor Shaw Communications acquired the station in 1988. The station was founded by Robert McCord's CISN Radio Ltd. (1982–1988).

The station's identity has been consistent for four decades: "Today's Country" is the slogan, and the studios at 5204 84th Street in downtown Edmonton with the transmitter near Anthony Henday Drive in the city's east have been its home for years. The web home is cisnfm.com, and the station maintains active social channels under the CISN Country name.

Syndication comes through Premiere Networks and Westwood One affiliations, complementing the local country programming that has defined the station since 1982.

Digital Presence

CISN streams live through Corus's digital platforms and maintains active social media accounts promoting its hosts, concerts, and contests. The station is associated with the cisnfm.com web portal; Wikipedia lists cisnfm.com as the station's official website.

The station's history — from Robert McCord's 1982 launch through the Shaw and Corus eras — is documented by the Canadian Communications Foundation's broadcasting-history.ca project and in CRTC licensing records.