 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Montreal |
| Frequency | 98.5MHz |
| Branding | 98,5 FM |
| Programming | |
| Language | French |
| Format | talk/sports |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| CKBE-FM,CKAC,CKOI-FM,CFGL-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | April 9, 1977 (1977-04-09) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Montréal Parlé ("Montreal Talks" inFrench) |
| Technical information | |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 298.9 metres (981 ft) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.985fm.ca |
CHMP-FM (98.5MHz) is aFrench languagetalkradio station serving theGreater Montreal Area and licensed to the off-Island suburb ofLongueuil. Owned and operated byCogeco, it broadcasts with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts as aClass C1 station, using anomnidirectional antenna atopMount Royal, at 298.9 metres (981 ft) inheight above average terrain (HAAT). CHMP'sstudios and offices are located atPlace Bonaventure indowntown Montreal.
The station identifies itself as98,5 FM and is one of the few full-time FM talk stations inNorth America to broadcast instereo. The station has a few music blocks, during weekends.
Notable personalities include popular morningdrive time hostPaul Arcand, midday host and former Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship in 2012 underPauline Marois,Bernard Drainville, weekend morning hostPaul Houde, former NHL referee and late-night sports talk hostRon Fournier and popular journalistPatrick Lagacé, who hosts the afternoon drive time show. Former mayor of Montreal'sLe Plateau-Mont-Royal district and environmentalistLuc Ferrandez and formerMulroney government diplomat Luc Lavoie also appear daily as collaborators.Gilles Proulx was also heard on the station from 2004 until his retirement on August 7, 2008.[1]
In 1976,Stephane Venne applied for the license to operate a new station on the FM dial in Longueuil. He initially wanted 93.5 MHz (Channel 228) with a power of 10,000 watts, but this frequency was granted toCBC Radio forCBM-FM. On January 20, 1977, Radio MF CIEL (1976) Inc. got permission to usecall signCIEL-FM ("Ciel" is French for "sky"). The station went on the air April 9, 1977 with 10,000 watts, airing aFrench-languageadult contemporaryradio format. Stephane Venne was the general manager and program director.
On October 17, 1978, Radio MF CIEL (1976) was sold to Stereo Laval Inc which also ownedCFGL-FM inLaval. In 1981, Stereo Laval was purchased by Placements Roland Saucier Inc. and ownership of CIEL was transferred to aholding entity called Radio MF CIEL (1981) Inc.
In 1987, CIEL moved its antenna fromMont Saint-Bruno toMount Royal and reduced its power from 100,000 watts to 45,000 watts, and then to 40,800 in 1988.
In the early 1990s, CIEL changed toFrenchhot adult contemporary as thesofter AC format was filled by rivalsCFGL-FM andCITE-FM
Throughout its 23 years with the CIEL-FM call sign, the station's studios were located on St-Charles Street inOld Longueuil, but the station served the entireGreater Montreal area.
In 1998, owner Jean-Pierre Coallier sold CIEL-FM to Metromedia CMR. On August 8, 2000, the station's call letters were changed toCKOO-FM as it switched to amodern rock format branded asCool FM. (Even though the station broadcast in French, it used the English word "cool" to identify itself.) CKOO's offices and studios moved from Longueuil toVerdun in1999. In 2001, the format flipped tomainstream rock whenCorus Entertainment acquired the station, and the format was changed again toclassic rock in 2003. The "Cool" branding continued to be used although the various rock formats failed to attract many listeners. CKOO wanted to become the firstFrench-languagerock station in the Montreal area. It took inspiration fromCHOI-FM inQuebec City, a successful rock station broadcasting in French. (For some years in the 1970s and 80s,CHOM-FM had broadcastprogressive rock in bothEnglish andFrench but was never a full-time French rock station.)
With rock music failing to gain traction in Montreal, Corus announced on November 27, 2003, that the station would flip to atalk format starting in 2004. Following the announcement, all "Cool" programs were cancelled and the station played continuousChristmas music for the rest of the year.
On January 5, 2004, the new talk format made its debut, with theCHMP-FM call sign and the branding98,5 FM, Le FM parlé de Montréal. The CHMP-FM call letters became official by spring2004.
With Paul Arcand as host, 98,5 FM rapidly climbed to the top of the Montreal ratings with 1,133,000 listeners and 120,000 visitors on its website.[2]
CHMP is the last station to broadcast from the legendary 211 Gordon Avenue studios in Verdun, which had been home toCKVL andCKOI-FM for decades. The station moved to new studios inPlace Bonaventure inDowntown Montreal on July 29, 2006. The old 211 Gordon Avenue studios were demolished in December 2006.
From February 2005 until April 1, 2007, the station had an all-talk format only duringCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulated hours, while playing music at night. The station wanted to switch to an all-talk format beginning in January 2004 but was unable to do so because of CRTC regulations limiting talk shows on theFM band, instead airing a mix of talk andclassic hits in 2004 and early 2005.
On April 2, 2007, the station began broadcasting a full-timetalk format, except for weekends whenSouvenirs Garantisclassic hits programming was heard.
On April 30, 2010, it was announced that all Corus Québec stations, including CHMP, would be sold toCogeco for $80 million, pendingCRTC approval.[3][4]
On December 17, 2010, the CRTC approved the sale of most of Corus' radio stations in Quebec, including CHMP, to Cogeco.[5] CHMP formally became a Cogeco station on February 1, 2011.
CHMP-FM is now the producer of theCogeco Nouvelles news bulletins for the French-language stations in the Cogeco chain. Originally known asCorusNouvelles, the station assumed this task for theCorus Québec network following the closure of sister stationCINF in January 2010.[6]
In Fall 2011, CHMP-FM overtook sisteradult contemporary stationCFGL-FM as the most-listened-toNorth American radio station broadcasting in theFrench language.
Since2011, CHMP has been theFrancophoneflagship radio station of theNHL'sMontreal Canadiens. It begansimulcasting Canadiens games in2007 to make up for sister stationCKAC's reduced nighttime coverage. It became the sole flagship in 2011 after CKAC changed to a Francophone traffic format. Also since 2011, CHMP has been the Francophone outlet for theCanadian Football League'sMontreal Alouettes andMajor League Soccer'sMontreal Impact (which it lost to sports competitorCKLX-FM in 2021).[7]
On November 29, 2013, the CRTC approved an application for transmitter improvements, with the station increasing its power from 40,800 watts to 100,000 watts, and slightly decreasing its antenna height from 301.5 to 298.9 metres (989 to 981 ft) HAAT.[8]
Another station,CJRM-FM, previously used the 98.5 MHz frequency in Montreal during the late 1960s.
The call signCIEL-FM has since 2001 been used by a station inRivière-du-Loup formerly known asCJFP-FM.
45°30′20″N73°35′30″W / 45.50556°N 73.59167°W /45.50556; -73.59167
