CKIC-FM was an educational terrestrial campus radio station that broadcast in Winnipeg, Manitoba, at 92.9 FM from April 27, 2004 to July 4, 2012. Beginning in the fall of 2012, it plans to return to the airwaves as an internet-only radio station.
The station’s original purpose was to provide real-world broadcasting education for students enrolled in the Creative Communications program at Red River College and to provide programming different from that offered by other radio stations in the city.
In November 2003, Rick Beverstock, a programmer from CITI-FM (Winnipeg) and CKKQ-FM (Victoria), was hired as the station manager of CKIC-FM.
Kick-FM was owned and operated by the non-profit corporation Cre-Comm Radio, Inc.
The station began broadcasting a test signal on December 15, 2003 and officially launched on April 27, 2004. Initially, the station operated in the Triple-A format. At the time, it was the first of its kind in Canada. Kick-FM used the slogan “A Rock ‘n’ Soul Adventure” during its first year of operation.
With the advent of the short-lived CKFE-FM, Kick-FM shifted to a unique Modern Rock format. The selections included songs popular in the UK and on college radio in the US. In addition, Kick-FM featured more Winnipeg musicians than any other station in the city (22% of the playlist). Most of the music on Kick-FM’s playlist was unique to the station with little overlap with other stations.
After a few years as “Winnipeg’s New Sound”, Kick-FM began to identify itself as “Winnipeg’s Indie Station – Independent Rock, Independent Talk”. The musical emphasis has moved away from the more well-known alternative artists (now played by CURVE 94.3, see CHIQ-FM) and now focuses on music by independent unsigned artists. For four years, the station also hosted a daily talk program by citizen journalist, blogger, civic activist and government critic Marty Gold. That program was abruptly taken off the air by the board that ran the station shortly after a new president took office at Red River College.
In May 2007, 92.9 KICK-FM was named Winnipeg’s third favorite radio station (behind #2 Hot 103 and #1 Power 97) in a Uptown Magazine reader poll; in May 2008, 92.9 KICK-FM was named Winnipeg’s second favorite radio station (behind #1 Hot 103) in a poll of readers of the same magazine.
On January 23, 2012, the CRTC ruled that radio stations on university campuses in Canada must allow public access similar to public radio stations. This move meant that CKIC decided to give up its license because of this decision. On July 4, 2012, at 4:00 p.m., the station did indeed cease to operate as an over-the-air broadcasting station and submitted its license to the CRTC. This revocation of the license has provoked a significant backlash, including from former members of the station’s community and citizen journalists.