Collection 1997.03 - CKPG History of UNBC Video Recordings Collection

In November 1944, the Canadian Department of Transport granted a license to operate a radio station to brothers Cecil and Frank (Tiny) Elphicke of CKPG Radio Limited. Land was purchased in May 1945 for the transmitter site near the Hudson Bay Slough in Prince George. Construction of the transmitter began in August, and Radio Station CKPG Limited was incorporated and capitalized at $25,000 (2500 shares at 10.00 per share). CKPG signed on the air on at 5:00 p.m. on 8 February 1946, operating on 1230 kHz. Studios were in Ritz-Kiefer Hall on George Street and the 250-watt transmitter was at South Fort George. CKPG was a CBC Trans-Canada affiliate, with an original staff of Cecil Elphicke (Managing Director), Ray Tate (Engineer) and Jack Carbutt (announcer). Bob Harkins began as a copywriter at the station in 1954. Three years later, at age 26, Harkins was appointed general manager and president of the station. On 20 August 1959, CKPG-TV began broadcasting on Channel 2.

The CKPG-TV station began operations on August 20, 1961, with a power output of 8,300 watts. It was co-owned with the local radio station of the same name, and was a CBC affiliate from its inception. The station's president and general manager, Bob Harkins, was one of the first people to appear on air.

In 1965, the station put a re-broadcaster in Quesnel into operation on channel 13. In April 1969, both the CKPG radio and television stations were purchased by Vancouver's Q Broadcasting Ltd., owners of CHQM in Vancouver.

In 1973, Gord Leighton became the new general manager of both stations and by 1985, the station had six rebroadcasting stations (including three owned by the CBC) in operation in Hixon, Mackenzie, Quesnel, Vanderhoof, Fort Fraser and Ft. St. James.

In 1988, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) renewed the network licence for CKPG-TV and CFTK-TV Terrace, which allowed the two CBC affiliates to use the Corporation's microwave equipment to transfer syndicated programming, when it wasn't being used for CBC programming.

On 11 October 1990, Radio Station CKPG Limited and its CKPG Television subsidiary were sold to Monarch Broadcasting Ltd.
On December 21, the CRTC approved the buyout of Monarch Broadcasting by the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, a division of the Jim Pattison Group, which included CKPG-TV and its retransmission stations.

At noon on 30 May 2003, news-talk format CKPG-AM became classic-rock format CKDV-FM “The Drive”.