Today, CKYL is undergoing a big change.
After many months of planning and preparation, YL Country has rebranded to 94.9 FM River Country.
The announcement was made today at 8 A.M. when Peace River Broadcasting Owner, Terry Babiy, joined Kent Shumaker on-air to kick-off the launch of the new format. Listeners can still expect to hear country music on 94.9, but this time there’s some classic rock injected into the mix as well.
Babiy explains 94.9 FM’s new name is inspired by the geography of our region.
“River Country doesn’t necessarily just mean country music, it’s a designation of where we live. No matter where you live in our region, a river is no more than 30 minutes away from your town or community, and we are just a community of rivers. So we have made this a geographical statement that we are indeed ‘River Country’ both here in our coverage area in the Peace River block as well as High Level.”
CKYL will continue to broadcast at 100,000 watts, and will include RDS readers so listeners can see the artist and song titles in their vehicles.
Babiy says the new sound of CKYL was inspired by the up-tempo, fun music you might hear at a wedding.
“Let’s throw some music in a blender,” says Babiy. “Let’s not forget about country, but let’s add in a few things like some John Fogerty, some Clearance Clearwater, maybe the odd Rod Stewart song. This is something we’re excited to try. It’s a unique format, it’s going to be a different listening experience and I hope everyone enjoys it.”
