CKKS-FM

CKKS-FM (107.5 FM, "Kiss Throwbacks") is a radio station licensed to Chilliwack, British Columbia, and serving Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Owned by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts a classic hits format focusing on music from the 1990s through the 2010s.

The station's main studios and offices are at 2440 Ash Street in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, where its rebroadcasting transmitter CKKS-FM-2 operates at 104.9 FM with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 31,000 watts and a height above average terrain (HAAT) of 672.2 metres (2,205 ft) from atop Mount Seymour. Another rebroadcasting transmitter, 92.5 CKKS-FM-1, is in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

The station went on the air in 1986 as CKSR-FM, with transmitters at Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Technical changes in the late 1990s added a third transmitter in Vancouver, greatly expanding its broadcast coverage.

The station signed on for the first time on October 1, 1986, as CKSR-FM Star FM. It was the first FM radio service based in the region and was owned by Fraser Valley Broadcasters Ltd., which owned AM stations in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, the pair of CFVR and CHWK. A hybrid easy listening/adult contemporary format aimed at adult audiences was aired by Star FM, with transmitters at 107.5 MHz in Chilliwack and 104.9 MHz in Abbotsford.

Beginning in 1995, CKSR began gradually phasing out its easy listening songs in favour of a pure adult contemporary format. Fraser Valley Broadcasters also analyzed ways to improve its reception in several areas of the western Fraser Valley where its signal remained "unreliable". In 1997, the Abbotsford main transmitter was moved to 104.9 MHz on Mount Seymour, with a new Abbotsford transmitter on 92.5 MHz. While the CRTC did not permit the station to reduce its service to the Fraser Valley, approving the move over objections from several Vancouver radio stations, the move had the consequence of putting the Lower Mainland in its coverage area, and CKSR-FM opened a Vancouver office (without studios, as the CRTC did not allow permanent studios outside the Fraser Valley to be used). The move gave Vancouver three adult contemporary stations: CKSR-FM, CHQM-FM, and CKKS-FM.

In 1999, Rogers Broadcasting purchased the Fraser Valley Radio Group of CFVR, CHWK, and CKGO in Hope. The new ownership immediately made cuts at the low-rated Star FM. On December 31, Rogers flipped the station from "Star FM" to alternative rock as CKVX-FM 104.9 Xfm. The choice of format surprised some observers who expected Rogers to go after CHR station CKZZ-FM.

Throughout the run, ratings were low, usually behind competing FM rocker CFOX-FM, but there were some notable moments, including the early playing of the new Radiohead song "Optimistic" in September 2000, which earned a cease-and-desist order from record label EMI after CKVX obtained a recording. Rogers placed the CKSR call sign on the former CHWK and converted it to FM in 2001 as CKSR-FM, adopting the former Star FM's branding, and a similar light rock format.

On November 19, 2003, CKVX began stunting with all-Christmas music as 104.9 Christmas FM. At noon on December 26, CKVX switched to 104.9 Clear FM, a hybrid format of adult contemporary and smooth jazz music during most of the day that was designed to complement CKLG-FM (now CJAX-FM) and its Jack FM format. A program of chillout, downtempo and trip hop electronic music called Vancouver Chills, hosted by Trevor Shand, aired from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. nightly. The first song on "Clear FM" was "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones. On April 8, 2004, CKVX-FM became CKCL-FM. In 2005, Shand left CKCL to move to Los Angeles to become the production manager at KROQ-FM (while continuing voiceover work for Rogers Broadcasting stations in Vancouver and Toronto). Music Director Doreen Copeland took over as host of Vancouver Chills, which then began mixing more AC and smooth jazz in with the electronica tunes and expanded its airtime to 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. nightly.