kHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
) was a
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
The Gazette
The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...
'', August 11, 2012. Owned by
Evanov Radio Group
Evanov Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. It is also the sole owner of Dufferin Communications Inc., 80% owner of Halifax Broadcasting Ltd. and Ottawa Media Inc. The group of Evanov companies owns and operates a number of ra ...
Mercier
Mercier is French for ''notions dealer'' or ''haberdasher'', and may refer to:
People
* Agnès Mercier, French curler and coach
*Annick Mercier (born 1964), French curler
*Amanda H. Mercier (born 1975), American Judge
*Armand Mercier, (1933–2012 ...
.
History
Preparing to broadcast
Between its sign-on in 1959 until 1990, 980 in Montreal was the home of
CKGM
CKGM ('' TSN 690 Montreal'') is an English-language AM radio station in Montreal, Quebec, owned by Bell Media Radio. Formerly an affiliate of sports radio network " The Team," it was one of three stations to retain the sports format after the ...
, for many of those years, Montreal's leading
English-language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
CHR/Top 40 station. Then from 1990 until 2012, CKGM was heard at 990, so it could broadcast at 50,000 watts fulltime, the maximum power permitted for Canadian AM stations. In 2012, CKGM moved to an even better frequency, clear channelClass A 690, leaving 980 or 990 available for another Montreal AM station to use. Several applicants sought permission to put a new station on the air using CKGM's old frequency.
The Evanov Radio Group was awarded a license by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
(CRTC) on November 21, 2011, with the intent to air a francophone LGBT-based talk and music format similar to the company's
CIRR-FM
CIRR-FM (103.9 MHz, ''103.9 Proud FM'') is a radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned by Evanov Communications, it broadcasts a Hot AC/ CHR/EDM format with a focus on the area's LGBT community. Launching on April 16, 2007, it was the first radio ...
in Toronto. CHRF was initially licensed to broadcast at the 990 kHz frequency previously occupied by CKGM. At 990, the new station was to have begun operations in 2013, operating with a power of 50,000 watts as a class B station, using a
directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...
at night in order to protect two Class A stations at that same frequency,
Clear-channel station
A clear-channel station is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The syste ...
Corner Brook
Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...
, Newfoundland and Labrador.
On July 25, 2013, Evanov filed a request with the CRTC to relocate CHRF to 980, due to potential coverage problems using the directional antenna. There are no clear channel stations using 980, nor are there any close by that broadcast there currently. The closest ones are CFPL in London, Ontario; WCAP in Lowell, Massachusetts; WOFX in Troy,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
; and WTEM in Washington, D.C. In addition, the closest 980 allocation to Montreal has remained vacant since 1997, when CBV in Quebec City relocated to FM. The frequency change was approved on December 4, 2013. CKGM, the former occupant of 990, relocated there from 980 in 1990.
On September 18, 2014, Evanov announced that the station planned to commence broadcasting in November 2014."Two new radio stations to launch in Montreal region by end of 2014" ''Fagstein'', September 18, 2014. Testing of the 980 signal, consisting of pop music, promotional material, and invitations to the public to report reception issues, began in late October 2014.Fagstein: "Radio Fierté begins testing on 980 AM", October 27, 2014. /ref>
Radio Fierté
CHRF's programming, under the name ''Radio Fierté'', debuted at 6:00 a.m. on February 2, 2015. (It had been delayed from January 2015.) Programming on CHRF under the LGBT format was similar in style to its Toronto sister station CIRR-FM, and included morning program ''Les Barbus'', hosted by Michel Duchesne and Sylvain Verstricht; ''Les matins lesbiens'' with Véronique Chevrier; afternoon program ''Marino et ses Diamants'', hosted by Marie-Noëlle Gagnon ("Marino"); and drive-time program ''Les Pétards'', hosted by
Joe Bocan
Joe Bocan is the stage name of Johanne Beauchamp (born September 8, 1957), a Canadian pop singer and actress from Quebec.stunting with
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
as ''AM 980''. Much like its previous format, the station aired Christmas music in both English and French, while the station's imaging was completely in French, per condition of its license.
Switch to adult standards
On December 28, 2015, CHRF adopted an adult standards format, still as ''AM 980'' (but with branding modelled upon Evanov's "Jewel" soft adult contemporary stations). The original plan was to play adult standards during daytime hours, while the station would air programming targeting the Haitian community during evening hours. Under the standards format and during the holidays, when the station switches to Christmas songs (which returned in 2016), all music broadcast on CHRF was automated, without using disc jockeys or live personalities.
In the Numeris ratings for the period during December 2015 through February 2016 (when CHRF's Christmas stunt and standards/Haitian formats were in effect), the station finished in last place among both Anglophone and Francophone stations surveyed, with an average of 100 Francophone and zero Anglophone listeners each day, and a market share of 0.1% and 0.0%, respectively.
By June 2016, CHRF reintroduced hosted music programming, with weekday morning show ''Café Rivard'' (hosted by music director Alain Rivard), afternoon drive time program ''Le Retour de Plaisance'' (with program director Serge Plaisance), a Saturday night LGBT discussion program ''LGBT Avec Vous'' (hosted by Danyel Turcotte and Arlet Fara), and Sunday Italian music program ''Arcobaleno Musicale'' (with Mario Lipari).AM 980 programming schedule /ref> CHRF discontinued its evening Haitian programming, with lounge music block ''Soireés Loungy'' heard weekday evenings. In all cases, conditions set forth in its license in terms of music and talk content remained in force.
Closure
Challenged by cutbacks and the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, Evanov made the decision to close CHRF and return its license to the CRTC.Fagstein: "Evanov Radio shuts down CHRF 980 AM" ''Fagstein'', June 1, 2020. The station officially signed off at 11:59 p.m. on May 31, 2020. In a farewell message posted on the station's website, program director Serge Plaisance announced that his show and those of Johanne Verdon and Mario Lipari would be moving to sister station CFMB.