City Winnipeg, Manitoba Slogan World Class Rock First air date 1962 | Branding 92.1 CITI Frequency 92.1 MHz | |
Broadcast area Winnipeg Capital Region | ||
CITI-FM (92.1 MHz) is a commercial Canadian FM radio station broadcasting in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Owned by Rogers Media, the station broadcasts a classic-based rock radio format branded as 92.1 CITI.
History
The station first signed on in 1962 as CKY-FM simulcasting AM 580 CKY. The station adopted its current call sign, CITI-FM, on April 1, 1978. The first song played on CITI-FM was Deep Purple's Highway Star.
In the early 1990s, the station was acquired by Rogers Radio, who converted CITI's sister station CKY-AM to the FM band in 2004, and retained the CKY call sign on that station. That station now plays adult contemporary music.
CITI-FM was originally North America's most powerful commercial FM station. (That is currently WBCT in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Canada's most powerful FM station is CJKR-FM, also in Winnipeg.) In 2003 CITI-FM was granted a decrease in effective radiated power from 360,000 (directional) to 140,000 (directional) watts. Its transmitter was then relocated 20 kilometers north of its former site.
Some notable announcers through the years at CITI are: Andy Frost, Shadoe Davis, Lamont Hollywood, Howard Mandshein, Cosmo, Gordo Fry, Brother Jake Edwards, Terry Dimonte, Tim "Trucker" Bradley, Terry Klassen, Tom McGouran, Joe Aiello, Larry Updike, and Brian Cook.
On May 17, 2012, the station rebranded itself as "World Class Rock" and began playing more 80's, 90's and 2000's-based rock.
On September 13, 2012, CITI-FM announced that longtime morning show hosts Tom McGouran and Joe Aiello had been let go, and would be replaced with Dave Wheeler, Phil Aubrey and Rena Jae, formerly of rival station CJKR-FM. The latter three, having comprised the morning show of Wheeler In The Morning with Philly and Rena since September 2009, were unable to come to terms on a new contract with CJKR-FM's parent company, Corus Entertainment, and were subsequently approached by Rogers Media, parent company to CITI-FM.
On January 12, 2015, the station's morning show Wheeler in the Morning began to be simulcast on sister City television station CHMI-DT. The simulcast replaced the cancelled Winnipeg version of Breakfast Television. The former Breakfast Television presenters Jenna Khan and Drew Kozub host news and entertainment segments that are shown in place of music programming.
On July 6, 2016, the station rebranded to 92.1 CITI, while all other Rogers classic rock stations switched to "The Rock", Today's Best Rock, Winnipeg and Ottawa were the only stations to keep their call letters with the addition of the complete dial number while dropping the FM tag.