CHPQ-FM


CHPQ-FM is a Canadian radio station operating in Parksville, British Columbia at 99.9 FM. Island Radio, a division of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, owns the station.

History

The roots of CHPQ can be traced indirectly back to Parksville's first radio station, which also used the call sign CHPQ ; that station first went on the air on December 3, 1973 as a semi-satellite of Nanaimo station CHUB, operating at 1370 AM with 1000 watts of power.
The current station got its start when, in 1994, Benchmark Ventures merged with Central Island Broadcasting Ltd., and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission granted CHUB permission to move to 102.3 FM and to place a rebroadcaster in Parksville at 99.9 FM. The switch took effect on January 2, 1995.
On January 19, 2005, Central Island Broadcasting changed its corporate name to Island Radio, reflecting its expanded presence on Vancouver Island. On February 11 that year, Parksville's CKWV-FM-1 ceased rebroadcasting CKWV and became a separate station catering to the residents of Parksville and Qualicum Beach, assuming CIBH's original call sign of CHPQ and broadcasting a combined format of middle of the road and easy listening music. Some station IDs for CHPQ are announced via voice-tracking by late American disc jockey and voice actor Gary Owens. CHPQ has since transitioned to a mixed adult standards/classic hits format.

The sale to Jim Pattison

On November 1, 2005, the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, a division of the Jim Pattison Group, and Island Radio Ltd. announced that Island Radio had agreed to sell its six radio stations to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group; following CRTC approval, Pattison assumed ownership of the Island Radio stations at midnight on June 30, 2006.