CJQM-FM (''Country 104.3'') is an FM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radio ...

in Sault Ste. Marie,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The station is owned and operated by

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, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, ...

and broadcasts a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

format. With 100,000 watts power, CJQM's signal is one of the strongest in the Sault Ste. Marie area, and can be heard northward to Montreal River and southward to

Mackinaw City, Michigan Mackinaw City ( ) is a village in Emmet and Cheboygan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 846 at the 2010 census, the population increases during summertime, including an influx of tourists and seasonal workers who serve ...

and at times to

Gaylord Gaylord is a name of Norman French origin, from the Old French ''gaillard'' meaning "joyful" or "high-spirited". It may refer to: People *Gaylord (given name) Surname *Bill Gaylord (born 1967), British former alpine skier *Charles Gaylord (1936 ...

History

The station was launched on May 13, 1965 as CKCY-FM by Algonquin Broadcasting, the owners of the city's CKCY-AM. In 1976, both stations were acquired by

Huron Broadcasting Huron Broadcasting was a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, active in Sault Ste. Marie from 1976 to 1990. The company first entered the broadcasting business in 1976, when it acquired the assets of the city's prior Hyland Broadcas ...

, who also launched CKCY-TV in 1978. Huron subsequently sold the radio stations to a new business consortium, CKCY 920 Ltd., in 1985. The station adopted its current callsign that year, as well as its longtime "Q104" branding. CKCY 920 Ltd. was subsequently acquired by

Mid-Canada Radio Mid-Canada Communications was a Canadian media company, which operated from 1980 to 1990. The company, a division of Northern Cable, had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario. MCTV Mid-Canada Television, or MCTV, was created in 1 ...

in 1988, and Mid-Canada in turn was acquired by the

Pelmorex Radio Network The Pelmorex Radio Network was a system of Canadian radio stations in Northern Ontario, owned and operated by Pelmorex. History In 1989, Pierre Morrissette founded his own communications company, Pelmorex Media Inc., and acquired several French ...

in 1990. Due to the economic circumstances of the Sault Ste. Marie market, with competition from stations in

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

severely curtailing the profitability of the Ontario stations, Pelmorex shut down CKCY in 1992. The company then entered into a

local management agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or time ...

with

Telemedia Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing. The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien, when he purchased CKAC in Montreal from Power Corporation of Canada. CK ...

, taking over management of that company's

CHAS-FM CHAS-FM (100.5 MHz) is a radio station licensed to and serving Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media, the station broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format branded as ''Kiss 100.5''. History The stati ...

and making CHAS and CJQM sister stations, an arrangement that continues to this day. Telemedia subsequently acquired the Pelmorex group in 1999. Telemedia was acquired by

Standard Broadcasting Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Heraldic flag, Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology) ...

in 2002, with Standard selling both CJQM and CHAS to their current owner,

Rogers 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, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, ...

, the same year. Rogers Media would drop CJQM's longtime "Q104" branding on June 28, 2013, rebranding the station as ''Country 104.3'', part of an effort by Rogers to apply a unified "Country" branding to its roster of country music-formatted stations."Rogers Planning A Canadian National Country Brand,"
from RadioInsight, 6/2/2013 The "Country 104.3" playlist emphasizes current country songs and artists, with a few

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

titles sprinkled in (the station has its own classic country show on Sunday mornings). The schedule also features a live local morning show hosted by Jeff McNiece, as well as syndicated weekly shows including ''

American Country Countdown ''American Country Countdown'', also known as ''ACC'', is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. 40 to No. 1, according to the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay cha ...

'' and ''

Canadian Country Spotlight The ''Canadian Country Spotlight'' is a weekly, one-hour country music spotlight program. ''Canadian Country Spotlight'' focuses and highlights Canadian country talent. It's played weekly on country music radio stations all across Canada. The ...

''. CJQM was formerly radio home to the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was ...

, a relationship that ended after the 2008-2009 season; the Greyhounds are currently heard on

-based

WSUE WSUE (101.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Currently owned by Sovereign Communications, the station broadcasts an album-oriented rock (AOR) format with the brand name Rock 101. WSUE features a similar brand ...

. After more than 30 years, Jeff McNeice retired and signed off at CJQM in 2021. He became the last local radio show host on the Canadian side of the St.Mary's River. All local programming had been phased out earlier, including locally produced news and sports, in favour of amalgamating the stations formats from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and other Rogers Owned Country stations.

References

External links

Country 104.3
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jqm Radio stations in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Rogers Communications radio stations Country radio stations in Canada CJQM 1965 establishments in Ontario