CBN (AM)

CBN is a clear-channel radio station broadcasting at 640 kHz (AM) from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is the local Radio One station of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. CBN broadcasts with 10,000 watts, unlike most other clear-channel, Class A stations, which broadcast with 50,000 watts. Per international agreement (NARBA), CBN is grandfathered at 10 kW and Class I-B (later renamed Class A, after the 1981 Rio de Janeiro agreement), whereas the dominant station on this frequency throughout the Americas is KFI Los Angeles, which operates with 50 kW and Class I-A (Class A, after "Rio").

History

The station was founded in 1932 as VONF, broadcasting on 1195 kilocycles, and was owned and operated by the Dominion Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Avalon Telephone Company (a predecessor of Bell Aliant). In 1934, it merged with a former competitor, VOGY/840, which had also launched in 1932. The VONF call sign was retained.

On March 13, 1939, the Dominion Broadcasting Company was absorbed by the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland, the pre-Confederation public broadcaster, as its first radio station. The frequency was eventually changed to its current 640 AM.