 | |
| Broadcast area | Halifax Regional Municipality |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 101.3MHz (FM) |
| Branding | 101.3Virgin Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | Top 40/CHR |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| CIOO-FM,CJCH-DT | |
| History | |
First air date | November 14,1944 (AM) May 30,2008 (FM) |
Former call signs | CJCH (1944–2008) |
Former frequencies | 1320kHz (AM) (1944–1945) 920 kHz (1945–2008) |
Call sign meaning | CJChronicle-Herald (newspaper) |
| Technical information | |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 43,000wattsvertical polarization: 100,000 watts horizontal polarization |
| HAAT | 160.1 meters (525 ft) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | iheartradio.ca/virginradio/halifax |
CJCH-FM (101.3MHz) is acommercialradio station inHalifax,Nova Scotia,Canada. The station broadcasts aTop 40/CHRformat branded on-air as101.3Virgin Radio, and is owned byBell Media. CJCH's studios and offices are located at the intersection of Russell and Agricola streets in Halifax (behind TVsister stationCJCH-DT). Thetransmitter is located on Washmill Lake Drive inClayton Park.
The station was established on November 14, 1944 byThe Halifax Chronicle at 1320 AM.[1] It was the second radio station tosign on in Halifax, afterCHNS, which was founded in 1926. In 1945, CJCH was authorized to increase output power and move to a lower frequency on the AM dial (920 kHz). By the 1960s, CJCH was broadcasting with 10,000watts by day and 5,000 watts at night. In 1961, it put a TV station on the air,CJCH-TV, which later that year became aCTVNetwork affiliate.
CJCH-AM-TV were acquired in 1970 byToronto-basedCHUM Limited. In 1997, CHUM Limited sold the television station to CTV. On June 22, 2007, the approval by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) of the acquisition of CHUM Ltd. byCTVglobemedia has again brought the stations under common ownership.
In 1978, CJCH got a boost to 25,000 watts around the clock, making it Halifax's second highest powered AM station afterCFDR, which was at 50,000 watts.[2]
Through the 1960s and 70s, CJCH was a popularTop 40 station, the first to play allcontemporary hits in the Halifax area. In 1983, it began broadcasting inAM Stereo, the first inAtlantic Canada. In the 1970s, it had a rivalry withCHNS in the Top 40 format. However, in the 1980s, listening tocontemporary music shifted to the FM dial. In 1987, CJCH flipped to anoldies-basedadult contemporary format, as it focused on listeners who had grown up with the station but were now over 40. In August 1993, the station switched to aClassic rock format asArrow 92 (with Arrow standing forAllRock andRollOldies). In January 1994, CJCH switched its moniker toAll Rock and Roll Oldies 92/CJCH. In May 1995, it flipped to a hybridtalk/oldies format; by the end of that year, the talk programming took over the entire schedule, and was branded asNews/Talk Radio 920/CJCH.
In 2001, CHUM Limited started asports radio network known asThe Team. CJCH joined this network and becameThe Team 920 on May 7 of that year.[3] On August 27, 2002, The Team network was shut down and CJCH flipped to anoldies format, becomingAM 920/CJCH - Yesterday's Favourites.
In July 2006,CHNS, an oldies station since February 1992, switched to the FM band and adopted aclassic rock format (now airingclassic hits). As a result, CJCH became the only oldies station in Halifax. Its oldies format was unique in that it ran a mid-morning call-in program calledThe Hotline with hostRick Howe.
In 2007,CTVglobemedia acquired CJCH and CIOO. On August 31, 2007, CTVglobemedia applied to the CRTC to move CJCH to 101.3FM. The CRTC approval was given on November 30, 2007.[4] The application originally indicated that CJCH would retain its oldies format.Industry Canada required a three-week test on 101.3 FM, which began on May 8, 2008.
On May 30, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., the last oldies song finished playing on 920 CJCH as the station wentsilent on AM. The new station launched on 101.3 FM with aTop 40/CHR format, branded as101.3 The Bounce. The first song aired wasKanye West's "Stronger". The station did not take advantage of its right to simulcast on both frequencies for three months as is customary in such cases.
The new FM station was in direct competition withCKHZ-FM, which had a musical direction leaning toRhythmic andDance product, targeted towards young adults. CJCH's "Bounce"logo andfonts were patterned afterCHBN inEdmonton, which, until 2010, was under the same ownership as CJCH. With CKHZ adopting anAdult Top 40 direction in March 2013 (which lasted until it flipped tocountry in September 2015), CJCH moved towards a Rhythmic-leaning direction, but remained within the Mainstream CHR realm. The move was also in part to avoid overlapping with co-owned CIOO, though the two stations share some titles.
On April 1, 2011,Bell Canada completed its acquisition of 100% of the shares in CTVglobemedia it didn't already own and named the new divisionBell Media.
On July 26, 2016, CJCH began promoting a "major change" to the station to take place on July 29 at 1:00 p.m. At that time, after playing "Sorry" byJustin Bieber, CJCH rebranded as101.3Virgin Radio, becoming the ninth station in Canada to use the "Virgin" branding (CFCA-FM inKitchener rebranded as "Virgin" at the same time as CJCH). The first song on "Virgin" (as well as Kitchener's "Virgin") was "This Is What You Came For" byCalvin Harris andRihanna.[5][6][7]
Radio stations inHalifax,Nova Scotia | |||
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| Stations |
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44°39′33.6″N63°35′58.8″W / 44.659333°N 63.599667°W /44.659333; -63.599667
