CIBH first went on the air on December 3, 1973, as CHPQ (which stood for Coombs, Hilliers, Parksvillle and Qualicum Beach), a semi-satellite of Nanaimo station CHUB (owned by Nanaimo Broadcasting Co.), operating at 1370 AM with 1000 watts of power.
In 1986, Nanaimo Broadcasting sold CHUB and CHPQ to Benchmark Ventures Inc. (headed by Gene Daniels, who became general manager of both stations); by 1992, CHPQ was producing 43 hours of local programming each week, with the rest of its schedule originating at CHUB. In 1994, Benchmark Ventures merged with Central Island Broadcasting Ltd. (later Island Radio), and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted CHUB permission to move to 102.3 FM (as CKWV) and to place a rebroadcaster in Parksville (CKWV-FM-1) at 99.9 FM. The switch took effect in early 1995, at which point two other switches took place; Nanaimo station CKEG moved to the old CHUB frequency of 1570, and CHPQ took over CKEG's former spot on the dial at 1350 AM and became CKCI on July 31, increasing its transmission power from 1000 watts to 10,000. In 1999, CKCI began simulcasting CKEG's oldies format as the two stations took the on-air name Good Time Oldies. On January 14, 2002, CKCI moved to 88.5 FM and became CIBH, adopting its current adult contemporary format.[1]
The CHPQ call sign is now used by the former CKWV rebroadcaster CKWV-FM-1, which began airing a separate schedule on February 11, 2005.
The sale to Jim Pattison
On November 1, 2005, the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group and Island Radio Ltd. announced that Island Radio had agreed to sell its six radio stations (including CIBH) to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group; following CRTC approval, Pattison assumed ownership of the Island Radio stations at midnight on June 30, 2006.
