CHEZ-FM (106.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

, ''CHEZ 106'') is a Canadian

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

format in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The station is owned by Rogers Radio, a division of

Rogers Sports & Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties. Operations Current television brands owned by Rogers include two television sy ...

. CHEZ's studios are located at the intersection of Thurston Drive and Conroy Road in Ottawa, while its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located in Camp Fortune, Quebec, within

Gatineau Park Gatineau Park () is a federal park located in the Outaouais, Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a wedge ...

History

CHEZ was launched at 6 p.m. on March 25, 1977 by CHEZ-FM Inc., a company owned and operated by Harvey Glatt."Music Mogul; How Harvey Glatt transformed Ottawa's 'wasteland'". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', July 31, 2017. Glatt owned Treble Clef music stores, a chain of retail record stores, and was also a major local concert promoter. The initial signal strength was 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, and the first song was " Isn't She Lovely" by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. The original morning show host was Mike O'Reilly, better known at the time as frontman in the rock group Bolt Upright and the Erections. Other early DJs included Geoff Winter, Steve Colwill, Sheryl Nicholson, Brian Murphy, Pierre Bourque, Paul Hunks, and Kathy Donovan. Ken Rockburn provided news and Randy Burgess did sports. The station focused on the 18-34-year-old demographic by playing English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

music. CHEZ also ran children's programming, talk programming and even some French programming when it first launched on air. Shows like ''CHEZ Ottawa'', ''The Source'', ''Jazz 106'', '' Medium Rare'' and ''In the City'' distinguished the station from others in the Ottawa market. During the first few years on air, CHEZ competed with AM station CFRA, then a pop-leaning music station. In 1987, just a few weeks before celebrating its tenth anniversary on the air, CHEZ attained the number one position in the Ottawa market for the first time, with nearly 300,000 weekly listeners."CFRA loses top spot to CHEZ". ''

'', March 12, 1987. CHEZ had two sister stations, CHEQ and CJET, under the umbrella of Rideau Broadcasting, located in

Smiths Falls Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is administratively separated from the county. The Rideau Canal ...

. In 1994, CHEZ shifted to

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, partly due competing station CJSB moving its

format to FM. The station and its holdings (Rideau Broadcasting), Canada's last major independent radio station, was sold to Rogers Radio in 1999, joining CKBY and CIWW as Rogers-owned stations in the Ottawa market. In 2011, CHEZ changed their slogan to "World Class Rock", and began adding more current rock music to its playlist, shifting towards a

format. In March 2014, the station added more currents, and their slogan was changed again to "Ottawa's Rock Station" reflecting their competitor CKQB switching from

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

to a Top 40/CHR format. On June 6, 2016, CHEZ was rebranded to ''106.1 CHEZ'' with a new logo and the station's new website was launched reflecting the change. In June 2019, CHEZ announced a new morning show, ''The Biggs and Barr Show'', which formerly aired on CHTZ in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

. In May 2020, the station reverted to its old branding of ''CHEZ 106'', but kept the same logo and format.

References

External links

CHEZ 106CHEZ-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* {{Rogers Communications HEZ HEZ HEZ Radio stations established in 1977 1977 establishments in Ontario