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CKFG-FM (98.7 FM broadcasting, Flow 98.7) is a radio station in Toronto. Owned by CINA Media Group, it carries an urban contemporary radio format. The studios and offices are on Kern Road in the Don Mills neighbourhood of North York.
The station began broadcasting on October 3, 2011, as G98.7 under the ownership of Intercity Broadcasting Network–a company founded by Jamaican-Canadian broadcaster Fitzroy Gordon. The station launched with an urban adult contemporary format serving the Black Canadian community of Africans and Caribbeans in the Greater Toronto Area, airing a mix of R&B, soul music, reggae, soca music, hip hop, worldbeat, gospel music, and smooth jazz.
After Gordon's death in 2019, it was revealed that the station had been accumulating debt. It subsequently entered receivership, and in 2020, an Ontario court ordered that CKFG be sold. CKFG would be acquired by Neeti P. Ray's CINA Media Group, an operator of multicultural stations, in September 2021. Its new owners committed to maintain CKFG's existing format; in February 2022, CINA announced an agreement with Stingray Radio to transfer the heritage Flow branding from CFXJ-FM to CKFG, as part of a relaunch of both stations.
The station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 446 with a peak of 1,000 watts. Its transmitter is atop First Canadian Place in Downtown Toronto.
To 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.
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, R&B, hip hop, gospel music 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. Gordon stated that the station's goal was to have at least a temporary signal on air in time for Caribana, 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 G98.7.
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.
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 would have been the second Black Canadian television service after FEVA TV, which launched in August 2014 and targets African-Canadians. CRTC GRANTS APPROVAL FOR CANADA’S FIRST NATIONAL BLACK AND CARIBBEAN TELEVISION STATION , October 21, 2014
Eleven binding bids were received, although none of them involved Black-owned companies. In October 2020, Neeti P. Ray, owner of multicultural stations CINA in Mississauga and CINA-FM in Windsor, was named winner. Whiteoaks Communications Group, owner of religious station CJYE and multicultural station CJMR in Oakville, was named as a backup in the event that the CRTC did not approve an acquisition by CINA. Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2021-275 A. Farber & Partners stated that Ray had an "acute understanding of the station’s position and importance to the community", and had therefore committed to continue operating CKFG as a station targeting the Black community.
The sale was completed in September 2021. CINA Media Group stated that it would maintain CKFG's format and positioning. Former iHeartMedia executive Gary Gunter, who has previously worked with hip-hop and R&B-formatted stations in the United States, was brought on as the station's new general manager. On February 9, 2022, Stingray Radio announced that it had reached an agreement with CINA Media Group to transfer the Flow branding from CFXJ-FM to CKFG, as part of a relaunch of both stations scheduled for February 14.
Stingray's vice president of brands and content Steve Jones stated that the company had wanted to "bring Flow back to its roots as a community-driven station" with a broader array of music, but after realizing that such a station would compete directly with CKFG, it instead pursued an agreement with the station to "keep the Flow brand–and mission–alive in Toronto". CKFG is being positioned as "Toronto's Hip Hop and R&B"—expanding its playlist to appeal to the younger demographics associated with CFXJ's urban contemporary format, while still maintaining the broader array of genres it played as G98.7. Gunter described the changes as a "reset" that would leverage the heritage of the Flow branding, and target the entirety of Toronto's Black community.
In anticipation of the relaunch, CKFG began a soft launch with a playlist of classic hip hop hits that afternoon, while CFXJ went disc jockey and released its airstaff. As scheduled, CKFG rebranded as Flow 98.7 on February 14, while CFXJ concurrently adopted a new adult hits format as 93.5 Today Radio. CFXJ subsequently changed to a country music format in September 2024.
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