For
in the Fifties and Sixties
go here
For the
CKVN
years
go here
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FROM C-FUN TO CKVN TO C-FUN
At 6:00pm on
September 30, 1973 C-FUN returned. Some radio
pundits have argued they should never have
abandoned the Top 40 format back in 1967 when it
was getting pummelled in the ratings by its
arch-rival CKLG, saying they should have
continued to fight it out to regain their
audience. In the interim years from late 1967 to
1970 the station underwent various changes.
First they adopted an easy listening format.
When that failed to improve the ratings, in 1969
they became an all-news station and changed
their call letters to CKVN (Voice of News). That
format didn’t catch on either so in 1970, as
CKVN, they returned to the rock/pop format. The
return to Top 40 was welcomed by many but
despite numerous improvements which
included a new lineup of top talented DJs, CKVN
languished at the bottom of the ratings. Some
have argued that the new call letters
themselves, unfamiliar to long-time listeners
contributed to this ratings malaise. The station
at 1410 on the dial was for many years
remembered as C-FUN.
Then in
January 1973 CKVN was purchased by CHUM Limited
of Toronto. CHUM was Toronto’s Top 40
giant and with their financial clout they pumped
new blood into the Vancouver station, bringing
out west from the parent station one of their
leading DJs, Chuck McCoy, as the new program
director.
Then in
September 1973, with the new parent company’s
influence, the old CFUN call letters were
re-acquired and at 6 PM on 30th of that month C-FUN was back.
For 1973 and 1974 the new C-FUN
did not issue any weekly charts but in early
1975 the charts resumed and by this time
McCoy and his team had vaulted the revitalized
C-FUN into the number one spot in the Vancouver
ratings war.
The see-saw
ratings war between C-FUN and CKLG continued
into the 1980s. But radio-listening trends were
changing, trends which included a general
decline in the overall popularity of AM radio.
By the end of 1984, after a great run of over 11
years, C-FUN again departed the Top 40 format,
this time adopting an adult contemporary format.
Jim Bower
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Photo
courtesy of RadioWest.ca
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