About Rock 101 (CFMI)

Rock 101 (CFMI)

Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) is Vancouver's heritage classic rock station — a Corus Entertainment outlet broadcasting on 101.1 MHz with up to 100,000 watts from Mount Seymour. It signed on March 22, 1970, as one of Canada's first FM rock stations, and its call letters stand for "FM One" (with I as the Roman numeral for one). For more than five decades it has been a fixture of the Metro Vancouver airwaves, pairing classic rock and classic hits with personalities that have shaped the city's rock-radio culture.

Overview

CFMI-FM is a commercial FM station licensed to Vancouver, British Columbia, owned by Corus Entertainment through its Corus Premium Television Ltd. division. It broadcasts on 101.1 MHz with an effective radiated power of 53,000 watts (100,000 watts peak, Class C) from a transmitter atop Mount Seymour in the District of North Vancouver. Its studios are located in downtown Vancouver, in the TD Tower.

The station's format combines classic hits and classic rock, and its broadcast area covers Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Sister stations in the Corus Vancouver cluster include CKNW (news/talk), CFOX-FM (modern rock), and the television outlets CHAN-DT and Global News: BC 1.

History

CFMI first signed on in early 1970 — March 22, 1970, according to licensing records — as a rock station on Vancouver's FM dial, among the first full-time rock outlets on Canadian FM. Its call sign was branded as "FM One." The station was owned by Western International Communications (WIC), the Vancouver-based broadcaster that also owned CKNW and BCTV (CHAN-DT).

Through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, CFMI built a devoted audience with its album-oriented and classic rock programming, becoming known as "Rock 101" (and for a period "CFMI Rock 101"). The station added FM rebroadcast transmitters across much of British Columbia, extending its reach well beyond the Lower Mainland.

When WIC sold its radio stations to Corus Entertainment in 2000, CFMI became part of Corus's Vancouver cluster. On July 26, 2011, the CRTC approved an increase in the station's effective radiated power. On July 15, 2014, CFMI dropped the word "Classic" from its name and shifted from classic rock to mainstream rock; by late 2016 the station's website stated that it played "classic rock and the greatest hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s."

On October 13, 2015, CFMI-HD was launched as the first Canadian HD Radio service west of Ontario, with its HD2 and HD3 subchannels carrying sister station CKNW.

CFMI's origins trace to a 1947 CBC approval for a Vancouver FM station at 101.1 MHz — a station that never made it to air. The real beginning came May 16, 1968, when Radio NW Ltd. (Frank Griffiths, owner of CKNW 980) won approval for a new FM station at New Westminster: 101.1 MHz, 100,000 watts, 709-foot antenna, with a proposed country-and-western format. CFMI-FM launched March 22, 1970, with "pop for adults" — heavily automated via the "Fat Albert" stereo-cartridge system — from studios at 815 McBride Plaza in New Westminster and a transmitter on Mount Seymour. The calls mean "FM One," with the I as the Roman numeral.

Ownership passed from Radio NW through Shaw to Corus (via the WIC acquisition in 2000), and the station's city of licence remains New Westminster though its studios moved to downtown Vancouver's TD Tower. The July 26, 2011 CRTC approval raised average ERP from 37,000 to 53,000 watts (100,000 peak) with a relocated Mount Seymour transmitter — the Class C facility, 368.4-metre HAAT, that blankets Greater Vancouver today.

The format journey went from automated adult pop to "Classic Rock 101" and, on July 15, 2014, to mainstream "Rock 101" — dropping most remaining 1960s music and adding 1990s titles, shifting the positioner from "Best of the 60s, 70s and 80s" to "Greatest Hits 70s, 80s, 90s." The October 13, 2015 launch of CFMI-HD made it the first HD Radio service in Canada west of Ontario, with HD2 carrying sister station CKNW.

Rock 101's market role is Vancouver's heritage rocker: "Willy in the Morning" (Willy, Kim, and Alece) anchors the schedule with talk and listener games like the "Grand IQ Test," and the station has posted strong Numeris shares — a 6.0 in early 2014, and Corus reported it number one with Vancouver listeners in summer 2020. The core artists — AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, the Stones, the Police, U2, Van Halen — define a classic-rock lane distinct from sister station CFOX's alternative rock.

The station's roots reach further back than 1970. In 1947, CKNW received CBC approval to operate an FM station in Vancouver on 101.1 MHz at 250 watts — a station that never made it to air. Two decades later, on May 16, 1968, Radio NW Ltd. — owner of CKNW 980 in New Westminster, led by Frank Griffiths — won approval for a new FM station at 101.1 MHz with 100,000 watts ERP and a 709-foot antenna; the proposed format was country and western. When CFMI launched on March 22, 1970, it instead aired "pop for adults," heavily automated with the "Fat Albert" system running stereo cartridges, from studios at 815 McBride Plaza in New Westminster and a transmitter on Mount Seymour. The call letters branded the station as "FM One" — the I a Roman numeral for one.

The 1980s brought the station into its modern form. In 1986, general sales manager Ron Bremner was promoted to general manager, and Don Schaefer left CFMI to become program director at CFOX-FM. In 1987 the station won approval to trim ERP from 40,000 to 36,000 watts and shift the transmitter slightly east on Seymour Mountain. Ownership passed from Radio NW through Shaw Radio in 1998 to Corus Entertainment in 1999, and the 2011 CRTC-approved upgrade raised average ERP from 37,000 to 53,000 watts (100,000 peak) while lowering the antenna height. Today the studios are in the TD Tower in downtown Vancouver — Suite 2100, 700 West Georgia Street — with rock101.com as the station's web home.

Programming

Rock 101 plays classic rock and the greatest hits of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, mixing album-oriented rock with mainstream rock hits. The station's programming emphasizes long-running rock personalities and music-focused shows, with a deep library spanning five decades of rock. It reports to Mediabase as a Canadian rock station.

The station's heritage morning shows and drive-time hosts have been fixtures of Vancouver radio, and Rock 101 remains one of the market's leading rock outlets alongside sister station CFOX-FM.

Coverage and Audience

CFMI's 100,000-watt peak signal from Mount Seymour covers Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, and the station historically operated rebroadcast transmitters in many British Columbia communities. Its classic rock format targets adult listeners, competing with CFOX-FM, Bell Media's rock outlets, and CBC Music for music audiences.

Ownership

CFMI-FM is owned and operated by Corus Entertainment, one of Canada's largest commercial broadcasters. Corus acquired the station in 2000 as part of its purchase of Western International Communications' radio stations. The station was previously owned by WIC (1970–2000).

Digital Presence

Rock 101 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 rock101.com web portal; Wikipedia lists rock101.com as the station's official website.

The station's history — from the 1970 sign-on as "FM One" through the WIC years to the Corus era — is documented by the Canadian Communications Foundation's broadcasting-history.ca project and in CRTC licensing records.