CKLO-FM signed on the London, Ontario airwaves on July 5, 2011, more than two years after Blackburn Radio secured its CRTC licence for the frequency. Branded Free 98.1 and built around the slogan "World Class Rock," the station has spent well over a decade filling southwestern Ontario's classic rock lane from a studio on Richmond Row in the heart of downtown London.
A License Two Years in the Making
The CRTC approved Blackburn Radio's application for the 98.1 frequency on February 2, 2009, but it took until mid-2011 for Free 98.1 to actually go to air. Once it launched, the station did not stay put technically for long: on January 12, 2011, regulators signed off on a power boost from an average of 4,000 watts to 12,600 watts, with maximum output rising from 7,000 to 40,000 watts. The signal is engineered with a slight null to the east of London specifically to avoid stepping on Toronto's CHFI-FM, a routine but telling reminder of how tightly packed the FM band gets between two major Ontario markets.
A New Partner in the London Knights
On September 2, 2026, Free 98.1 announced a partnership with the London Knights, becoming the OHL team's exclusive local radio and streaming media partner alongside Brand One Digital. Pairing a classic rock station with junior hockey broadcasts is a natural fit in a city where the Knights routinely sell out Budweiser Gardens, and it gives Free 98.1 a direct line into one of London's most consistently packed rooms on game nights.
A City With Deeper Rock Roots
London earned recognition in 2021 as the first Canadian city named a UNESCO City of Music, a title backed up by a genuinely deep musical past. The city is the hometown of big band leader Guy Lombardo, classic rockers Helix, heavy metal act Thundermug, and punk pioneers The Demics, and its now-closed venue Call the Office hosted The Tragically Hip, Radiohead, and Green Day before any of them were headliners. That history is preserved at the London Music Hall of Fame, and it gives a station built on decades-old rock catalogues a hometown audience that already understands the genre's roots better than most.
Why Tune In
Free 98.1 offers a straightforward pitch: a deep classic rock catalogue, broadcast at real power across southwestern Ontario, from a city that has spent decades producing the kind of bands the format is built on. With a fresh tie to the London Knights adding local sports energy to the mix, it is a station that keeps finding new ways to stay part of the city's daily rhythm.