London, Ontario

London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada on the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of about 432,451; the city proper has a population of about 360,000 (2005). London is the seat of Middlesex County, at the forks of the Thames River, almost exactly halfway between Toronto and Detroit. It is located at {{coor dm|43|2|N|81|9|W|}}. London and the surrounding area (roughly, the territory between Kitchener and Chatham) is collectively known as Western Ontario.

Communications and media

The independent London Telephone Company was bought by the Bell Telephone Company of Canada in 1881. Bell Canada continues to be the incumbent local exchange carrier for London.

Related Topics:
1881 - Bell Canada

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Television

London pioneered in the establishment of cable television in Canada, being either the first or second city in Canada with cable service, when Ed Jarmain and others wired the first 15 homes, and had to purchase TV sets for 14 of them. London's first cable system, established in 1952, broadcast American signals that crossed the border, including WICU from Erie, Pennsylvania. London had the second private local television station in Canada, CFPL (on-air November 28, 1953), and CFPL was the first Canadian local channel to broadcast in colour (1966). It remains the only local TV station in London, and as part of CHUM Limited's NewNet system was branded as The New PL. In August 2005 CFPL was rebranded as A-Channel.

Related Topics:
WICU - Erie, Pennsylvania - CFPL - November 28 - 1953 - 1966 - CHUM Limited - A-Channel

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• Channel 10 - CFPL, A-Channel
• Channel 18 - CICO-18, TVOntario
• Channel 20 - CJMT-1, OMNI.2
• Channel 40 - CBLN, CBC
• Channel 51 - CHCH-2, CH
• Channel 53 - CBLFT-9, SRC
• Channel 69 - CFMT-2, OMNI.1

Radio

London also had radio since 1922 when CJGC was established. It joined a Windsor station in early 1933 to become CKLW, but a local station was reestablished late that year, CFPL-AM. A sister FM station was established in 1948, and is now owned by Corus Entertainment. Competitor CKSL started in 1956; a third station, CJOE, was founded in 1967, changing to CJBK in 1970. In addition to one station each with Fanshawe College (CIXX) and UWO (CHRW), other stations are associated with existing stations. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation established CBCL in 1998, which primarily offers newscasts at the bottom of the hour during the regional morning show. From 1978-1998 the CBC operated a rebroadcasting transmitter in London, relaying the signal of Toronto's CBL 740. Before 1978 CBC programming was carried on CFPL-AM, as well as on CFPL-FM prior to 1972. The CBC continues to operate rebroadcast transmitter CBBL for CBC Radio Two, relaying the signal of Toronto's CBL-FM.

Related Topics:
1922 - CFPL-AM - Sister FM station - 1948 - Corus Entertainment - CKSL - 1956 - 1967 - CJBK - 1970 - CIXX - CHRW - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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The following stations broadcast in London:

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• 92.7 FM - CJBX, BX93 country
• 93.5 FM - CBCL, CBC Radio One
• 94.9 FM - CHRW, University of Western Ontario campus radio
• 95.9 FM - CFPL, FM96 active rock
• 97.5 FM - CIQM, Q97-5 adult contemporary
• 99.3 FM - CJBC-4, La Première Chaîne
• 100.5 FM - CBBL, CBC Radio Two
• 102.3 FM - CHST, Bob FM
• 105.9 FM - CHJX, Grace FM (Christian music)
• 106.9 FM - CIXX, Fanshawe College campus radio, Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B/Big band (on Sundays only)
• 980 AM - CFPL, news/talk
• 1290 AM - CJBK, news/talk/sports
• 1410 AM - CKSL, adult standards

Radio stations broadcasting from Woodstock and St. Thomas can also be heard in London.

Related Topics:
Woodstock - St. Thomas

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Newspapers

Until 1937, London had two daily newspapers: the London Free Press (established 1849) and the London Advertiser. The Advertiser folded in 1937, and there has been no major local competition for the Free Press since then. The Free Press, formerly owned by the Blackburn family, is now owned by Sun Media, a subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc.

Related Topics:
London Free Press - 1849 - Sun Media

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The Free Press also publishes London This Week, a free weekly municipal oriented newspaper. Scene Magazine, a free bi-weekly newspaper, was established in 1989 by publisher Bret Downe focusing on local and entertainment news, while The Londoner, a free weekly newspaper founded in 2003, calls itself "London's community newspaper". In 2005, The Londoner was purchased by Bowes Publishing Inc., a subsidiary of Sun Media.

Related Topics:
London This Week - 1989 - The Londoner - 2003

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