CKBY-FM


CKBY-FM is a Canadian radio station, which airs a country music format at 101.1 FM in Smiths Falls, serving the Ottawa market. The station is owned by Rogers Communications, and uses the brand name Country 101.1. CKBY's studios are located in Smiths Falls, with its transmitter located near Carleton Place.
Based on the current format, CKBY-FM competes with CKKL-FM.

History

The station was launched in 1969 as CJET-FM, a sister station to the AM radio station CJET, and changed its callsign to CKUE in the early 1970s.
In 1984, the stations were acquired by CHEZ-FM Inc., the owner of Ottawa's CHEZ. In 1986, CKUE changed its callsign to CHEQ, and adopted the Q101 brand. Q101 switched from its longtime adult contemporary format to country music in 1990, but the country format was financially unsuccessful.
In 1993, CHEZ acquired rights to the callsign and format of CFMO, an easy listening station in Ottawa which CHUM Limited had converted to hot adult contemporary CKKL.
In 1999, the CHEZ group of stations were acquired by Rogers Media. On December 31 of that year, Rogers converted the station to a modern rock format and moved the station's studios into Ottawa, using the callsign CIOX and the brand name Xfm. However, in 2001 the CRTC found that by operating CIOX as an Ottawa station, Rogers was in contravention of market concentration rules about the number of radio stations in a single market that can be owned by the same company. As a result, the CRTC ordered Rogers to return the station to Smiths Falls.
In October 2003, the station stunted for the day as "101.1 Frank FM", playing pretty much anything.
On January 9, 2004, at Noon, the station adopted its current format when Rogers converted the former CKBY in Ottawa to the current CISS. 101.1 became CKBY "Y101", and 105.3 became CISS a month later after the format change. The final song as 101.1 Xfm was Good Riddance by Green Day.
On June 28, 2013 at 3PM, the station was rebranded as Country 101.1, as part of Rogers' rebranding of its country-formatted stations to a unified brand. Other than the branding change, no format or staff changes are expected.