 | |
| Broadcast area | Greater Montreal |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 94.3MHz (FM) |
| Branding | Énergie 94.3 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Mainstream rock (French) |
| Affiliations | Énergie |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| CFCF-DT,CHOM-FM,CITE-FM,CJAD,CJFM-FM,CKGM,CFJP-DT | |
| History | |
First air date | May 11,1964 |
Call sign meaning | "Modulation de Fréquence" (French forfrequency modulation) |
| Technical information | |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 41,400watts |
| HAAT | 297.4 meters (976 ft) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | iheartradio.ca/energie/energie-montreal |
CKMF-FM (94.3MHz) is aFrench-language Canadianradio station located inMontreal,Quebec, owned and operated byBell Media. The station airs amainstream rockformat and is theflagship station of the "Énergie" network, which operates across Quebec. It offers personalityDJs playingfrancophone andanglophonerock hits from the current charts to the 1980s.
CKMF-FM broadcasts with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 41,400watts as aClass C1 station, using anomnidirectional antenna from theMount Royalcandelabra tower at 297.4 meters (976 ft) inheight above average terrain (HAAT). Its studios and offices are located at the Bell Media Building at 1717Rene-Levesque Boulevard East inDowntown Montreal.
The stationsigned on the air on May 11, 1964, asCJMS-FM.[1] It was asister station to the now-defunctCJMS. Both stations were owned by the Radiomutuel Group. After firstsimulcasting the AM station, CJMS-FM later aired aclassical music format. Classical music ended in 1970, changing to anautomatedTop 40/CHR format.
Thecall sign was changed toCKMF-FM on May 1, 1971.[2] The station moved in 1972 from its original facility at 1700 Berri Street in theQuartier Latin to 225 Roy Street East inthe Plateau. It relocated for a final time in 1981 to its current building at 1717 Rene-Levesque Boulevard East (then named Dorchester Boulevard). Its sister station CJMS also moved to the Dorchester/Rene-Levesque building. The move reunited the two radio stations in the same facility for the first time in a decade as CJMS had never relocated to Roy Street in the 1970s and had instead stayed on Berri ever since.
In November 1978, the station became Canada's first radio station with adisco music dedicated segment, heard most evenings (althoughBroadcasting Yearbook listed the station's full-time format as Disco). Because ofCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) rules and the fact that CKMF is a French-language station, it was required to play mostly French-language songs. Therefore, English songs (mostly the disco tracks) were spread thinly across the broadcast schedule. TheDJ who spun disco music for the first time on Montreal FM Radio was Robert (Bob) Ostiguy during his Saturday night dance showStyle Libre (Free Style), heard from 1974 to 1976.
Later on, Michel Trahan began to include disco music during his afternoondrive time show. "Le 5 à 8" became CKMF's most popular show between 1978 and 1986. CKMF concentrated its CRTC quota of English and International music (mostly disco) between the hours of 5-8PM. "Le 5 à 8" was hosted by Michel Jasmin and Alain Tanguay, and later byAlain Montpetit and Guy Aubry. The show featured the best disco DJs in Montreal including François L'Herbier, Alain Bourque, Big Dan Moreau and Michel Cadoch, doing shows like "Live from the Limelight" and other famous clubs in Montreal. Programs like "Le Show A Mario," with Mario Lirette and DJ Michel Cadoch, gave CKMF a unique sound for the Disco era. One of the station's biggest on-air personalities of the disco era was the openly gayDouglas Coco Leopold, whose trademark was his local trendsetting lists of who and what was "in" and "out" of fashion.
As was fictionalised in the 2010 Canadian filmFunkytown, Montpetit's popularity as an influential DJ and promoter was tarnished by being named as the prime suspect in the 1982 murder of a model inNew York City (which would not be confirmed until 2002), and would prompt Leopold to criticize fellow air staffer Montpetit on air publicly. In 1987, Montpetit died of adrug overdose inWashington, DC, just months after station management fired him after he showed up drunk and appeared too incoherent to do his shift live on the air.
TheÉnergie name began to be used as CKMF transitioned fromRhythmic Top 40 in the 1980s and 1990s, to mainstream Top 40, which began in 1994. In January 2000,Astral Media acquired the assets of Radiomutuel including CKMF.
When fourth-adjacent 95.1CBF-FM increased its power to 100,000 watts (from 17,030 watts), CKMF planned its own a power increase to 75,000 watts. But the boost in power never took place as the expected interference from CBF-FM did not happen. However this plan was notified internationally, which explains why the United StatesFederal Communications Commission's FM Query webpage erroneous claims that CKMF-FM has a power of 75,000 watts.
The Énergie branding was discarded in August 2009 when Astral Media licensed theNRJ branding from a European broadcaster. CKMF's last song as "Énergie" wasPictures Of You byThe Last Goodnight, segueing to the station's morning show as the station relaunched as "NRJ." The first song under the "NRJ" moniker wasBeggin' byMadcon.
In2010, the station became the French-language radioflagship of theMontreal AlouettesCFLfootball team. The contract was supposed to last until 2013.[3] Both parties were apparently satisfied at the end of the 2010 season,[4] but the contract was terminated as the Alouettes returned to 730CKAC in time for the 2011 season.[5]
With the merger of Astral andBell Media on July 5, 2013, CKMF, as well as all "NRJ" stations in Quebec, came under Bell Media ownership.
By 2011, CKMF began moving away fromTop 40/CHR toAdult Top 40 with an emphasis onmodern adult contemporary material, which would later evolve into a straight-ahead modern rock presentation by late 2014.
Due to its high cost, Bell Media didn't renew the "NRJ" branding, and on August 24, 2015, all Quebec "NRJ" stations were rebranded back to the "Énergie" moniker, including CKMF. However, CKMF continued the modern rock format, whereas the other "Énergie" stations remained Adult Top 40.
In March 2016, CKMF shifted tohot adult contemporary, while retaining the "Énergie" branding, putting it in line with the "Énergie" stations in other parts of Quebec. By 2020, the "Énergie" stations, including CKMF, moved from hot AC tomainstream rock, stressing English and French language rock hits of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
CKMF programming is simulcast on all "Énergie" stations around Quebec in the evening, overnights and weekend mornings.
45°30′20″N73°35′30″W / 45.50556°N 73.59167°W /45.50556; -73.59167
