CBR (AM)

CBR is a Canadian non-commercial radio station in Calgary, Alberta. It broadcasts the programming of the CBC Radio One network, both on 1010 kHz on the AM dial (as a Class A clear-channel station) and 99.1 MHz on the FM dial as CBR-FM-1. The studios are in the Parkdale neighbourhood of northwest Calgary.

The AM transmitter is east of Calgary, off the Trans-Canada Highway in Rocky View. The FM transmitter is off Old Banff Coach Road near 85th Street SW in Calgary.

The AM daytime signal covers most of the southern two-thirds of Alberta. It can be heard at city-grade strength from Red Deer to Lethbridge, and provides secondary coverage as far as Edmonton to the north and several counties on the Montana-Alberta border to the south. At night, it covers most of the western half of North America, but is strongest in Western Canada. CBR-FM-1 has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,870 watts (7,000 watts maximum). It covers Calgary and its adjacent suburbs.

CBC Radio launched its first owned and operated station in Alberta on September 8, 1948. It broadcast on 1010 kilocycles with the call sign CBX. Its studios were in Edmonton and its transmitter site was near Lacombe, roughly halfway between Calgary and Edmonton, in an attempt to serve the southern two-thirds of the province from a single 50,000-watt transmitter. Prior to CBX's debut, private station CFAC had aired CBC Radio programming. While the CBC had served most of Manitoba and Saskatchewan from single transmitters, it met with far less success doing so in Alberta. In particular, reception in Calgary left much to be desired, mainly due to interference from television signals. Edmonton listeners also reported issues, forcing the CBC to set up a "nested" AM repeater in Edmonton.

As early as 1956, the CBC had begun considering separate stations in Edmonton and Calgary in order to rectify CBX's weak signal in Calgary. on October 1, 1964, the original CBX transmitter was decommissioned. The single station was split into two distinct 50,000-watt stations: one serving Edmonton and one serving Calgary. The Edmonton station kept the CBX call sign but moved to a frequency of 740 kHz. The Calgary station retained CBX's former frequency of 1010 kHz and clear-channel designation under the call sign CBR.

On March 16, 2006, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application by the station to implement a new, nested FM transmitter in Calgary. It would simulcast the AM programming, due to the AM signal's poor reception in some parts of the city. This new FM signal, CBR-1-FM 99.1 was launched on November 28, 2006. In recent years, the CBC has branded 99.1 as the main transmitter, even though 1010 AM is technically the main station. Various other AM and FM rebroadcasters have been installed throughout southern Alberta to carry CBR's programming. On December 19, 2008, the licensee proposed to use a subsidiary communications authority (SCA) channel to broadcast multi-cultural programs.

On July 7, 2011, the CRTC approved an application by the CBC to relocate CBR's transmitter and antenna array from their original site in southeast Calgary. They would be moved to a site 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the northeast in Rocky View County. Despite changing the transmitter's location, all other technical parameters would remain unchanged. The move was completed in 2013.

CBR's local programs are Calgary Eyeopener on weekday mornings, and The Homestretch on weekday afternoons.