The station's signal covers most of the city of Toronto, and extends towards Milton, Oakville, Brampton, Aurora, and Pickering. However, in the northeastern part of the GTA, particularly in the Scarborough area, reception of CKFG is often impacted by CBLA-FM's repeater in Peterborough. To try and remedy this interference in Scarborough and in Durham Region, Intercity applied for a re-broadcaster on 102.7 MHz as part of the CRTC's call for applications of new radio stations in May 2014. The CRTC declined the request on November 5, 2014, and instead awarded a new license to East FM, who launched CJRK-FM on that frequency.
History
Founding
The station was founded by Fitzroy Gordon, a Jamaican-Canadian who immigrated to Canada in 1979 who became a late night disc jockey on CHIN Radio in the 1990s hosting a programme aimed at the Caribbean community. The station was originally licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in 2006, but as the proposed 98.7 frequency was second adjacent to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's CBLA-FM, the approval was made conditional on the new station's owner, Fitzroy Gordon, submitting a revised application for a different frequency. Milestone Radio also filed an intervention, stating that the station's proposed format duplicated that company's Flow 93.5. The station did not file a revised application, however, and the initial authorization lapsed; instead, Gordon subsequently reapplied for the same 98.7 frequency. Accordingly, Industry Canada allowed the station to broadcast a test signal for three weeks in 2010 to determine whether the frequency could be used without impacting CBLA. The test signal, a mix of reggae, rhythm and blues, hip hop, gospel and soca music, was branded as Caribbean African Radio Network, or CARN. The test found no significant interference, and on June 9, 2011, Gordon's Intercity Broadcasting Network received CRTC approval to use the 98.7 frequency. The CBC again noted its objection to the licensing of a second-adjacent frequency; four commercial broadcast groups — Rogers Media, Astral Media, Bell Media and Durham Radio — also filed comments in support of the CBC's position. The station's call sign CKFG is named after the founder Fitzroy Gordon. Gordon stated that the station's goal was to have at least a temporary signal on air in time for the 2011 Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival, but did not immediately confirm a permanent launch date. RadioInsight revealed on October 1 that the station would begin airing on October 3. On that day, the station officially signed on the air and changed monikers to "G 98.7".
On the air
On November 28, 2011, at 6 AM, the station aired its first live broadcast with the song "I Can See Clearly Now" by Jimmy Cliff, then founder Fitzroy Gordon said a prayer, before handing it over to morning hosts Mark Strong and Jemeni, both formerly of Flow 93.5. The station is also slated to air local news and sports programming, as well as talk shows relating to the African and Caribbean communities. Virtually during the same time CKFG-FM signed on the air, its rival CFXJ-FM flipped from rhythmic contemporary back to urban contemporary. Ironically, because there are no other R&B/Hip-Hop or Adult R&B outlets in Canada, the only major music chart CKFG reports to is the BDS Canadian Top 40 chart panel. In 2012, Intercity Broadcasting was one of 27 applicants for the 88.1 frequency vacated by the revocation in early 2011 of CKLN-FM's license, applying to move CKFG-FM to the 88.1 frequency. The bid was unsuccessful and the CRTC awarded the frequency to CIND-FM. On October 21, 2014, it was announced that Gordon was granted a licence by the CRTC to launch a national Black/Caribbean television station. It woukd have been the second Black Canadian television service after FEVA TV, which launched in August 2014 and targets African-Canadians.
Financial difficulties and sale
The station's CEO and founder Fitzroy Gordon died on April 30, 2019 at the age of 65. Soon after his death, shareholder and former chief financial officer Delford Blythe initiated court proceedings in an attempt to take financial control of the station, alleging significant mismanagement by Gordon which was threatening the station's survival. The station was put into receivership as a result. In 2019, the station reportedly owed “more than $200,000 to the Canada Revenue Agency; $183,000 to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the federal regulator; and additional sums of more than $165,000 to creditors who have received judgments against the station." By 2020, debts were reported to be in excess of $2,000,000. In July 2020, the court ordered Intercity Broadcasting Network to sell the station.
